After many vehicles are involved in a collision, it becomes necessary to have part of or all of the vehicle repainted. Painting a vehicle is one of the more complicated parts of auto body repair. Painting cars is far more complicated than painting many other things; working with the material can be complicated, as can the process for applying it. When you get an estimate on having your car painted after a collision, you may come across a few terms that you simply do not understand as an ordinary consumer. Here is a look at some of the terms associated with auto body paint that you should know. 

Direct Gloss Coat

A direct gloss coat, which is often referred to as a direct gloss, is a form of gloss coating that gets applied to the vehicle that is both glossy and pigmented. Unlike clearcoat, which creates that glossy finish in a clear application, the direct gloss has color pigmentation in it, so it is not clear at all. Direct gloss may be applied over another paint color, but it is also sometimes applied as the primary source of paint because it does not require the additional step of adding a clear coat once the car has been painted. 

Masking

If you see on your estimate that you are being charged for masking and painting, you may be confused about what masking is or why it is required. In general terms, masking involves using tape and other covering supplies to mask specific areas of the vehicle during the painting process. For example, masking may involve covering the back windshield if you are having the rear end of your vehicle painted after damaged parts have been replaced. 

Primer

Primer is added as the base layer on the body of the vehicle before the actual first layer of paint is added by the painter. When a vehicle is repaired and sanded down to almost its bare surface and body filler, there can still be minor discrepancies in the surface that would show through substantially after the paint gets applied. The purpose of primer is to cover the tiniest discrepancies and flaws to give the fresh coat of paint a nice, smooth surface for application. Without primer, there would be a drastic difference in the overall quality of the paint job when the process is complete. 

Form more information, reach out to auto body repair services.