Fordite , also known as Detroit agate , Motor City agate , paint rock , or paint slag , is a lapidarist term for polished pieces of finely layered paint masses from automobile factories. The masses consist of automotive paint which has hardened sufficiently to be cut and polished. It was formed from the buildup of layers of enamel paint slag on tracks and skids on which cars were painted with acrylic lacquer , which have been baked numerous times. In recent times the material has been upcycled into jewelry .
26-683: Some sources classify fordite as a mineral. Fordite is notable for the way it displays "the history of the American automotive industry," both to illustrate the changing colors of car paint as well as the transformation and disappearance of the Ford Motor Company factories in Detroit . According to the Ford Motor Company , fordite has been around since the 1920s. Gems & Gemology claims fordite "was first collected at Ford Motor Company in Michigan in
52-651: A car, then car restorers and collectors consider those to be the OEM parts. Other-brand parts would be considered aftermarket, such as Champion spark plugs, DieHard batteries, Kinsler fuel injectors, and BMP engine blocks and heads. Many auto parts manufacturers sell parts through multiple channels, for example to car makers for installation during new-vehicle construction, to car makers for resale as automaker-branded replacement parts, and through general merchandising supply chains. Any given brand of part can be OEM on some vehicle models and aftermarket on others. Microsoft
78-492: A different requirement regarding installation media from Direct OEMs. While a clean retail media of Windows can be installed and activated on these devices with OEM keys (most commonly using the SLP key that's embedded in to the system firmware already), actual OEM recovery media that was created by the PC manufacturer (not system-builder, nor retail Windows versions) typically only works on
104-419: A pigmented basecoat and a clear topcoat. It may be described as "acrylic", "acrylic enamel", "urethane", etc. and the clearcoat in particular may be described as a lacquer. True lacquers and acrylic lacquers are obsolete, and plain acrylic enamels have largely been superseded by better-performing paints. True enamel is not an automotive paint. The term is common for any tough glossy paint but its use in
130-435: A variety of manufacturers ( Dell , HP , ASUS , Acer , Lenovo , Wistron , Inventec , Supermicro , Compal Electronics , Quanta Computer , Foxconn , Pegatron , Jabil , Flex , etc.). These OEMs commonly use a procedure known as System Locked Pre-installation , which pre-activates Windows on PCs that are to be sold via mass distribution. These OEMs also commonly bundle software that is not installed on stock Windows on
156-439: Is paint used on automobiles for both protective and decorative purposes. Water-based acrylic polyurethane enamel paint is currently the most widely used paint for reasons including reducing paint's environmental impact . Modern automobile paint is applied in several layers, with a total thickness of around 100 μm (0.1mm). Paint application requires preparation and primer steps to ensure proper application. A basecoat
182-536: Is a glossy and transparent coating that forms the final interface with the environment. For this reason, clearcoat must be durable enough to resist abrasion and chemically stable enough to withstand UV light. Clearcoat can be either solvent or water-borne. One part and two part formulations are often referred to as "1K" and "2K" respectively. Car manufacturer ( OEM ) clear coats applied to the metal bodies of cars are normally 1K systems since they can be heated to around 140 °C to effect cure. The clear coats applied to
208-471: Is a popular example of a company that issues its Windows operating systems for use by OEM computer manufacturers via the bundling of Microsoft Windows . OEM product keys are priced lower than their retail counterparts, especially as they are purchased in bulk quantities, although they use the same software as retail versions of Windows. They are primarily for PC manufacturer OEMs and system builders, and as such are typically sold in volume licensing deals to
234-424: Is applied after the primer paint is applied. Following this, a clearcoat of paint may be applied that forms a glossy and transparent coating. The clearcoat layer must be able to withstand UV light . In the early days of the automobile industry , paint was applied manually and dried for weeks at room temperature because it was a single component paint that dried by solvent evaporation. As mass production of cars made
260-431: Is homogeneous and tough, with superior properties to the individual plastics. Innovations are taking place in paint industry as well. These days, automotive paints come in liquid form, spray form, and powder forms:- Types of automotive paints OEM An original equipment manufacturer ( OEM ) generally refers to a company that produces parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. However,
286-513: Is less expensive and can hold more pigment, but has poor scratch resistance, whereas polyurethanes are harder but more costly. Combining both types gives a material which can contain a lot of color and be hard-wearing. Simply mixing the materials is not sufficient, as this give heterogeneous coating with separate acrylic and polyurethane domains. Instead, the starting chemicals for each plastic ( monomers ) are combined and partially polymerized to give an interpenetrating polymer network . Within this
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#1732884351807312-608: Is necessary to protect the body against corrosion effects and prepares the surface for the E-Coat. The body is dipped into the Electro-Coat Paint Operation (ELPO/E-Coat), then a high voltage is applied. The body works as a cathode and the paint as an anode sticking on the body surface. It is an eco-friendly painting process. In E-Coat, also called CED paint, use is approximately 99.9% and provides superior salt spray resistance compared to other painting processes. The primer
338-416: Is the first coat to be applied. The primer serves several purposes. The base coat is applied after the primer coat. This coat contains the visual properties of color and effects, and is usually the one referred to as the paint. Base coat used in automotive applications is commonly divided into three categories: solid, metallic, and pearlescent pigments. Usually sprayed on top of a colored basecoat, clearcoat
364-473: Is tied to the PC motherboard which it is initially installed on, and there is typically no transferring the key between PCs afterward. This is in contrast to retail keys, which may be transferred, provided they are only activated on one PC at a time. A significant hardware change will trigger a reactivation notice, just as with retail. Direct OEMs are officially held liable for things such as installation/recovery media, and as such were commonly provided until
390-433: The enamels to the car bodies," reducing or eradicating overspray. Fordite is made of hardened enamel paints. Many of these paints contain lead . This has led to restrictions on selling fordite jewelry in states such as California which have strict regulations on toxic substances. This material -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Automotive paint Automotive paint
416-469: The "redissolving" of the metallic base coat. This is most easily seen in the light metallic paints like the silver and light blue or green shades where the "flop" difference is most marked. The terminology for automotive paints has been driven by the progression of technologies and by the desire to both distinguish new technologies and relate to previous technologies for the same purpose. Modern car paints are nearly always an acrylic polyurethane "enamel" with
442-504: The 1940s." The colors were initially dark and muted neutrals, though they still consisted of swirling patterns. The colorful acrylic lacquers of the 1950s and 1960s caused fordite to appear "in bright metallic colors." The 1960s and 1970s allowed for the "boldest hues" as there was rising demand for more colorful vehicles during those decades. In recent years, the advent of the electrostatic spray painting process has replaced acrylic lacquer painting. The electrostatic process "magnetizes
468-411: The air, polluting the atmosphere. Enamel paint is better for the environment and replaced lacquer paint in the late 20th century. Water-based acrylic polyurethane enamels are now almost universally used as the basecoat with a clearcoat. High-pressure water spray jets are directed to the body. Without proper pretreatment, premature failure of the finish system can almost be guaranteed. A phosphate coat
494-416: The automotive industry is often restricted to older paints before the introduction of polyurethane hardeners. Modern car paint is typically made from acrylic - polyurethane hybrid dispersions , which are a combination of two different plastics. They were developed during the 1970's and 80's as a water-soluble replacement for enamel paints , following health concerns over their high VOC content. Acrylic
520-406: The images of Windows that will be deployed with their PCs (appropriate hardware drivers , anti-malware and maintenance software, various apps, etc.). Individuals may also purchase OEM "system-builder" licenses for personal use (to include virtual hardware ), or for sale/resale on PCs which they build. Per Microsoft's EULA regarding PC manufacturers and system-builder OEM licenses, the product key
546-412: The late-2000s. These were phased out in favor of recovery partitions located on the primary storage drive of the PC (and available for order from the manufacturer upon request) for the user to repair or restore their systems to the factory state. This not only cut down on costs, but was also a consequence of the gradual obsolescence and phasing out of optical media from 2010 onward. System builders also have
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#1732884351807572-470: The original equipment, that is, the parts which are then subsequently assembled and installed during the construction of a new vehicle. In contrast, aftermarket parts are those made by companies other than the OEM, which might be installed as replacements or enhancements after the car comes out of the factory. For example, if Ford used Autolite spark plugs , Exide batteries, Bosch fuel injectors , and Ford's own engine blocks and heads when building
598-415: The plastic components like the bumpers and wing mirrors however are 2K systems since they can normally only accept temperatures up to about 90 °C. These 2K systems are normally applied "off line" with the coated plastic parts fixed to the painted metallic body. Owing to the difference in formulation of the 1K and 2K systems and the fact they are coated in different locations they have a different effect on
624-415: The polymer-chains are not chemically bonded to one another, but instead become entangled and interwoven and as they form. This is possible because they polymerize in different ways, which are incompatible with each other. Polyurethane is formed by step growth polymerization involving polycondensation , whereas acrylic is formed by chain growth polymerization featuring free radicals . The resulting product
650-458: The process untenable, paint began to be dried in ovens. Nowadays, two-component (catalyzed) paint is usually applied by robotic arms and cures in just a few hours either at room temperature or in heated booths. Until several decades ago lead, chromium , and other heavy metals were used in automotive paint. Environmental laws have prohibited this, which has resulted in a move to water-based paints. Up to 85% of Lacquer paint can evaporate into
676-401: The term is ambiguous, with several other common meanings. It sometimes means the maker of a system that includes other companies' subsystems, an end-product producer, an automotive part that is manufactured by the same company that produced the original part used in the automobile's assembly, or a value-added reseller . When referring to auto parts, OEM typically refers to the manufacturer of
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