High-end vehicle aesthetics for attractive design features and excellent surface finish
The trend in high-end vehicle aesthetics is very much towards sharp lines, concave or convex forms, and exceptionally smooth paint finishes. At the same time, components also have to be lightweight and easy to process in order to keep overall costs as low as possible for the manufacturer. Fulfilling all of these requirements calls for exposed body panels that are easy to form and present a premium appearance after painting.
Products that enable you to create that vital look for your brand
We recognise that looks are vital for your brand image. Achieving high-end vehicle aesthetics means that appealing design features in combination with an excellent surface finish are a must. This is where we come in, with our special product offering for exposed car panels. It provides you with:
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More design freedom for dynamic car styling
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Enhanced paint appearance through optimised steel surface finish
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Smooth, problem-free processing of hot-dip galvanised steels for outer panels.
Looking for the most formable galvanised products?
Our forming steels are among the most formable products currently available in the market. Our top product is DX58D+Z. It:
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offers a guaranteed formability level in all directions, unique for a hot-dip galvanised product
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allows robust processing of stylish outer panels with complex shapes such as sharp feature lines and extra deep sections.
Our MagiZinc® Auto products are also available in outer panel surface quality, allowing you to benefit from the significant advantages in processing and product performance compared with GI coatings.
Realised through optimised steel surface finish
The final paint appearance of a car body panel is determined not only by the quality of the painting process but, to a large extent, by the surface finish of the material substrate. We have optimised our steel production processes for outer panel material to ensure:
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specific surface roughness properties
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stability of these properties during deformation.
The result is a formed car panel with a tightly-controlled steel surface finish providing the perfect basis for an excellent paint result.
All outer panel materials are available in our special Serica FLO® premium surface finish. Its predictable and finely balanced surface typography delivers excellent conditions for a consistent paint appearance and a higher paint shop yield even for modern paint processes with fewer or thinner layers.
Prime Lubrication Treatment facilitates the manufacturing of stamped components by minimising known issues in stamping and joining
Prime Lubrication Treatment (PLT) is a mill-applied surface treatment that reduces tool pollution and galling during stamping and improves the quality of the adhesive bonds, while leaving other processes like spot welding and cleaning unaffected.
PLT enables an easy switch from electro-galvanised steel to cost-effective hot-dip galvanised steel, especially for the outer panels.
We support users of PLT with a suite of dedicated (tribology) services such as the TCO Scan, which quantifies the benefits of advanced surface treatments in your press shop and subsequent processes.
