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Rumor Mill: Tesla Gigafactory 3 Production Hits New High 3,000/Week


Bob Wilson

It appears the 2021 model is getting the hybrid system used in the Ioniq.

Meet the All-new 2021 Hyundai Elantra | CleanMPG

I worked for a lot of years in building paint systems for vehicles. There were developments over the years that made significant improvements.

Due to ever increasing emission requirements the primer and color coat were water based paint. The clear coat was solvent based because they couldn't get enough sheen from water borne paint for that. A fume incinerator was attached to the drying oven after the clear coat was applied. The waste heat from the fume incinerator was used to provide much of the heat for the 40 minute trip through the drying oven.

E-coat paint lines are used to put the primer on the white bodies (bare metal). In what looks like a glorified car wash the bodies move through a tunnel and they are rinsed of dust. Next a detergent is applied then they are rinsed with de-ionized water. Next the conveyor dips them in a phosphate tank. The phosphate etches the surface of the metal so that paint has something to bond to. There is a final rinse and then they go through a...