OREANDA-NEWS. January 23, 2013. I n its worldwide truck & bus production, Volvo switches from CathoGuard® 500 e-coat to the new CathoGuard® 800 generation. CathoGuard 800 is an environmentally friendly cathodic e-coat from BASF.

The product contains less than one percent solvents, is tin-free, and also provides outstanding coverage and corrosion protection for the car body’s cavities that are difficult to reach. “Volvo was impressed by our 800 series. We worked together to optimize the technology for Volvo’s requirements,” said Monika Pander, head of Truck & Bus Europe at BASF Coatings. “The next step is implementation.”

Volvo is starting the gradual changeover to the new product in Umea. E-coat has been supplied to the plant in Sweden, which produces truck cabs, for over 30 years. Volvo Trucks was one of BASF’s first customers for cathodic e-coat. The collaboration between Volvo and BASF has blossomed into a trusting partnership, and the technology has been continuously enhanced. Cathodic e-coating is an electro-chemical coating process in which the car body is completely immersed into the conductive coating material. The paint particles are deposited onto the steel panels with the aid of electric current.

BASF Coatings covers the entire product and service portfolio for high-quality refinishing of buses and trucks – ranging from corrosion protection to basecoats, which provide the color, as well as glossy clearcoats.