Why are so many cars today painted black, white, silver, gray? Is it cheaper for the manufacturers?

[jmowreader]

40. There was more to it than that

The original Model T paint was actually varnish - not "automotive varnish" but the same kind they sold at hardware stores. The particular varnish they chose had to be tinted in dark colors, so black was chosen.

"Dried fast" is laughable...even though black varnish dried faster than other colors of varnish, it took a month to paint a Model T.

In 1914, Ford installed a paint drying tunnel. The new varnish they used on the cars contained asphalt...so, it was still black even though it took one hour per coat to dry it now rather than more than a day.

In 1926, the Model T was available in colors thanks to the good people at DuPont. DuPont figured out how to convert nitrocellulose to a sprayable liquid. The lacquer so created could be colored in...well, just about anything you wanted....so now Model T Fords could be many colors. I don't even wanna think about how many explosions they had in their paint shop because nitrocellulose, which is normally a solid, is converted to a sprayable liquid by dissolving it into a blend of acetone and toluene. This paint was called "Duco." You old guys are currently thinking, "where have I heard that before?" Yup, you got it: they experimented and learned the dissolved nitrocellulose would also work as glue if it wasn't diluted as far as they need to in order to make paint, and "Duco Cement" was born.

True story: Modern nail polish was invented by the wife of a GM executive. Apparently, one day after GM started lacquering cars he came home and told his wife about the wonderful new paint they were using on their cars - it dried fast, it was very glossy and if it got on your skin it wouldn't hurt you. She got him to get her a little bit of it, and painted her nails with it. It turned out to be as good on fingernails as it was on cars and she thought other women would buy it. She found someone who sold products in little bottles with brushes in the cap, and got them to fill these bottles with red car paint.