Automotive spray painting is among the most sophisticated and controlled industrial painting operations currently performed. Nevertheless, improvements in it are still sought in efforts to minimize the costs, the energy use and the environmental impacts. One compelling aspect of improvement is the paint transfer efficiency, i.e. the amount of paint that remains on a vehicle relative to the amount supplied to the paint applicator during coating operations, because currently it has been estimated that the overall paint transfer efficiency in the automotive industry is between 50% and 60%. Hence, this review assesses current automotive spray coating technologies with respect to their transfer efficiencies and discusses the fundamental and operational parameters that influence it. A comprehensive characterization of paint spray applicators (air sprayers, high-volume low-pressure sprayers, airless sprayers, air-assisted airless sprayers, rotary bell atomizers, electrostatic sprayers, and effervescent atomizers) is included. Some problems associated with evaluating and improving their paint transfer efficiencies are discussed. Also, the potential of and the technology needs for developing these applicators are considered.
