Method and apparatus for paint curing

Method for providing a finish to a vehicle body in an automotive assembly paintshop, comprising:

• applying, at a coating station, a paint coating on surfaces of said vehicle body, the paint coating capable of being cured by both near infrared radiant light energy and ambient air at ambient temperature and formed from a mixture comprising
• polymer molecules that provide structural integrity and prevent cracking during the curing, and
• silica molecules that provide scratch resistance, the silica molecules cross-linked with the polymer segments;
• presenting the vehicle body to heat flash station wherein solvents and water are driven out of the paint coating on said vehicle body within the heat flash station;
• and
• utilizing a curing process to cure said paint coating on said surfaces of said vehicle body, the curing process comprising:
• immediately after exiting the heat flash station, presenting the vehicle body to a radiation cure station including a near infrared light energy source,
• wherein a first portion of said surfaces of said vehicle body having said paint coating applied thereto is line of site exposed to the near infrared radiant light energy source, and a second portion of said surfaces of said vehicle body having said paint coating applied thereto is not line of site exposed to the near infrared radiant light energy source,
• wherein only the paint coating on the first portion of said surfaces of said vehicle body is cured within the radiation cure station by line of sight exposure to said near infrared radiant light energy source, and
• wherein the paint coating on the second portion of said surfaces of said vehicle body is not cured by line of site exposure to said radiant light energy;
• and
• subsequent to presenting the vehicle body to the radiation cure station, presenting the vehicle body to an ambient cure station wherein the paint coating on the second portion of said surfaces of said vehicle body is cured within the ambient cure station only using ambient air at ambient temperature.