Patent ID: 8524330

Claim:
Method for curing a paint coating applied to a workpiece, comprising: applying, at a coating station, a paint coating to surfaces of the workpiece, 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 workpiece to a heat flash station wherein solvents and water are driven out of the paint coating on the workpiece within the heat flash station; immediately after exiting the heat flash station, presenting the workpiece to a radiation cure station including a near infrared radiant light energy source, wherein a first portion of said surfaces of the workpiece 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 the workpiece 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 the workpiece 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 the workpiece is not cured by line of site exposure to said radiant light energy; and subsequent to presenting the workpiece to the radiation cure station, presenting the workpiece to an ambient cure station wherein the paint coating on the second portion of said surfaces of the workpiece is cured within the ambient cure station only using ambient air at ambient temperature.