MIC top color / material have not actually changed (per MIC material supplier)

[Ksjrb03]

Hey @Ksjrb03 maybe now that there is a newish thread on this you can explain the top color has not changed. Again.

Sure, not that anyone will listen. The top color that Ford calls carbonized gray was finalized two years ago, and the formula has not changed. I think I’ve been here long enough to see that people started to think it got darker once the available photos swapped from factory bright lights to outdoor real world shots. There was also a tooling change around the same time, it’s very obvious to see when you look at old pics and new pics. The seams for the rear shell changed. I think the tooling on the mold changed at that time to a less textured finish. The tooling on the mold can dramatically change the way light reflects, and change the appearance some what. But rest assured the color of the plastic used in the outer shell has not changed.

We do not make the material for the inner structural shell so I’m not exactly sure what it’s made of. The outer shell is polyacetal, or POM in the business, a very common automotive thermoplastic. I have no idea how it will take paint, that’s not my department.

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[ZackDanger]

Sure, not that anyone will listen. The top color that Ford calls carbonized gray was finalized two years ago, and the formula has not changed. I think I’ve been here long enough to see that people started to think it got darker once the available photos swapped from factory bright lights to outdoor real world shots. There was also a tooling change around the same time, it’s very obvious to see when you look at old pics and new pics. The seams for the rear shell changed. I think the tooling on the mold changed at that time to a less textured finish. The tooling on the mold can dramatically change the way light reflects, and change the appearance some what. But rest assured the color of the plastic used in the outer shell has not changed.

We do not make the material for the inner structural shell so I’m not exactly sure what it’s made of. The outer shell is polyacetal, or POM in the business, a very common automotive thermoplastic. I have no idea how it will take paint, that’s not my department.

This is really good info.

I think BN hasn’t been helping.

 

[Ksjrb03]

This is really good info.

I think BN hasn’t been helping.

Looks like the same color to me, but my color matching certification test is done under 3500k lights and not photos lol. That’s the tooling change though thanks for finding that.

 

[Jr87mustang]

Looks like the same color to me, but my color matching certification test is done under 3500k lights and not photos lol. That’s the tooling change though thanks for finding that.

I think you answered this a while ago, but can a white top be made out of your material? Or is painted the way to go.

 

[Ksjrb03]

I think you answered this a while ago, but can a white top be made out of your material? Or is painted the way to go.

We have never made an exterior automotive plastic in white, and I don’t think you will ever see a white MIC top. There are engineering challenges to white, like the amount of UV and other stabilizers needed for exterior use in this grade of plastic make it almost impossible to get a true white, and stay white. They have too much yellow in them. Something like a white igloo cooler is a lesser grade plastic with less stabilization. How easy do those stain etc...

There may be another plastic out there that can do it, but not our products.

 

[HBTFD]

Sure, not that anyone will listen. The top color that Ford calls carbonized gray was finalized two years ago, and the formula has not changed. I think I’ve been here long enough to see that people started to think it got darker once the available photos swapped from factory bright lights to outdoor real world shots. There was also a tooling change around the same time, it’s very obvious to see when you look at old pics and new pics. The seams for the rear shell changed. I think the tooling on the mold changed at that time to a less textured finish. The tooling on the mold can dramatically change the way light reflects, and change the appearance some what. But rest assured the color of the plastic used in the outer shell has not changed.

We do not make the material for the inner structural shell so I’m not exactly sure what it’s made of. The outer shell is polyacetal, or POM in the business, a very common automotive thermoplastic. I have no idea how it will take paint, that’s not my department.

How does it react to years of sunlight?

 

[Ksjrb03]

How does it react to years of sunlight?

Industry leaders, so all I can say is better than anyone else’s product. Our products are all over exterior and dash of the big auto manufacturers. Plastics have gone a long way since the first plastic dashes that cracked and discolored. Should get many years before the sun takes its toll. We test and engineer this in many ways.

 

[HBTFD]

Industry leaders, so all I can say is better than anyone else’s product. Our products are all over exterior and dash of the big auto manufacturers. Plastics have gone a long way since the first plastic dashes that cracked and discolored. Should get many years before the sun takes its toll. We test and engineer this in many ways.

Will your company be manufacturing the painted tops?

 

[Ksjrb03]

Will your company be manufacturing the painted tops?

We make a variety of plastics, so if we make the smc used in the painted top that would be at another plant. We are an OEM for some products, and a raw material supplier for others. We just supply the materials for the MIC. I have seen samples of both though.

 

[dcg2]

The outer shell is polyacetal, or POM in the business, a very common automotive thermoplastic.

Thank you for an actual, authoritive answer!

 

[Rick Astley]

Sure, not that anyone will listen. The top color that Ford calls carbonized gray was finalized two years ago, and the formula has not changed. I think I’ve been here long enough to see that people started to think it got darker once the available photos swapped from factory bright lights to outdoor real world shots. There was also a tooling change around the same time, it’s very obvious to see when you look at old pics and new pics. The seams for the rear shell changed. I think the tooling on the mold changed at that time to a less textured finish. The tooling on the mold can dramatically change the way light reflects, and change the appearance some what. But rest assured the color of the plastic used in the outer shell has not changed.

We do not make the material for the inner structural shell so I’m not exactly sure what it’s made of. The outer shell is polyacetal, or POM in the business, a very common automotive thermoplastic. I have no idea how it will take paint, that’s not my department.

That jives with my understanding of automotive lead times, the 24 month lead time. And also why some of the "hate" posts on here before Stig left towards unemployment pastures were so comical. The "what were they thinking?" stuff where it was obvious they thought of what they could at the time since not all aspects were finalized prior to whatever decision was the soup de jour.

Polyacetal, I sure hope that causes cancer, sounds like it should.

 

[ZackDanger]

Sure, not that anyone will listen. The top color that Ford calls carbonized gray was finalized two years ago, and the formula has not changed. I think I’ve been here long enough to see that people started to think it got darker once the available photos swapped from factory bright lights to outdoor real world shots. There was also a tooling change around the same time, it’s very obvious to see when you look at old pics and new pics. The seams for the rear shell changed. I think the tooling on the mold changed at that time to a less textured finish. The tooling on the mold can dramatically change the way light reflects, and change the appearance some what. But rest assured the color of the plastic used in the outer shell has not changed.

We do not make the material for the inner structural shell so I’m not exactly sure what it’s made of. The outer shell is polyacetal, or POM in the business, a very common automotive thermoplastic. I have no idea how it will take paint, that’s not my department.

I just wanted to close the loop on this.

I updated my Hard Top Differences explanation to reflect this info.

Frankly, I'm embarrassed to have perpetuated the idea that the pigmentation was actually itself getting darker. I certainly wasn't willfully ignoring anything you said, I just honestly don't remember ever seeing it.

Thank you for sharing it again.

(Note I had to give it yesterdays date because I wanted to be able to reference to this in the future and not have anyone doubt it.)

 

[Ksjrb03]

I just wanted to close the loop on this.

I updated my Hard Top Differences explanation to reflect this info.

Frankly, I'm embarrassed to have perpetuated the idea that the pigmentation was actually itself getting darker. I certainly wasn't willfully ignoring anything you said, I just honestly don't remember ever seeing it.

Thank you for sharing it again.

(Note I had to give it yesterdays date because I wanted to be able to reference to this in the future and not have anyone doubt it.)

Ha cool. Lets build the things already so we can move on to having fun and forget the days of worrying about the nonsense!

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