Clearcoat filmbuild is one of the main concerns for painting quality in automotive paint shops. In operation, clearcoat is sprayed on the vehicle surface and then baked in an oven where solvents are removed and cross-linking reactions take place. Because of operational complexity and measurement difficulty, the process dynamics is basically unknown. Thus, the operational settings in the oven are solely experience-based. Hitherto, the studies on automotive oven operations has been only at the lab level. To significantly improve clearcoat filmbuild, a model at the plant floor level should be develop ed. In the present work, a first-principles-based, simplified, integrated dynamic model is developed to characterize the clearcoat reactive drying process in an oven. It is demonstrated that the model can provide satisfactory long-term predictions of filmbuild, facilitate a thorough analysis of drying/curing operations, and form the basis for developing optimal operational strategies for improving film quality and reducing defects.