Refinisher Vol62 Issue 1 2020

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THE VOLUME 62 • ISSUE 1 MARCH 2020

Chev

Grace, pace and PPG paint

ALSO INSIDE: 'THE SCIENCE BEHIND' LOOKS AT HOW WE PERCEIVE COLOUR

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

• HAVING FUN WITH VIBRANCE • CLEAN UP YOUR POLISH PROCESS • PPG SUPPORTS MOTORSPORT BREEDING GROUND

INNOVATIVE BODYSHOP SOLUTIONS

STEP INTO THE NEW ERA OF REFINISH PAINT MIXING

ELIMINATE WASTE & MESS

AUTOMATE PROCESS

MAXIMISE ACCURACY

GENERATE PROFIT

moonwalkrefinish.com | ppgrefinish.com.au The PPG Logo and Bulls Eye Logo are registered trademarks, and MoonWalk is a trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc. © 2020 PPG Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.

contents MARCH2020

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SCA N TO RE A D T HE REFINISHER ONLINE

62 VOLUME

THE

REFINISHER

ISSUE 1

Editor-In-Chief Paul Galea

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Editorial Co-ordinator Kevin Woolerton

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News

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From pains to gains

Editor John M Stanley Creative Director Dean Parrott

MOONWALK® is the technology that gives and gives

Published for and on behalf of PPG Industries Pty Limited by

Kisschasey Creative Pty Ltd Unit 113, 91 Murphy St. Richmond, Victoria, 3121 Telephone (03) 9421 3311

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Queensland 18 Breene Place, Morningside, 4170 Telephone (07) 3823 8000

Western Australia Unit 2/6 Colin Jamieson Drive, Welshpool, 6106 Telephone (08) 9256 3920

PPG Logo, Delfleet, Deltron, Envirobase, Global Refinish System, Harlequin, PaintManager, Prizmatique, Radiance, RapidMatch, Startline and - are registered trademarks and We protect and beautify the world, Crystallance and RapidMatch are trademarks of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc. SATA and SATAjet are registered trademarks of SATA GmbH & Co. KG. Third-party trademarks referenced in this magazine are the property of their respective owners.

Modern Classic Take the timeless style of a 1935 Chevrolet Coupe, combine it with the bang up-to-date suspension and drivetrain of a C6 Corvette and give it an elegant PPG paintjob and what do you get?

An epic vehicle ready to take on the world!

New South Wales 10 Peter Brock Drive, Eastern Creek, 2766 Telephone (02) 9854 6600

Tasmania 136 Invermay Rd, Invermay, 7248 Telephone 1300 305 699

Dual-Mix® seals the deal Seam seal, cure and move on!

Victoria 104-106 Woodlands Drive, Braeside, 3195 Telephone (03) 8586 0000

South Australia 97-105 Bedford Street, Gillman, 5013 Telephone (08) 8346 6870

Opportunity of a lifetime From refugee to community minded business owner

Australia Head Office Locked Bag 888, Clayton South, Victoria 3169.

McNaughton Road, Clayton, Victoria, Australia, 3168 Telephone: 13 24 24 www.ppgrefinish.com.au New Zealand Head Office 5 Vestey Drive, Mt Wellington, Auckland, New Zealand.

Toll Free Telephone: 0800 320 320

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Targeted performance The Dynabrade range tuned to collision repair and restoration

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No wasted opportunities Bucher Municipal’s market-leading waste collection solutions

NEWS REFINISHER

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PHASER delivers the X factor ™

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hether it’s for the style and sophistication or for the advanced technology, choosing a SATAjet® X 5500 PHASER™ gets you a high calibre piece of spray equipment that is like nothing else on the market! The next generation PHASER has arrived and it looks seriously cool thanks to clean, sharp styling, high-quality materials and a superb black anodised body. What’s more, it comes with SATA’s revolutionary

PPG coatings help drive battery development

X-Nozzle System which features two distinct spray fan shapes that remain constant right across the nozzle spectrum. This advanced nozzle system lets any painter easily synchronise their SATA gun to their application style, the paint system they use and the environment they spray in.

Available in RP and HVLP technologies, the SATAjet ® X 5500 PHASER™ is an ongoing part of the local SATA range and can be ordered from approved SATA distributors. R

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hanks to an array of market-ready coatings, PPG is giving electric-vehicle OEMs, along with battery and component manufacturers, tools to enhance electric-vehicle battery performance, durability, safety and cost. Recently, the latest range of PPG innovations were unveiled at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference Europe, in Germany.

This included the advanced technology PPG CORATHERM™ thermal gap filler – a cost-effective, battery thermal management solution that offers outstanding performance and low density. All this highlights PPG’s broad-based materials expertise which touches virtually every area of lithium-ion battery design and construction, helping PPG customers boost energy density, extend service life, improve safety, increase manufacturing throughput and reduce R cost per kilowatt hour.

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DRIVETHROUGH

PPG Foundation supports bushfires relief T

o support recovery efforts following the devastating Australian bushfires this summer, the PPG Foundation has launched a special initiative. Along with a donation of $50,000 USD ($72,432 AUD) to the Australian Red Cross, PPG has committed to matching employee donations up to $25,000 USD ($36,193 AUD), for a total contribution of $75,000 USD ($108,625 AUD). In addition, PPG employees in Australia are busy working with retail partners to establish and support a

long-term community rebuilding program for affected areas, while also hosting additional fundraisers at various PPG sites. In addition, several local employees volunteered in the firefighting efforts and PPG provided paid R time off for their services.

PPG refinish team shines at Summernats N

ot even smoky conditions from bushfires raging in various parts of the country could keep crowds away from the 33rd running of Summernats, in January 2020. Welcoming them was a passionate 12-person PPG team in a huge 25m X 20m marquee packed with wall to wall colour options, displays and epic vehicles.

Throughout the event, it was teeming with people seeking advice on creating their own custom finish. The expert PPG team was able to guide them through the colour selection process, before providing all the technical advice needed to give their project a dream finish.

PPG painted cars also starred in the judging halls, topped by the ‘Grand Champion’ award won by Todd Sorensen’s 1967 Chevrolet Impala, from Rocksolid Autobody, in Queensland. R

with Paul Galea

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hat unprecedented challenges the past three months have seen for our region – fires, floods and now COVID-19. Wherever possible, PPG has committed to proactively supporting the communities that we operate in, with the most recent being the support for bushfire affected communities. However, COVID-19 has needed a different approach and we have had many questions about how prepared we are. As a PPG employee, it’s times like these when you really appreciate working for a great organisation that is proactive in supporting its employees and customers.

In answer to concerns about supply, here is an extract from PPG’s official response: ‘PPG operates a global supply chain with a portion of our raw material and indirect products sourced from some of the affected areas. We are continually assessing all of our critical product demands and are actively working to ensure sufficient coverage. To date, we have successfully minimized the impact to our supply chain by proactively increasing inventories or utilizing and identifying alternative suppliers of high-risk materials.

With the continuing spread of COVID-19 and the potential impact on our suppliers’ production operations and logistics, our supply chain team is reviewing all raw material and logistics flows to mitigate potential customer supply issues. To further supply chain continuity, PPG commercial teams will work with our customers to ensure we have the most accurate demand representation possible. We are currently reviewing and adjusting inventory levels and raw materials to address longer supply chain delivery times to meet customer demand.’

If you have any concern, please contact your PPG representative. In the meantime, please take whatever steps are necessary to protect the health and well-being of yourself, R your staff and your family.

DIGITAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE REFINISHER

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From pains

to gains

As well as being a very cool piece of kit, MOONWALK® swaps everyday paint shop pains for valuable gains in colour mix accuracy, minimised waste and extra time for painters

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hen you think about it, the mixing process for colour formulations has not changed for eons.

Despite the high tech methods of identifying a vehicle colour and looking up the correct formulation, a person (generally a painter) still has to physically measure out the various ingredients. For painters who are employed primarily for their painting skills, this can be a real pain, especially over a long work day and when tiny amounts need to be added.

It’s well and truly time for a new solution and that is PPG’s self-contained, automated mixing system, dubbed MoonWalk.

Manual mixing is not easy or accurate During the MoonWalk research phase, PPG’s Digital Customer Experience team visited hundreds of collision centres and observed literally tens of thousands of formulation mixes. What they found was a common

‘pain point’. An incredible one in five mixes (that is 20%) had a deviation in the amount of at least one tinter which can affect colour accuracy unless the operator rescales the formula. When they do rescale, it means mixing a larger quantity which potentially creates material waste. What’s more, painters typically said that mixing paint was a task they would be happy to give up.

Self-contained solution Given its impressive capabilities, all the features of MoonWalk have been packaged into a compact cabinet measuring just two metres by one metre. Inside there is a 13-position dispensing rack, along with 80 tinter storage spaces. In addition, there is everything else that is required, including a RAPIDMATCH® Go spectrophotometer, a set of scales, a built-in computer with PAINTMANAGER® XI software and a label printer.

Several key factors contribute to MoonWalk’s incredible accuracy. Firstly, it’s fitted with an ultra-accurate moving scale which is precise to 0.01 grams – that is 10 times more precise than standard paint shop scales!

In addition, MoonWalk is

programmed to hit its target each and every time. Although it starts the pour quite quickly, it will them become extremely careful as it zeroes in on the target. What’s more, MoonWalk doesn’t get tired, hungover, cranky or emotional and it doesn’t matter how many mixes it has already done that day.

Freeing painters to do what they are paid for The average time for an operator to set a MoonWalk mix cycle in motion is just two minutes. While the cycle itself will take longer than that and will depend on the complexity of the formulation, the point is that the operator, who is typically a painter, doesn’t need to stay and watch. As a result, that person is free to go and do some sort of productive task, such as masking the job, etc. MoonWalk also minimises mess in the mixing process.

How it works After taking a spectro reading, downloading it to the computer and selecting the appropriate colour formulation (just as a painter does now), MoonWalk produces a ready to spray mix with one click:

DIGITAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE 7

Return on investment Thanks to its ability to reduce waste, it has been calculated that MoonWalk can save up to 9% of waterborne tinter consumption.

While it’s worth looking at your own paint account to work out what this impressive statistic means to your business in dollar

terms, it’s actually only part of the potential savings that contribute to its return on investment.

The fact that painters are freed from the mixing task means they can use that time on other productive tasks which then improves general shop productivity.

While we are talking about the human factor, MoonWalk has the potential to virtually eliminate human error. Not only does this mean less time used to correct mixing mistakes, it also means that the

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The tinter bottles can be loaded in any sequence because MoonWalk uses a PaintManager XI displays the selected colour formulation The operator loads the necessary tinters, etc onto one of the 13 slots on the dispensing rack

possibility of an inaccurate mix and, hence, a rework is minimised. Any labour time that would have been spent correcting reworks can then be spent on live jobs which helps to improve productivity and profitability.

Taking into account the many different ways that MoonWalk contributes to shop productivity, it has been calculated that it can begin providing a return on investment in less than 12 months, depending on the size of the collision centre!

Setting a new standard • • • • •

Robust, low maintenance and easy to use Maximises colour accuracy Minimises waste Frees up time for painters R Short time for return on investment

bottle scanning system to verify each tinter before dispensing

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MoonWalk selects each of the required tinters and automatically dispenses the correct amount from each one MoonWalk communicates results to PaintManager XI

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With a mix of affordable, competitive racing and a range of hot brands that fans can easily relate to, TCR is one of the fastest growing motorsport categories on the planet.

Although there is plenty of scope to finetune a TCR car, the fact everyone started the season from scratch, with limited opportunities to get to know the cars, meant a steep learning curve, according to Tony.

“Both the team and myself made some mistakes, especially early on, but we learnt a lot. For instance, some of the setup philosophies on how to get the most out of the cars are almost opposite to setting up a rear-wheel-drive car. One example where we were caught out is with the sway bars that are used to control the roll of the car when

Leading from the front I

n a region brought up on over half a century of rear-wheel-drive, V8 powered touring cars, the launch of the TCR (Touring Car Racing) series has introduced a totally different formula but one which also manages to deliver edge-of-the-seat action.

The inaugural Australian season (TCR New Zealand is set to debut in 2020) saw a mix of young guns, more experienced drivers and the odd international, battling it out over seven rounds. While rising star, Will Brown, was the runaway championship winner, PPG-sponsored Tony D’Alberto put together a solid season to wrap up an impressive second place in his Honda Civic Type R, prepared by Wall Racing.

Indeed, it was an interesting

year for Tony. He says that switching between duties as an endurance driver for DJR Team Penske and the fledgling TCR series actually took him out of his comfort zone and helped expand his driving skills.

“I had only really driven rear-wheel-drive cars so the TCR cars being front-wheeldrive is the obvious point of difference for me. On top of that, you are sitting on the left-hand side and changing gears with paddle shifters. TCR cars are quite challenging to handle because braking, cornering and accelerating is all done through the front axle and the rear tyres basically just come along for the ride.

This makes it very difficult to get temperature, and hence grip, into those rear tyres. That is why in those first couple of laps, when we are all jostling for position and you have no rear grip at all, you see drivers making errors and even going off the track. It makes it exciting from the outside but probably not so much from the driver’s seat!”

cornering. Softening the rear sway bar in a rear-wheel-drive car generally gives more grip, whereas in a front-wheel-drive car it actually gives less grip. What we needed to do was build our toolbox of adjustments that we can be confident will take the car in the right direction at a race meeting.

That is not easy to do with only a couple of 20-minute practice sessions before going into qualifying.”

Thirteen different brands have been homologated to race in TCR. Each is based on a four or five door production car with a two-litre turbocharged engine (think Golf GTI, Hyundai i30 N, Alfa Romeo Giulietta,

PPG MOTORSPORT 9

Renault Megane, etc). In order to deliver close racing, TCR uses a ‘Balance of Performance’ system which takes into account the relative performance of each vehicle brand and then makes regular adjustments to factors such as turbo boost and weight. Natural variations can also be seen on the race track, Tony explains.

“Different brands have different strengths and weaknesses. You might have a car which is a little bit quicker in a straight line but is not quite as good as another brand under brakes or through corners.

For example, our Honda Civic Type R is probably one of the best for handling and braking but it’s not quite as quick in a straight line. It can get frustrating at times but it makes for great racing.

There is no doubt I have been out of my comfort zone trying to learn a new

car in a new category but, for me personally, it has helped me sharpen my race craft.

Because TCR is sprint racing, it’s fierce and you have to get into it quickly so it’s a totally different mindset than endurance driving.”

Honda has an incredible racing pedigree, says Tony, and he and Wall Racing were rapt to be strong contenders this year.

“We were not always the quickest car but we were in the mix all the time.

The Honda Civic Type R is obviously a very good product but it’s a real credit to Wall Racing that we didn’t have one mechanical failure

all year. There are a lot of good drivers in TCR and to finish runner-up was a really good reward. There is no doubt TCR has provided a really exciting first season of racing and for 2020 it’s looking even better with seven rounds, as well as races at the Australian Grand Prix and Bathurst!”

Tony D'Alberto has recommitted to the TCR series for 2020 which will once again see him behind the wheel of a Honda Civic Type R, prepared by Wall Racing. R

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FEATURE PANEL SHOP REFINISHER

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BEYOND 2000 AUTO CARE

Opportunity of a lifetime After fleeing Vietnam, David Nguyen has seized every opportunity to create a strong and enduring business model and a better life for his family.

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reedom is the simple reason David Nguyen puts forward for why he made the fateful and hazardous decision to escape his home in Ho Chi Minh City (commonly known as Saigon), Vietnam, in 1981. The Vietnam war had finished in 1975 when the North Vietnamese forces overwhelmed his southern homeland and the 23-year-old no longer felt he had the freedom to live his life as he wished.

Today, having reached the milestone of 60 years of age, David is proud of what freedom has allowed him to achieve, including his 21-year-old business, Beyond 2000 Auto Care, in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine North.

“In my mind, when I left Vietnam, I thought I would go to Germany because of its car industry and work as a mechanic. I did not know anything about Australia but I ended up coming here on a boat and I was lucky – it only took me two months. When I arrived, I could not speak much English and I had no qualifications but I have to say ‘thank you very much’ to Australia because I got a lot of opportunities.”

After initially settling in Melbourne, David later moved to the North Queensland town of Rockhampton for a few years where he not only worked a day job but also studied at night. When he returned to Melbourne, he continued to work and study and was rewarded with qualifications as a spray painter and as a motor mechanic. Twenty-five years ago, he went into

business by opening a small workshop in Richmond before shifting to larger premises in Sunshine North and establishing Beyond 2000 Auto Care in 1999. According to David, the name was chosen very carefully.

“I believe the name is very important for our business. Whether they are young or old, Beyond 2000 Auto Care is a name people can remember and recall easily.”

After growing the business and establishing a strong reputation with customers around the area, David was able to snap up a parcel of land around 500 metres further along the same road where he built and opened a brand new workshop in early 2019. Having gone through the experience of being an owner builder for his family home 16 years ago, he took the same control of the new workshop build.

“What is important is the structure of the building that has a good image

FEATURE PANEL SHOP 11

and is a good way for customers to know where we are and what we do. At the same time, we had all new equipment, spray booth, prep bay, hoists, pulling equipment, etc. and a design that made sure everything could flow smoothly through the workshop, as well as being able to get in and out easily and having plenty of parking and office space. We did not stop the business for even a single day when we transitioned. Because the two sites are close to each other, we could move things more easily so we ran the two together until it was all done.”

David owns both premises and, although the new facility represented a sizeable investment, he was not fazed by it.

“The investment was not scary. I work hard to understand the business side and I knew we have had a good name in this area for 20 years.

I didn’t really think of it as an investment – I did it because I enjoy this job and this gives me the opportunity to keep working in a nice new workshop.”

As a long term PPG customer, Beyond 2000 Auto Care had been using PPG’s DELTRON® Refinish System but David had been looking to update to the best

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FEATURE PANEL SHOP REFINISHER

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BEYOND 2000 AUTO CARE

waterborne technology for some time.

“One of the good things about moving to the new workshop is that we also switched to PPG waterborne with ENVIROBASE® High Performance – I love it!

We needed the booth to be set up with air blowers and things like that so it made sense to make the switch when we moved to the new shop.

One of the PPG trainers spent about a week here training us and we have had no problems at all since then. Because I am a spray painter, I understand the process and I find that PPG products save us a lot of time. For the business, it has been a very good move.”

Currently 13 staff are employed at Beyond 2000 Auto Care, with David as Director. Most of the qualified staff are long term, while David has also been a long term supporter of apprentices. He says he has trained a lot of apprentices over the years and currently employs four. When he finally retires, David hopes one of these young people will take over from him. One point of difference to most collision centres is that Beyond 2000 Auto Care also benefits from having a mechanical section.

“The business has had mechanical from the start. As

well as servicing and repairs, we also do tyres and air-conditioning so it makes us a one-stop shop.

About 30% of our work is mechanical.

For smash repairs, having the mechanic onsite means we do not have to send jobs out for a sublet.

They can help with suspension, wheel alignment, air-conditioning and any work that needs doing underneath the car. The panel beaters and the mechanic work together and that makes the whole repair process smoother. I think we also save a lot of cost overall.”

In thanks for all the opportunities he has received, David has been particularly keen to help out local community organisation, such as the nearby Western Health hospital, wherever he can. One of the more unusual tasks was to rejuvenate an enormous statue of Buddha.

S H O P FA C T S Beyond 2000 Auto Care Owners: David Nguyen Staff: 13 PPG Product: Envirobase High Performance Territory Manager: Mario Zitko

“ONE OF THE GOOD THINGS ABOUT MOVING TO THE NEW WORKSHOP IS THAT WE ALSO SWITCHED TO PPG WATERBORNE WITH ENVIROBASE® HIGH PERFORMANCE – I LOVE IT!"

“It was a big fibreglass Buddha from the local Quang Minh temple which we repaired, prepared and painted. It’s a replica of a real Buddha and I was able to match it exactly in PPG paint with a finish that is like waves in a jade coloured gemstone. When we moved it back to the temple, the temple master could not believe how good it was.”

David still has five younger sisters and brothers in Vietnam and, when he arrived in Australia, much of the money he earned was sent back to support them. In 1993, he returned to visit his family for the first time and has been back several times since.

Every time he goes, he checks out the local smash repair industry. While it is slowly improving, he says it’s hamstrung by a lack of good training to ensure things are being done the right way. Although David knows retirement will come one day, he does not want to think about it just yet.

“My health is good and my life is very smooth – I don’t know why!

This business is not really about the money. At the end of the day, I’ve found that I love seeing the end product on every single job and making our customers happy. I am still hands-on in the workshop every day and I keep R working because I enjoy the job!”

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Lens Cornea

Retina Inner retina

Rods

Outer retina

Pupil Iris

Cones Optic nerve

Seeing is perceiving Colour is colour but how each of us physically see and process it with our visual senses, is determined by a range of factors.

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n evolutionary terms, the human ability to interpret colour was never about colour matching a vehicle. However, while it’s likely to be about our ancestors identifying ripe fruit to eat or picking out potential predators or threats, the ability to see colour provides modern humans with good colour matching sensors. Although we look at objects with our eyes, seeing colour is something that actually happens in the mind.

It tends to be governed by three main factors – the surface of the object, the illumination of that surface and how the observer’s brain perceives the stimulus from the eye.

The eyes have it Within the eye, the human retina contains two types of photoreceptors – rods and cones. Rods are responsible for vision at low light levels but not colour vision. Cones come into play as light level

increases and are capable of interpreting different colours. There are three types of cones which handle incoming light in different wavelengths – short, medium and long. White light, including sunlight, consists of all the wavelengths of the rainbow. When white light hits an object, it absorbs some of those wavelengths, depending on the colour it is. Therefore, humans actually perceive an object’s colour by the light that is not absorbed but is reflected off surface.

Surface and light While a plain flat surface with a solid colour is straightforward, once you change the shape of an object or how rough, smooth or shiny the surface is, it will affect the colour we perceive it to be. Illumination,

or the type of lighting hitting that object, also plays a crucial role. Think of a car that looks black when indoors but bursts into colour in sunlight. Indeed, you can have two identical objects coated with exactly the same colour but when the surface texture or light on one object is varied, one colour will tend to be perceived differently to the other.

All in the mind When you think about it, perceiving colour is a fiendishly complex process. All the visual information reflected from a surface is picked up by the cones in the eye, in the form of wavelengths of light. Those visual stimuli are then transmitted to the brain’s visual cortex where they are decoded and we ‘see’ the colour. Although the ability to see colour tends to vary slightly from person to person, human evolution has given us the incredible capability to decode and see literally millions of different colours and pick subtle variations between them. R

SEM REFINISHER

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Dual-Mix seals ™

Market-shifting, two-pack seam sealing technology, from SEM Products, is here to provide repairers with all-new opportunities to reduce cycle-time and increase productivity.

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raditional 1K seam sealers are certainly capable of doing an acceptable job but they also come with a downside that puts a serious dent in repair cycle-time. Depending on the ambient temperature, 1K seam sealers can take as long as 24 hours to fully cure and moving the job beforehand can negatively affect that seal. However, what if you could use a seam sealer which cures in only a matter of minutes and, therefore, allows you to get on with the repair job without holdups?

Welcome to SEM Products innovative, Dual-Mix™ 2K Seam Sealers!

A new headspace Launching SEM Products’ high-tech selection of Dual-Mix™ 2K Seam Sealers on the local market gives repairers unprecedented opportunities.

However, taking advantage will take a shift in thinking, says Kurt Way, PPG Category Manager, Associated Products.

“Over time, repairers have been forced to make allowances in the repair process for the time it takes for conventional seam sealers to dry. Often, this means that the job has to sit around, taking up workshop space and putting repair cycle-time on hold. It’s also about touch-time. It has been proven that the most efficient way to do the job is for the technician to continue working on it until it’s finished – not having to switch to another job while the seam sealer dries.

Dual-Mix™ 2K Seam Sealers are about breaking out of the ‘this-is-the-way-wehave-always-done-it’ mould through their super quick drying, two pack technology.”

“The beauty is that you can use SEM Products’ 2K technology in the same places and in the same way as you would with the company’s 1K seam sealers – so there is no mind-shift required there. However, the technician can then continue on with the job, to complete it more quickly and get it out the door and back to the customer.

That is going to make customers and work providers very happy! We have done extensive local testing and found that after just 10 minutes, the Dual-Mix™ 2K Seam Sealers are fully cured to the point where, if you wanted to remove it from the panel, you have to cut it off!”

Flexibility as well as speed Traditionally, seam sealing has been done by the panel beater but Dual-Mix™ 2K Seam Sealers now give more options for when and who does the seam sealing during the repair process.

“We are seeing a shift where painters are taking control of the seam sealing as part of the overall job of mimicking the OEM finish.

It can be done in the paint shop or panel shop. For example, once the panel beater has finished welding in a new part, the painter could potentially go in, clean up the welds, feather-edge, seam seal it (because it can go onto bare metal), apply the aerosol etch primer and maybe dust it lightly with topcoat colour and it’s done. The point is, you are now free to choose the method that works best for your business.”

Colours, finishes and applicators to mimic factory appearance The seam sealing process is a crucial repair step. It’s not just about restoring a quality, functional seal wherever it’s needed.

It’s also about reproducing the original OEM factory appearance because, if evidence of the repair is detectable, it has the potential to devalue the customer’s vehicle. As a result, SEM Products has put a lot time and research into creating a

SEM 15

the deal Dual-Mix™ Self Levelling Seam Sealer variety of different applicators, nozzles and accessories to make it easy for technicians to get the look just right so that the repair is, essentially, invisible.

Because OEM sealer finishes can be varied, so is the range of Dual-Mix™ 2K Seam Sealers. This includes a number of sealer colours designed to match OEM colours, as well as options including a heavy bodied version, a self-levelling type and a high-build self-levelling variety. No matter which one you choose, you get the same user-friendly characteristics, speed and OEM mimicking performance!

Dual-Mix™ Seam Sealer (grey or beige) • Fast cure reduces process time • Direct to metal • Sprayable for added versatility • Non sag formulation duplicates OEM sealers • Paintable immediately • Will not shrink, harden or crack

Dual-Mix™ Heavy Bodied Seam Sealer (black, white, grey or beige) • Excellent adhesion direct to metal and multiple surfaces • Holds tooling marks throughout the working time • Non sag • Paintable immediately • Remains flexible without shrinking or cracking

• Ideal for use on drip rails, roof and boot seams • Direct to metal on nonflexing roof skins • Excellent self-levelling properties • Flows nicely into crevices • Paintable in just 15 minutes • Remains permanently flexible and will not shrink, harden or crack

Dual-Mix™ High-Build Self Levelling Seam Sealer • A controlled flow epoxy which is perfect for roof seams, drip rails and boot seams

• Direct to metal on non-flexing roof skins • Paintable in just 15 minutes • Remains permanently flexible and will R not shrink, harden or crack.

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FEATURE STORY REFINISHER

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Modern P

If a 1935 Chevrolet Coupe were to roll off the production line today, chances are this is what it would look and drive like.

classic

eter Fitzpatrick knows a cool car when he sees one.

Even in its dilapidated original condition and showing every one of its 80-odd years of life, he could see serious potential in this early model Chevy. In fact, it turned out to be a very rare 1935 Chevrolet Sportsman’s (or Businessman’s) Coupe. Not only one of just 3000 made with three-windows and suicide doors, Peter says it’s actually one of just 17 built in right-hand drive from the factory! It’s owned by Kees Weel (co-founder of PWR Performance Products with his son, Paul) and was tucked away in Kees’ workshop when Peter first spotted it.

“I thought it was a pretty cool looking car.

I was trying to work out exactly what it was while I was thinking it would look pretty great with an

FEATURE STORY 17

LS under the bonnet, painted black and dumped on the ground with a set of Centre Lines.”

After trying and failing to buy the unique machine, the multi-time Summernats Grand Champion was rewarded with the next best thing.

“Kees asked me if I wanted to build the ’35 Chev for him.

My first question was, did I have access to PWR’s five-axis CNC machines and he said yes which meant that the quality goal posts shifted up a bit. Kees said he didn’t want to ‘hot rod’ it or ‘bling it up’. I would describe it as a reinterpretation where we modernised the entire car without making it look modern. From there, he basically left it to me, although I ran everything by him.

Other than regular pictures, I think he only saw it twice over the five-year build. It has ended up being something super special!”

Once nestled in Peter’s Canberra workshop, one key task was to slot in a thoroughly modern drivetrain sourced from a wrecked late model C6 Corvette, including front and rear suspension, 6.0 litre LS2 V8 and automatic transmission.

Despite this, he has gone to great lengths to give it a period look.

Although the LS2 keeps its fuel injection, it features a hi-rise manifold made to look like it’s fitted with old-school Rochester carburettors, as well as early model rocker covers and an old-style oil filler tube in the middle of the valley. After deburring the entire drivetrain, it was capped off with a period-type PPG grey paint finish - think Holden grey motor or Massey Ferguson tractor. The chassis was also finished in PPG satin black powdercoat.

Not surprisingly in a car this age, rust reared its ugly head.

Virtually the entire floor, from the firewall back, was replaced and a large proportion of the car was remade by hand, either in steel or aluminium. At the same time, Peter got to tinker with the classic lines and stance so it fitted snuggly to the Corvette’s on-road footprint.

“We chopped the roof by 50mm but I didn’t want to change the shape too much. Overall, it looks way fatter and way lower – side-on, it sits about 10 inches lower than a standard car. We removed the original dicky seat and streamlined the shape with a new boot and boot opening and new beaver panels. Other than that, we got rid of the quarter window so it has one big side window. The Corvette has a wide track so we had to fabricate four new mudguards from aluminium, as well as the bonnet, side skirts and running boards. One of the biggest challenges was getting all the body panels straight and with much tighter panel gaps than anything from that era. For example, the door gaps are as perfect as we could get them at about 5mm all the way around.”

One of the highlights of the entire job was the ability to use PWR’s sophisticated and precise CNC milling machines, complete with support from PWR engineers and, like a kid in a lolly shop, Peter went wild. While made to original specifications, the stunning grille has actually been produced from billet aluminium, complete with Chevrolet badge, and took almost 70 hours of machining. Look closely and there are exquisite pieces of billet eye candy scattered all over this car. The headlights and tail lights

REFINISHER

FEATURE STORY REFINISHER

18

are billet, as are the wheels and hubcaps which are copies of the originals. Touches can even be found inside where the steering wheel is an exact replica reproduced from billet aluminium with a painted outer rim. “It’s a very cool service that not everyone has at their disposal when building a car”, said Peter.

The interior is just as elegant. Apart from a few mod cons hidden away from sight – air conditioning, a Bluetooth equipped audio system and power windows – the rest is true to era. It features a bench seat sculptured for support and comfort and luxuriously appointed in high end distressed leather. For an extra touch of class, Peter engaged a furniture maker to hand-craft an American Oak timber dash and door tops. The minimalist dash houses a speedo and four old-school gauges, along with ignition, headlight and wiper switches.

When it came to choosing paintwork to match the fine detailing, Peter was adamant it would be PPG. “I contacted Tony Naughton (PPG NSW Business Development Manager) and said I want to do this ’35 Chev in PPG and he was able to help us from the start of the project to the end. Paint is the first thing you see and, if it’s not something special, people will keep walking. It’s where you create a bit of difference to others by starting with great products and going the extra mile to make sure the paint looks deep and wet.”

“After deciding on a colour scheme of blue with black guards, I asked Tony Naughton and Trevor Duke (PPG NSW Training Manager) to mix some samples. We didn’t want it too blingy so the blue ended up being a straight tinter with just a touch of white. It’s actually fairly transparent

so we put a coat of black over the whole car first, as a groundcoat, and then applied five coats of blue over the top. Photos don’t do it justice – when you see it in real life you can really look through it so it has amazing depth.

When the sun hits it, it’s a real vibrant blue. It’s beautiful!”

For the interior, Tony also formulated a caramel type colour that is period correct and is a nice match to the leather tone.

The crucial task of taking the car from metal work to clearcoat was entrusted to the highly experienced Trevor Davis, from Trevor Davis Auto Refinishers in Dandenong, Victoria. Even up against the incredibly tight deadline, Trevor says the full suite of PPG products performed flawlessly.

“I got a great canvas to deal with but it was a massive amount of work to do in the shortest of timeframes. It meant asking the PPG products to perform at their best under real pressure but I followed all the instructions Tony (Naughton) gave me and they worked perfectly. I used two products on bare substrates – PPG Epoxy Urethane Primer which is an easy sanding epoxy and Epotec Primer Surfacer (from the Commercial Performance Coatings range).

It keys well to metal, has a good build and is solvent and moisture resistant so it leaves an impervious barrier on the metal. This was also my first experience of working with PPG’s

FEATURE STORY 19

new VIBRANCE COLLECTION® range of primers and clearcoat and they worked like textbook. In particular, VCC 580 Custom Clear was just magic. Straight away, it was like an old friend – it was easy to use, it flowed nicely and has a beautiful rich gloss.”

As the project came together, Peter and Kees began to realise the car was on track to be something very special when it was complete. With the exceptional quality of the build and the extreme rarity of the vehicle, combined with Peter’s ability to effectively blur the lines between age old style and bang up-to-date steering, suspension and performance, the pair’s thoughts turned to where it would be officially unveiled and that got them dreaming … and they dreamed big! Not only did it see this iconic ’35 Chevy become the first Australian built car to debut at SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) it was also the first to be entered into the incredibly prestigious ‘Battle of the Builders’ competition. Although it didn’t win the ultimate prize, it did cause quite a stir at SEMA (see right) and that made all the effort worthwhile, according to Peter Fitzpatrick.

Images courtesy of Street Machine magazine, www.whichcar.com.au/streetmachine

“I am really grateful that Kees trusted me to build this car for him and even more grateful that he shipped it to SEMA and entered it in Battle of the Builders. I was absolutely pumped with the way it was received. This ’35 Chevy is just so different. It’s not a hot rod, it’s not a street machine – it’s like a late model classic car that just looks really classy!”

Designer’s Choice Amongst all the accolades at SEMA, one of the most coveted is the Chevrolet Designer’s Choice award and, this year, it went to the gorgeous ’35 Chev built by Peter Fitzpatrick and painted in PPG. “Getting presented with the award by five of the top guys in Chevrolet Design was pretty awesome. Apparently, even the head of Chevrolet loved the car! Although the Chevrolet guys knew about this particular spec of car, it’s so rare they had never seen one in real life.

As the builder, the award came to me and it’s a very cool, billet copy of the shape of the new Corvette – it weighs about five kilos!

R It’s now sitting on my coffee table at home!”.

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TALKING TRAINING REFINISHER

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Clean between The secret to efficient polishing and avoiding reworks can be as simple as incorporating some straightforward steps and techniques into your shop process.

A

lthough it’s a typical part of a refinish repair, it’s a sad fact that the polishing process is something that collision centres generally don’t get paid for. This makes it a priority to ensure it’s as efficient and effective as possible, according to John Hristias, PPG Business Support Manager Asia / Pacific. While he has lots of best-practice tips and techniques up his sleeve, if John had to pick just one to make a significant impact, it would be as simple as taking a moment to clean between buffing stages.

TALKING TRAINING 21

The need to clean We have all seen it happen before – a nice, shiny, refinish job goes back to its owner but then returns for a rework a short time later because the de-nib or swirl marks that were supposed to have been polished out, have reappeared. The reason is because they were not correctly polished out in the first place and the typical cause is that the detailer could not see them. It’s a common mistake but it’s an easy one to fix, no matter what polish system is being used. All it takes is adding the simple step of cleaning the surface with a 50:50 water methylated spirits solution after each polishing stage.

For example, before moving from a lambs wool pad to a foam pad and so on. A super convenient option to do this is PPG’s SWX250 WaterMethylated Spirits Cleaner which comes accurately pre-mixed and ready to go.

The reason for cleaning the surface with water-metho is to remove any built up of polish compound so the operator can clearly see if the fine scratches have been removed.

During the polishing process, compound can be forced into the scratches where it dries.

Unless it’s removed, it can appear as if the scratches have been removed when, in fact, they have not. The only step where you don’t need to clean is when you are confident that all the scratches are removed and the final protective layer, such as MIRKA Polarshine 5 or Liquid Nano Wax, is being applied.

Don’t overload Often, the need to clean between steps stems from one of the biggest polishing mistakes I see – overloading the polishing pad with compound. People might think ‘more is better’ but it actually works against what they are trying to achieve because pads are designed to work best with minimal compound. Rather than helping to polish out the scratches, the excessive compound just builds up across the face of the pad, stops the cutting action and clogs the surface. Instead, apply just a small amount of compound to the pad and use

it to polish until there is none left before adding any more. Try to get used to the feel of the particular polish compound you are using – I call it the ‘glide’ of the product.

How freely the pad glides, will give you a good indication of when it requires more compound.

Over time, buff pads can get caked with compound. To avoid this, get into the habit of washing all of the buff pads in warm water at the end of each week, then leave them to dry over the weekend so they are clean and ready go for the next working week.

Ghosting, swirls and holograms To help effectively tackle them, it’s important to understand the ghosting, swirls and holograms you are trying to remove with the polishing process. For example, ‘ghosting’ typically occurs at a de-nib spot. It’s called ghosting because the outline around the outside of a de-nib spot gets highlighted.

For this reason, it’s important to have as little impact as possible on the surface when removing a dust nib. To keep the job area small and reduce polishing time, de-nibbing with something like a MIRKA Polarstar SR 32mm disc makes it easy to focus on the tiny spot to be removed. Swirls or holograms are superfine scratch patterns typically

caused by the combination of pads and equipment being used. In both cases, they create an appearance that is different to the panel surface around them which is why they standout.

Work to a best-practice process Full step-by-step polishing instructions are available via a handy PPG Paint Rectification Process chart. Ask your PPG Territory Manager for a copy – it’s a perfect reference guide to have on your workshop wall. R

Tips and techniques

• Invest in a good quality, variable speed polisher • Look at each job and consider the best approach – polishing is not one-size-fits-all • Use minimal compound and don't overload pads • Clean in between each polishing stage with a 50:50 water methylated spirits solution so you can see whether swirls have been removed • Set the polisher to a slow speed. Higher speeds flick the compound off and make a mess – it can also overheat and impact the substrate below • Wash pads regularly to maintain their cutting performance

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PPG IN ACTION REFINISHER

22

s r e e r track Caon Thanks to its motorsport program, the University of Canterbury is giving budding engineers invaluable experience and the opportunity for a little cross-Tasman rivalry.

C

ompleting an engineering degree can set the groundwork for a career in motorsport but the Formula SAE program goes a significant step further.

Run by the Society of Automotive Engineers, it’s a high-tech competition where university teams design, build and compete in ‘Formula-style’ single-seat racing cars.

This competitive environment is perfect for honing valuable skills for the future which is why the University of Canterbury, in Christchurch, New Zealand, introduced its motorsport program in 2013.

For 2019 it attracted another passionate group of students hellbent on taking it up

to the 26 other universities from Australia, Japan, India, Pakistan and New Zealand at the Formula SAE – Australasia (FSAE-A), held in Australia in December 2019.

Growing up in a family keen on motorsport made it a no-brainer for mechanical engineering student, Paige Cuthbert, who took on the key role of Team Principle for University of Canterbury Motorsport’s (UCM) latest campaign.

“I joined UCM because I was interested in motorsport and I saw it as a great opportunity to apply skills you learn at university, while also

Photos: Ben Karalus

gaining others you can’t necessarily learn in lectures. It's also really fun to be part of a team of likeminded people working together to build a race car, learn new skills and compete in FSAE-A.” Students need to fit UCM tasks around their regular studies but in your final year of study UCM can count as an honours project where they get credit towards their degree.

It seems the project might also be helping break down gender barriers, says Paige.

“I have never really felt like I have been treated any different to the male members and I think a part of that is having such a great group of people in the team. It’s really great to see more and more women taking an interest in engineering and motorsport.

For example, at this year’s FSAE-A competition, three of the team leaders were female, including myself, which was cool to be a part of.”

According to Paige, one of the strengths of the FSAE-A competition is that there are so many different ways to approach the design. This leads to a wide variety of solutions being applied to different aspects of the cars which is not something seen in most motorsport categories. Each year, the incoming UCM team starts with a clean sheet which allows creative juices to run wild, explains Paige.

“Although we keep some things the same or similar, particularly on the electrical side, we build a new car from the ground up every year so there is plenty of room for innovation. Notable changes for UCM19 include the move to air shocks, a gearbox redesign and the addition of an undertray to the aerodynamics package, as well as changes to the materials used in our chassis. Given our team was focused on finishing our car to a high standard, I think the paint finish was something that took it to the next level and really made it stand out. For that, we were very grateful for support from PPG and the Rolleston branch of Rosiez Collision Repairs, here in Christchurch.”

Local PPG Territory Manager, Stefan Durham, provided products, along with step-by-step processes and technical advice for effectively

PPG IN ACTION 23

dealing with the carbon fibre construction, as well as hands on support. A variety of premium products were used, including LVP-219 EnviroPRIME™, EnviroLOCK™ primer, ENVIROBASE® High Performance waterborne basecoat and VIBRANCE COLLECTION® finishes. The custom threelayer red colour was certainly an attention grabber, says Paige.

“The team was incredibly happy with how good the paint looked. It was also really cool to get so many compliments at FSAE-A. A lot of people said it was their favourite car!”

The eye-catching colour was the ideal finishing touch as the team headed for the 20th annual FSAE-A competition, held at Winton Motor Raceway in north-east Victoria.

These day’s there are classes for electric vehicles (EVs), as well as the traditional internal combustion engine cars, with UCM choosing to compete in the EV class.

“It's a really great experience where you get to meet so many new people and show off all your hard work from the year.

Even though we are competing against each other, everyone is very supportive and encouraging – you all just want to see everyone do their best. It's also a great source of inspiration for following years.

Seeing how other teams approach the same challenges gives ideas on improvements you can make to your own car, team structure or new approaches to resource management.”

“While we always wish we could have done better, the team was really happy with the results. Taking home five trophies, including third place overall, is a great achievement and something to be very proud of! Since then, the Formula Student world rankings came out and, in the EV category, UCM is ranked 13th out of over 200 teams – a really impressive feat for such a young team with only its third EV.” R

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MVP BUSINESS SOLUTIONS REFINISHER

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Peer Performance Groups, hosted by the MVP Business Solutions team, are offering a potent new way for PPG customers to mix and mingle and share and grow.

M V P – G R E E N B E LT

PEER PERFORMANCE GROUPS

Group therapy O

ne of the keys to the success of the human species is our ability to work together to achieve goals. Whether it’s sporting teams and businesses, through to community cooperatives and even whole countries, it’s all about individuals enhancing their performance by working in a likeminded group. It’s a scenario that the MVP Business Solutions team has used in the past to benefit customers and now it’s introducing an all new group format to help customers collectively drive performance and business success, says Greg Tunks, MVP Business Solutions Manager ANZ.

MVP Peer Performance Groups Due to the changing collision repair industry, we always knew that our MVP Roundtable Groups would have a certain lifespan.

They have been extremely successful at bringing groups of repairers together so they could support each other as they developed and implemented business improvement strategies. However, those groups had

to be non-competing shops and it was quite intense so it was not for everybody.

What the new Peer Performance Groups do is keep the many advantages but do it in a little more relaxed atmosphere.

It’s still made up of a group of PPG collision repair customers from a particular region but it doesn’t matter if they are competing shops or not because we don’t look at the more sensitive financial aspects. There can be multiple groups wherever they are needed across each region and it’s anticipated that we will run meetings three to four times per year for each Peer Performance Group.

While we hope members will participate at every meeting, we understand it’s not always possible so group members will be free to come and go as they please.

Driven by members Although the Peer Performance Groups are presented by the MVP Business Solutions team, it’s up to the members of the individual groups as to what they want to cover at each meeting. In the second half of 2019, the first Peer Performance Group was conducted in Canberra by Cliff Reed

MVP BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 25

(MVP Business Solutions Manager NSW) and it was instantly successful. Not only did it attract multiple repairers from the nation’s capital, they also came from across the entire south east NSW region.

After giving the group a rundown on the full spectrum of MVP Business Solutions support services there are on offer, we actually asked them what they wanted to cover in the group meetings and what they wanted to get out of being a member of the group. It’s important to understand that the MVP Business Solutions team sees itself as the facilitators. We are happy to do the research and provide content which is tailored to each group so they get the exact support they need for their businesses.

From past experience, we also know these groups are the ideal place to network with other repairers and develop innovative solutions. As part of the agenda, everyone in the group will be given the opportunity to share experiences or look to the group for solutions to certain issues. Even if a solution is not found at that meeting, other members and the MVP Business Solutions team can go away and help to find a solution.

Green Belt equals I-CAR Gold points When the first group was asked what content they wanted, the response was unanimous – Green Belt Training.

And why not? Whenever it has been held, the Green Belt Training program has already proven to be a powerful tool for driving business improvements. Another major plus for many repairers is the fact that completed Green Belt Training contributes significant points towards a repairer achieving I-CAR Gold status so it’s an absolute win / win.

The course is held over an intensive two days and covers a wide range of proven business boosting topics, such as implementing 5S methodologies, eliminating waste, X-Ray Repair Planning, leadership and leading change, process design, value stream mapping, etc. Using this highly practical information and strategies, repairers have everything they need to return to their business and start making valuable improvements straightaway.

Best of all, the local MVP Business Solutions manager will follow up with each customer to see how they are progressing along the transformation pathways and what support they need to ensure it becomes a continuous improvement strategy.

Indeed, the enthusiastic response from repairers has seen the MVP Business Solutions team move to schedule a whole series of Green Belt Training sessions throughout the region, open to any PPG customer. Places at each session will be limited to ensure those attending get the maximum benefits, so I would suggest contacting your MVP Business Solutions manager ASAP to lock in your seat and avoid missing out. For further information on Green Belt contact the team at R mvp.anz@ppg.com.

2020 Green Belt Training calendar • • • • • • • • • • • •

March 25th May 5th June 2nd June 16th June 24th August 5th August 12th September 1st September 8th September 22nd October 28th November 10th

Brisbane Melbourne Adelaide Perth Townsville Auckland Christchurch Sydney Melbourne Sunshine Coast Gold Coast Sydney

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PPG PEOPLE REFINISHER

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PPG Staff Profile

Helen Aird W

hen it comes to training and business experience, Helen brought a very impressive resume to her PPG role.

After completing a Batchelor of Arts and postgraduate degree in Workplace Education, she has worked in a wide range of industries, including travel and tourism, telemarketing, collision repair consulting and writing courses for mortgage broking. After initially working with PPG BusinessManager software implementations, a year later Helen moved to her current role where she has not looked back.

MVP Business Solutions Manager NZ

Favourite hobbies /pastimes?

I enjoy taking photographs Favourite food?

Sharing Thai food with friends Favourite drink?

A Central Otago Pinot Noir Favourite music / band?

I really enjoy different types of live music Favourite car / motorcycle?

Tesla Roadster Favourite holiday destination?

Scotland to visit family

“Originally, I came across from Melbourne for one year but I love this role and it has been ten years now! During that time, I have had the opportunity to work with some wonderful collision repair people and businesses and I have built up a terrific customer base. Typically, you are dealing with really good tradespeople who now own / run the business so it’s about helping take their thinking from working on one vehicle, to thinking about the business operations as a whole. To do that I can offer them a wide variety of MVP Business Solutions support services, such as business mentoring, financial monitoring, goal setting, implementing lean practices, process improvement, leadership and personal development, business strategies, etc.”

“In basic terms, business principles are the same as they have been for hundreds of years so the challenge for me is to keep the communication relevant and fresh. That is where the skills I have built up come into play to allow me to research and develop a strategy which gives the most benefit to customers – and it needs to be practical information, not just theory. What I enjoy most about this role is the variety – every day is different because every customer is different!”

CAN YOU MATCH IT WITH THE BEST? REGISTER YOUR INTEREST ONLINE! SCAN THE QR CODE ppgrefinish.com.au/Training/Colour-Matching-Comp

CALLING ALL AUTOMOTIVE SPRAY PAINTING APPRENTICES! Do you have what it takes to be a colour matching champion?

The PPG Colour Matching Competition is on again and you are invited – regional and state competitions start soon.

Test yourself against the best, get bragging rights on your mates and you could win through to represent your state in this year’s national final in Melbourne.

Will it be you this year? Limited spots are available so find out more by speaking to your training provider.

ME ESO TO W A ZES PRI WON! BE

PlayStation 4 + VR Camera + Game Apple Watch Series 5 Ultimate Ears Bluetooth Speaker + Charging Dock

www.ppgrefinish.com.au www.ppgrefinish.co.nz @ppgrefinishanz @PPGANZRefinish

2019 Jarrah Moon WA

“It was a really cool experience. It was good to meet the other contestants from different kinds of workshops. I’m really stoked to place first, I feel like it was a close race”

DYNABRADE REFINISHER

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Targeted

performance Designed specifically for the automotive sector, Dynabrade’s new Nitro Series is all about getting the job done with speed, efficiency and long-lasting durability.

Coming soon to Australia.

O

ver more than 50 years, Dynabrade has built its enviable reputation by developing a variety of tool solutions that are not only capable of efficiently tackling the most difficult and challenging of tasks, they actually make those jobs quicker and easier, thus contributing to overall productivity. Now, for the first time, the legendary American company has created a range of tools with characteristics

that are specially tuned to the needs of the automotive sector, including everyday tasks performed by collision repair and restoration professionals.

New but tried and true Designed by the team at Dynabrade’s Buffalo New York facility, the new Nitro Series is easily recognisable by its classy black and orange colour scheme.

While this is a nice touch, it’s the way they perform that really matters. Crucially, the development team has strictly adhered to tried and true Dynabrade principles.

This means listening closely to customer feedback, watching how people use the tools and then optimising each one to suit the tasks it’s used for.

There is a real pleasure in using a tool that does more than simply get the basic job done. Indeed, Nitro Series tools offer a special feel and capability that makes them extremely satisfying to use, as well as extremely reliable and efficient.

Features include ergonomic designs that feels good in the hand and takes into account how each individual tool is used.

They are super comfortable to hold, with minimal vibration, which makes the tools easy to control and use for extended periods without the risk of fatigue. The Nitro Series also takes advantage of Dynabrade’s outstanding pneumatic motor design which is extremely powerful, yet also air efficient and long lasting. What’s more, should they be required, parts are readily available to recondition the pneumatic motor and keep it performing reliably.

ROI Dynabrade tools, including the Nitro Series, are not cheap but you definitely get what you pay for. For example, when looking at the overall value of Nitro Series tools, one factor that can be overlooked is the contribution they can make to workshop productivity. Because Nitro Series tools have been purpose designed and built for a wide range of everyday tasks, from vehicle strip down and repair through to paint preparation and polishing, they are actually capable of accomplishing tasks more quickly or in a different fashion than traditional methods. Typically, this means saving valuable minutes of labour time which reduces cycle-time and, in turn, this can help maximise profitability.

What’s more, in contrast to the average ‘throwaway’ tool, you will enjoy the efficiency benefits of a Nitro Series tool long into the future.

DYNABRADE 29

quick weld removal, metal bevelling in weld preparation, deburring and deflashing, surface conditioning and paint removal.

Reciprocating Saw This versatile tool is an ideal choice for tasks such as cutting sheet metal, piping and plastic panels. Straight, accurate cuts are easily achievable thanks to its light weight and easy manoeuvrability.

Mini-Nitro File

Nitro Series range Whether repairing an accident damaged vehicle or restoring or customising a vehicle, you will find a broad selection of tool you can rely on.

NitroZip Surface Conditioning Tool Kit Used with an eraser wheel, it delicately removes adhesive-backed decals without excessive heat build-up, thus keeping painted finishes protected. Fit a wire wheel to quickly remove rust and perform tasks, such as cleaning around rivets.

Straight-line Die Grinder Thanks to its compact, lightweight design and smooth, efficient and powerful air motor, this tool provides plenty of options for body shop technicians to get the job done with speed and accuracy.

Right angle Disc Sander Ergonomically designed, this tool is ideal for a wide range of common tasks, including

Compact design means it’s perfect for getting into hard to reach places.

Because it’s able to use both coated and non-woven abrasives, this tool can effectively tackle a wide range of applications from spot weld and door skin removal, to surface preparation when plastic R welding a bumper.

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PPG CUSTOMERS REFINISHER

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While building his ‘shop ute’, Mick Jones had enormous fun combining the full suite of VIBRANCE COLLECTION® products with all his creative skills to craft something truly unique.

R

un-of-the-mill was never going to cut it when it came to Mick Jones building a shop ute for his business, Dipit Kustoms, in the Brisbane suburb of Geebung. As well as being an ‘everyday driver’ with the ability to cart a modest load, it had to tick a number of important boxes, Mick explains.

“From the moment I started painting, I always wanted a rat rod like this. It also had to be a really cool looking pickup that I could use to take my daughters around before they get too old to want to hang out with dad. At the same time, it’s about showing people the type of paint finishes we can do. As well as cars and bikes, we do custom paintwork on pretty much anything you can think of, including quite a few coffee machines and bathtubs, and this highlights that funky side of the business.”

A mate at Deathwish Hot Rods sourced the ’42 Chev base car and then performed a six-inch chop, along with channelling the chassis so it sits nice and low. In addition, all the panel work has been smoothed out and panel gaps tightened up with the help

of his mate, Travis Cowley.

Because the compact cabin was tight for Mick’s tall frame, suicide doors were fitted and the interior customised by Platinum Trimming to be stylish and comfortable while liberating as much space as possible. Under the bonnet, is an ultra-reliable GM LS1 V8 with an aftermarket cam that creates a nice lumpy idle, along with a ‘chunky’ note from the custom exhaust. The boys at Spot On Performance also took a real beer keg and converted it into a fully operational fuel tank that sits behind the cab.

Given his long-term partnership with PPG, the epic paintwork became a close collaboration been Mick, PPG Queensland Training Manager, Mark Haywood, and a full suite of PPG products.

PPG CUSTOMERS 31

This included ENVIROBASE® High Performance waterborne basecoat and the new Vibrance Collection range which now includes primers and a clearcoat, as well as market leading special effects finishes. After being blasted, the body was given an anti-corrosive coating before VCP 150 Epoxy Urethane Primer was applied, followed by VCP 250 High Build Primer – both from the Vibrance Collection range.

When it came to colour, Mick went into full-on creative mode.

“I have a great, longstanding relationship with Mark Haywood and he gave me some excellent technical advice on dealing with different things on the body. We also talk all the time about different ways to do things and come up with different effects. I always planned to do this sort of aged, rusty and textured look.

I have done different versions before and, each time, I start with a base colour and then add different

paint effect layers over the top. There can be anything from three to seven colours depending on how deep you want it to look.”

“I started off with a layer of PPG solid white over the whole car and then did a layer of (Radiance® II) Candy on the inside of the doors, the door jams, under the bonnet and the chassis. It mimics where you would see unweathered original paintwork. For the rest of the body, I mixed six different colours and began applying layers. People ask how I know what to do but, as a painter, I just trusted that when I walked into the booth and started painting it would all work. First, I applied brown over the white and as soon as I did that I knew where I wanted to go with the whole job.”

As well as taking advantage of MIRKA abrasives and tools throughout the job, Mick also used the one SATAjet X 5500 spray gun from start to finish. Thanks to the unique ability to tune SATA’s latest premium spray gun, it worked perfectly, says Mick.

“I used solid colours, pearls, Candy, Wet-On-Wet, VCC 580 Custom Clear and matt clearcoat and it was all painted with one gun. I just chopped and changed between different versions (I-Nozzle and O-Nozzle) of the SATA X-Nozzle System.

For example, when putting on all the Candy and the colours for the aging look, I found that the I-Nozzle setup gave me more control. I would just mix the different colours in SATA RPS Cups and, literally, switch from one to another. Whereas, when putting a really good coat of clearcoat on, the O-Nozzle setup really worked well.”

It was a real highlight watching it all come together over the three months it took to do the paintwork, says Mick. Although his business is already flat-out, he sees this new shop ute as a real conversation starter.

“Often, people don’t understand the possibilities we can offer.

Using PPG paints, I can match colours or copy the look of pretty much anything. It makes painting R a lot of fun!”

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CT REFINISHER

32

No wasted opportunities Utilising the latest technologies, including PPG paints, Bucher Municipal is producing market-leading solutions for waste collection and street cleaning.

I

t’s a sad fact that modern society produces an enormous amount of waste.

As cities become more densely populated and the suburban sprawl spreads further and further, efficiently collecting waste and transporting it to its disposal point has become a complex challenge. It’s in this highly specialised role that Bucher Municipal has turned challenges into opportunities by developing efficient, industry leading solutions for dealing with waste, including refuse collection, road sweeping and sewer cleaning.

Part of the global technology group, Bucher Industries, the company can actually trace its history all the way back to 1807 when Heinrich Bucher ran a blacksmith's shop in Niederweningen, Switzerland.

Today, Bucher Municipal is very much a global player, however it chooses to manufacture locally via facilities across five continents. This includes Australia, where Melbourne is home to the country’s two main manufacturing sites, says Darrin Pritchard, Operations Manager.

“Our fabrication facility in Scoresby is where raw steel is welded together to create refuse collection bodies.

They are transported a few kilometres to our headquarters, here in Clayton North, where they go through the paint process and assembly. We also have another manufacturing site in Sydney which produces bulk waste equipment, such as the compactors you see at large shopping centres, etc. When it comes to our refuse collection products – front loaders, side loaders and rear loaders – they are all fully designed, engineered, manufactured and assembled in Melbourne. We also aim to purchase all of our parts and materials in Australia.”

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Bucher Municipal arrived in Australia via a 2005 acquisition of MacDonald Johnston Engineering, a company with a strong local reputation that dated back to its family business origins in 1951.

In order to explore growth and expansion opportunities overseas, the company took the step of rebranding to Bucher Municipal in 2014 and today holds the number one overall position in the market. Check out the vehicle collecting the kerbside bins in your neighbourhood – chances are it will carry Bucher Municipal branding.

Another factor that attracts customers to the brand is its consistent ability to develop new technologies and innovations.

For example, Bucher Municipal engineers developed a safety system which will not lower a bin back to the ground when it detects a person nearby. They also managed to trim a 22 metre side loader to 20 metres, thus making it lighter, more fuel efficient and with a better turning circle yet it’s still capable of carrying the same payload. At the moment, the engineering team is also going through an extensive trial and demonstration program to test the feasibility of offering customers full electric models.

Customers are predominantly split between local government shires and councils and the major organisations which are often contracted to do waste collection, such as Cleanaway, Suez and Remondis.

Achieving the company’s market leading status has come via attention to detail and the unmatched ability to cover all the bases, Darrin explains.

“We offer all the different products that go into refuse collection so that makes it easier for customers to come to us for all their needs. Bucher Municipal is positioned as a premium product so what we offer is not based on price – it’s based on productivity and all the added value we build into the product, including long-lasting performance, innovation, maintenance and up-time.

We also have national coverage. That is quite a competitive advantage because it means we have everything in place to maintain the products as part of our overall package. There are sales, service and spare parts centres around the country, as well as satellite centres and 40 service vehicles on the road.”

Another key point of difference is Bucher Municipal’s willingness and ability to meet individual requirements, despite the complex internal challenges that creates.

“Most of our customers tailor their vehicles with different specifications.

If a customer wants to tackle the way they collect refuse in a certain way we will visit, gather information and come up with a solution that provides value to them. It might be to give them a competitive advantage, improved productivity or reduced costs.

It means there is a lot of complexity in the different truck chassis options (customers choose the brand of truck chassis) and equipment configurations and managing this level of customisation

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No wasted opportunities

REFINISHER

is the biggest challenge across our business but it’s also an advantage.

The challenges flow right from the sales person creating the specification for the customer, through to the build process and onto the service person trying to maintain it.”

On the production floor, it has meant implementing a hybrid process.

“From the moment they strike the first weld onto steel we have a standardised production process and that continues through to the post paint process where the body is decked out with the electrics, hydraulics, lighting, decals, etc. At that point, each truck breaks out into a separate bay where the individual customisation work is done. Once that is complete, we bring it back to the common production process zone at the end.”

Despite the complexity of the 11 week build schedule, Bucher Municipal works hard on driving and monitoring productivity and it has been achieving impressive results.

This was also the catalyst for the partnership with PPG which began around two years ago, Darrin explains.

“We didn’t go looking for a new paint supplier – we were looking for ways to improve our paint process. In doing that, we visited other companies and the name

that kept coming up was PPG. We found that, in terms of being more efficient and streamlining our paint processes, there were advantages with switching to PPG. Most of our trucks go into contract for between seven and ten years and the paint needs to be durable enough to be part of that.”

The typical paint process includes PPG P580-2500 Epoxy, 4949 DELFLEET® CT Productive Chassis Primer mixed in a sympathetic colour to the topcoat and Delfleet Evolution 419 Line topcoat. Despite these being workhorses, the paint finish is still a crucial part

of the mix for Bucher Municipal and its customers.

“Look at the finish on one of our new vehicles next to a competitor and it’s completely different – our vehicles have a more premium look. Customers tend to have a lot of pride in their fleet and they know premium paintwork gives a good first impression for their brand.”

Bucher Municipal employs around 350 people Australia-wide and builds around 420 truck mounted machines per year (around 80 are sweepers and the rest are refuse collection models), as well as approximately 200 stationary and transportable compactors. Quite a few side loader refuse collection products are exported to New Zealand, along with a number of sweepers. Exports of compactors and side loaders have even gone to satisfy niche areas of the European market. As the local market continues to diversify and shift, Bucher Municipal is well placed to meet demand and drive innovation.

“We are positive about the future and we want to continue to be a world competitive manufacturer here in Australia. At the moment, we have a strong order book and high production levels and that is a good sign.”

Bucher Municipal seems to have a vice-like grip on the number one position in the local market and there is no plans to R relinquish it.

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