Issuu

THE VOLUME 63 • ISSUE 2 AUGUST 2021

ALSO INSIDE: WE VISIT ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMS

Going

Down Town with PPG INSIDE THIS ISSUE

• SATA trueSun SHINES THROUGH • A COMPLETE PROCESS IN A BOX! • KENWORTH MANUFACTURING MILESTONE

MIRKA Cordless Polishing Kit A complete process in a box!

With all the hi-tech, cordless de-nibbing and polishing tools and accessories packed into a handy carry case, the MIRKA Systainer is all about simplicity, convenience and productivity. Featuring advanced Li-ion batteries, the trio of MIRKA tools deliver powerful performance to use wherever you like. Compact, fast and effective, the MIRKA Systainer is a box full of solutions that save you valuable time on everyday jobs. AVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL MIRKA DISTRIBUTOR PPG Australia McNaughton Road Clayton South, VIC, 3168 13 24 24

PPG New Zealand 5 Vestey Drive Mount Wellington, 1060 0800 320 320

contents AUGUST2021

SCA N TO RE A D T HE REFINISHER ONLINE

63 VOLUME

THE

REFINISHER

ISSUE 2

Editor-In-Chief Paul Galea

Editorial Co-ordinator Kevin Woolerton

News

MoonWalk™ touches down locally

Editor John M Stanley Creative Director Dean Parrott

Get set for PPG’s automatic colour mixing game-changer!

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

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

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.

Mobile plan is a winner The compact, cordless solution to efficient surface rectification

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

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

From the ground up An obsession with chassis and suspension design, paired with hi-tech tools has made Down Town Kustoms efficient and stress free, with an epic end finish. Throw in PPG products and you have the epitome of a 21st Century custom shop.

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

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

As good as gold The dynamic duo making it happen on the Gold Coast

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

Charging into the future PPG coatings helping to drive our future mobility

Highway into the past Maintaining one of the best automotive collections on the planet

NEWS REFINISHER

Kiwis lead return of PPG Colour Matching Competition R

eturning after a COVID-19 enforced break in 2020, the long running PPG Colour Matching Competition is back to give apprentices across the region a platform to focus on this vital skill. In early June 2021, Kiwi apprentices had the distinction of being first to tackle the new ‘COVID-normal’ format, with Australian state / regional competitions following, through to around September 2021. Due to the difficulty of getting finalists together for a grand finale, the winning spray-out card from each state / region is sent to PPG’s Clayton Colour Laboratory where they will be judged to determine who will have the honour of being crowned 2021 PPG Colour Matching Champion and taking home fabulous prizes. Results are set to be announced in around October 2021 and a report is planned for the

next issues of The Refinisher but, in the meantime, you can keep in touch via the PPG Colour Matching R Competition Facebook Group.

4 x ‘World Tools Awards’ for MIRKA I n October 2020, MIRKA’s dedicated power tools division celebrated its 10th birthday. A decade ago, it set about using cutting edge technology and ‘outside-the-square’ thinking to create advanced tools which have not only taken the market by storm, but have also received award winning recognition. In 2021, a panel of expert judges honoured four of MIRKA’s latest power tools with prestigious ‘World Tool Awards’ – MIRKA’s

advanced battery powered tools, the ARP-B 77mm polisher and the AOS-B 33mm de-nibbing tool, along with the MIRKA DEOS (Direct Electric Orbital Sander) and the MIRKA DEROS (Direct Electric Random Orbital Sander). The respected awards really just confirmed what users already know – that MIRKA tools deliver an unmatched mix of functionality, quality, R ergonomics and innovation.

NEWS 5

REFINISHER

DRIVETHROUGH

with Paul Galea

MOONWALK™ snares major tech /innovation award A s it goes about revolutionising the paint mixing experience for repairers across the globe, PPG’s MoonWalk automated paint mixing technology has been recognised with a highly respected tech / innovation award. After being thoroughly evaluated by a panel of 15 judges, MoonWalk was singled out by Bodyshop Magazine, in the UK, to receive the highly prized Technology and Innovation Award. The PPG team was over-the-moon, says Matteo Carraro, PPG MoonWalk Project Manager. “To win the Technology and Innovation Award is an incredibly proud moment for PPG and our team of specialists

who developed MoonWalk. It took the hard work of many research and development engineers, field technicians and pilot customers to create a robust, affordable and self-contained solution that significantly reduces waste, saves productive labour time and transforms mixing rooms into safer and cleaner spaces." For more information, check out the MoonWalk article on page 6.

The Gordon welcomes leading edge technology T

hanks to almost $3 Million from the Victorian Government TAFE Asset Maintenance Program, The Gordon Institute’s Automotive department, at the East Geelong campus, has come in for a major revamp. The high-tech changes are headlined by a new paint mixing room and two purpose-designed spray booths featuring larger cabins offering more

workspace, improved airflow, adjustable hanging rails for painting parts and LED lighting. Importantly, they also include large expanses of glass walls which makes it easy for instructors to conduct live demonstrations as students watch on from outside. To complement the enhancements, PPG has chipped in with the region’s most popular refinish paint choice, the

fter most industries have enjoyed a relatively stable supply chain for many years, we have now been hit with a dramatic ‘sequence gap’ which has thrown supply into chaos. Unfortunately, the automotive repair sector has not escaped these challenges. Whether its vehicle parts, coatings or consumables, supply delays are now evident and this situation is making supply predictability almost impossible. In the coatings industry, a perfect storm of conditions has come together to make this current period one of the most challenging in living memory. As COVID restrictions and lockdowns continue around the world, one of the knock-on effects is that labour shortages have reduced capacity in areas, such as raw material production and supply. This restriction, combined with shipping port congestions and shipping delays, has blown out supply chain lead times significant. As if that wasn’t enough, an unseasonal polar storm in Texas caused many chemical production facilities to shut down for several weeks. When certain chemicals are sometimes produced by just one or two companies around the world, an interruption such as this is devastating. Add to this a shortage of shipping containers and a few untimely chemical supplier fires and you begin to see how demand is significantly outstripping supply. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for their understanding and patients as we work through these supply challenges. It won’t happen overnight but we are working to get back to the service levels you have come to expect as soon as possible.

ENVIROBASE® High Performance waterborne basecoat system, along with a DELTRON® solvent-borne basecoat system, mixing scales and RAPIDMATCH® GO spectrophotometers. Given these upgrades deliver an enhanced, safer and more sustainable learning environment, the real R winners are the students!

DIGITAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE REFINISHER

MoonWalk touches down locally ™

Having swept across Europe, PPG’s exclusive MoonWalk technology is now set to revolutionise the paint mixing experience for local collision repairers.

f PPG’s Digital Customer Experience team has anything to do with it, the collision repair centre of the future will be a very slick, cool and high-tech place to work. Indeed, the revolution has already begun! At a huge international launch event in Madrid, in June 2019, 500 customers scrambled for a view as PPG’s exclusive, automatic colour mixing technology, MoonWalk, was unveiled. Since then, the market reaction has been nothing short of “Amazing!”, according to Matteo Carraro, PPG Equipment Product and Business Development Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). “We had great expectations, knowing we were launching something really innovative but the market enthusiasm for MoonWalk really surprised us. What it confirmed is that we had identified a very deep user need and provided a solution. We like to call it the ‘from pain to gain’ approach. Refinish painters are typically employed to paint so the task of precisely mixing accurate volumes of basecoat can be a real pain, particularly over

a busy day or when tiny amounts of tinter need to be accurately added. MoonWalk takes away that ‘pain’ and replaces it with a ‘gain’ in productivity, reduced wastage and a cleaner paint shop.”

Self-contained, automated, high tech solution Designed to work with the ENVIROBASE® High Performance waterborne basecoat system, MoonWalk’s compact packaging is sized to fit neatly into a typical paint mixing room and contains everything the automatic mixing system needs. This includes a dispensing rack, along with storage for 80 tinters,

a RAPIDMATCH® GO spectrophotometer, a set of ultra-accurate scales, a built-in touch screen computer loaded with PAINTMANAGER® XI and a label printer.

DIGITAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE 7

Despite being high-tech, MoonWalk is simple to operate. After downloading a spectro reading and selecting the appropriate colour formulation, just a single ‘click’ sets MoonWalk in motion to create a ready to spray mix. Not only is every mix incredibly precise, no matter how small the amount of tinter to be added, it’s a set and forget process so it frees up the painter to paint or perform other productive tasks. Despite being hamstrung by the COVID-19 pandemic which also affected the MoonWalk manufacturer, COROB Italy, the ground-breaking technology has taken the market by storm with literally hundreds of units already installed, says Matteo. “From day one we received MoonWalk requests from North Europe to the Middle East and from Central Europe to South Africa. Units have now been installed in more than 28 countries around the globe. All of these customers are attracted by the more efficient paint utilisation, increased productivity and a better mixing room environment. In addition, these

are customers who are looking for constant innovation – they want to keep their repair centre at the top of the technology available in the industry. Some customers have actually installed MoonWalk in their customer waiting room as an innovation flagship!”

Finishline first in line After building a new, state-of-the-art collision repair facility in Adelaide, Finishline Autobody Repairs immediately embraced the MoonWalk concept. Run by brothers, Ray and Les Khabbaz, Finishline recently became the first local repairer to have a unit installed. Ray says it was his project to create a collision repair centre of excellence and MoonWalk was a perfect fit. “The MoonWalk system is ahead of the game which is why we invested. Our paint facility is an ultra-clean area with two spray booths, two prep bays, a paint room and now MoonWalk. The unit has been setup in a high-profile position in the middle of this area, inside a glass enclosure with

sliding doors – it’s the centrepiece of our paint shop! I am very customer-centric and MoonWalk offers a relationship value with our customers, on top of the efficiency and cost value benefits. When customers come to our ‘front of house’, they are already blown away by the experience but we are able to say, ‘this is nothing compared to our workshop’. As part of showing them around, we get them to invest some time to prepare the paint for their job. They feel like they are part of the process of caring for

REFINISHER

DIGITAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE REFINISHER

There is an additional annual charge to cover the five-year warranty and service subscription. So, what should collision repairers do if they are interested in taking advantage of MoonWalk? Given the extended lead time required to ship units from Italy, it’s recommended that you get your expression of interest in as soon as possible. You can do this by contacting your PPG Territory Manager or the PPG Customer Service Hotline on 13 24 24 (Aust) or 0800 320 320 (NZ).

Return-On-Investment

touches down locally their car and this adds value to the scope of our customer experience. When you create an experience that the customer enjoys, then they create a secondary experience by telling other people about Finishline. I think MoonWalk is very impressive technology and an investment in the future that can help guide our staff to stay ahead of the game. You can set it to mix a formulation in the right volume and the painter can walk away and be doing something else. It’s also a much cleaner unit with no spillages that need cleaning up.”

Local touchdown – how to secure your MoonWalk The instant popularity of MoonWalk in the EMEA market and the disruptions to manufacturing due to COVID-19 induced lockdowns in Italy have meant that it has

taken until mid-2021 to begin securing stock of units for the Australian and New Zealand markets. However, the PPG team is now gearing up to showcase this pioneering technology to local collision repairers. MoonWalk units are set to be installed in PPG’s network of training centres which will provide an excellent venue for thoroughly researching what it’s capable of, along with actually seeing it in action.

The purchase price includes: • Sartoris 0.01gm electronic balance • TouchMix Express touch screen computer • PaintManager XI with MoonWalk Support • Avery label printer • Delivery and installation • A spare parts starter kit

MoonWalk is not for every collision repairer. The business needs to utilise the productivity benefits it offers and have enough workflow to make it worthwhile. For those who are keen to take advantage of advanced technology to turn paint shop pain into gain, the MoonWalk Return-On-Investment (ROI) is estimated to be between 1.5 and 2.5 years, depending on the size of the repairer. The MVP Business Solutions team has even developed a special MoonWalk benefit calculator where specific data can be entered to help determine the ROI for an individual repairer. As well as boosting paint shop productivity, MoonWalk also has the ability to reduce waterborne tinter consumption thanks to its incredibly accurate mixes and the fact it doesn’t get tired or make mistakes. Take into account the time it frees up for painters, the colour mixing accuracy and the minimisation of wastage and reworks, not to mention its contribution to paint shop cleanliness, and MoonWalk makes a very persuasive argument. In Europe, a special customer survey form, sent out one year after MoonWalk installation, gave a clear indication of how the new technology was accepted, says Matteo Carraro. “MoonWalk got very high customer satisfaction but the most important point was the answer to the final question – ‘Would you ever go back to manual paint mixing?’ Every single one R said ‘No!’”

Bring the

SATA 9

trueSun indoors TM

The ability to provide a true sunlight source, that remains perfectly consistent across the entire light cone, puts daylight between SATA’s new trueSun LED lamp and the rest!

hen it comes to the process of selecting the best colour option to match a vehicle being refinished, or when checking the accuracy, effects, gloss, distribution, etc. of a colour after it has been applied, the best light source to use is sunlight / daylight. This is because it’s made up of the full spectrum of visible light and our eyes need this level of illumination in order to make the best colour matching decisions. Issues may not be apparent under another light source, in the booth or indoors, but become instantly obvious when viewed in sunlight / daylight. SATA’s new portable, handheld solution, the trueSun LED lamp, is designed to effectively let you bring the power of the sun inside. Indeed, the LED technology in the new trueSun has been developed in conjunction with SATA specifically for the purpose of professional colour matching within a collision repair centre. As well as producing an almost perfect reproduction of the full colour spectrum of sunlight / daylight, this high precision LED lamp has been tuned for an extremely uniform distribution of light across the entire light cone. What’s more, the operator can infinitely adjust the light intensity and it’s not affected by the battery charge level. Even when used on full light intensity, the battery life is approximately 70 minutes and it takes around 50 minutes to charge the battery. A built-in display lets you easily keep track of the remaining charge level and there is an automatic switch off function which helps avoid wasting power when the light is not needed.

Like all SATA products, you get what you pay for with the trueSun LED lamp. It has been precision German engineered to deliver exceptional true daylight performance that can be conveniently used inside the spray booth or anywhere indoors, to reliably and accurately assess colour and finish, as well as detect flaws, such as mottling. These are the moments where a missed identification can easily result in a time consuming and costly rework. Avoiding just a single rework can easily cover the cost of the trueSun which makes it a must-have tool for precise colour matching, no matter where you are.

Features • Near perfect daylight reproduction • Uniform intensity across the entire light cone • Battery life approx. 70 minutes at full light intensity • Light intensity unaffected by battery charge levels • Charges is just 50 minutes • Infinitely adjustable light intensity • Built-in charge level display

The new SATA trueSun LED lamp is coming soon to your SATA distributor.

REFINISHER

FEATURE PANEL SHOP REFINISHER

GOLD COAST COLLISION

Dan Leishman is in his element repairing cars, while wife, Megan, brings sound business nous – it’s a partnership that has taken Gold Coast Collision from strength to strength.

Gold

As good as D

espite admitting it’s not always smooth sailing, Megan Leishman believes she and husband, Dan, make a very good duo, particularly when it comes to running their business, Gold Coast Collision, in bustling Burleigh Heads on Queensland’s Gold Coast. “Dan’s background is fixing cars, not running a business. My background is as a dental nurse and then manager for a dental

practice so I understand about customer service, running a successful business and all the responsibilities that come with that. At times we have different views but, overall, it works. We are here together all day and we have put a lot of effort into creating a point of difference at Gold Coast Collision that keeps customers coming back.” In the early days, it was just Dan. Keen to be his own boss, the then 21-year-old, freshly qualified panel beater, set himself up in a small shed with much of the early workflow coming from caryard jobs. As business steadily grew, he moved

to larger and larger premises and began employing tradespeople. Along the way, Dan also added a spraypainting qualification. It was the arrival of the couple’s first child that helped bring Megan into the day-to-day business during her maternity leave. Eventually, she took on a full-time role and all three of their children have since grown up around the hustle and bustle of their parent’s workplace. “We kept outgrowing workshops quite quickly – from 200m², to 350m², to 400m², to currently 1500m². When we first moved here, we thought it was such a lot of space but we have managed to fill it! As part of that, we looked for other avenues of work, that perhaps others were not doing so much, such as motorhomes and bigger commercial stuff. To make it more efficient, we customised an area in the workshop to tackle unusual jobs and it has worked well, although we perhaps need to reduce it now our work mix has shifted more towards regular collision repairs. Dan taught me to quote and these days I do about 80% of them. Most people seem totally fine with a woman being the face of the business and others love it. When they come in for a quote, I will say ‘I can help you with that’ and when I explain the repair process

FEATURE PANEL SHOP 11

to them, they are somewhat surprised but happy.” With workflow getting busier and busier, workshop layout, processes and procedures became increasingly important in order to retain productivity. It’s here that the couple were pleasantly surprised by the support available from long term paint supplier, PPG. “Because my background is not in the collision repair industry, I didn’t know how other shops do things. We had looked at business coaching but that is basically what we get from Ben Doughty, who was our PPG Territory Manager to begin with and who we still work with as PPG MVP Business Solutions Manager for Queensland. He was such an eye-opener – in the first year of working with Ben I learnt so much and we were blown away that the

MVP Business Solutions support was available just for buying PPG paint. How cool is that! Ben helped us do some benchmarking and then organised a tour for us to see a shop the MVP Business Solutions team had helped to design. It was amazing and Dan and I both picked up so much. Afterwards, Ben did some audits on our shop and gave us action plans to help us work through the improvement steps. Lots of things seem obvious to us now but until someone points them out, you just don’t know these issues are there.” However, around 18 months ago, a number of factors, including some personnel changes at PPG and a new painter joining the Gold Coast Collision team, came together to make them question the relationship.

“We felt immense pressure from the paint team who reckoned we could save money by changing brands. After making the switch we found that the grass was not as green on the other side. Dan did some painting and quickly realised it definitely was not what we thought we were getting. For about four months we preserved before we went back to PPG. As a result, it has actually

REFINISHER

FEATURE PANEL SHOP 12

As good as Gold

REFINISHER

GOLD COAST COLLISION

made our commitment to the partnership even stronger!” Several years ago, Gold Coast Collision’s growing reputation resulted in a phone call out of the blue, Megan explains. “A guy from Tesla rang and said the brand needed to expand its network of authorised repairers and asked if we were interested. About a month later he came up from Melbourne, inspected our shop and set out the requirements. It was a big investment but I talked to a couple of other shops who were doing Tesla work and they said it was well worthwhile. As part of the Tesla program, the entire team, including the painters, had to do manufacturer training which they have now completed. We are now doing plenty of Tesla work so it has paid off. These days, it seems like every car manufacturer has electric vehicles in the pipeline so I think the training puts us that little bit ahead of the game.” The rapid expansion of work has seen a corresponding need for more skilled staff but that has proven to be a real challenge.

“There are 14 of us in total – five in panel, six in paint, two in the office, including me, and Dan jumps in to support the team wherever he is needed. The scariest thing moving forward for this industry is trying to find skilled staff who fit with your ambitions, goals and team culture. We have immersed ourselves in different industry events and training and listened to lots of different people about how to build the best team and keep them motivated, etc. We do a lot of training and the staff have really embraced that. As well as Tesla training, we are I-CAR Gold Class, two of the panel beaters have completed I-CAR structural and aluminium welding and another is being upskilled in air-conditioning so we can look to keep that work in-house. The paint team has also been to the PPG Morningside Training Centre to cover things like Mazda three-layer colours, etc. Building and maintaining the right culture in the business is one of the biggest challenges, going forward.” Despite the rapid growth, the couple are fairly comfortable with how the business is tracking as it moves into the next phase.

S H O P FA C T S Gold Coast Collision Owners: Megan & Dan Leishman Staff: 12 PPG Product: Envirobase High Performance Territory Manager: Adam Hickey

“With work providers onboard, we are really confident with the amount of work we have but we have to make sure we can turn it around and deliver, while not losing the high level of customer service that has helped us build our reputation. When people come to us, I think we turn a bad experience – an accident – into as good an experience as possible. It’s really satisfying when people recognised that we have gone above and beyond to look after them and they appreciate it. Because there are so many repairers here on the Gold Coast, we have to have a point of difference. We would like to think our customer service R is our point of difference!”

SATA 13

The clear clean air solution With increased performance, simplified operation and synchronised maintenance, SATA’s new 500 Filter Series puts clean air between you and booth compressed air issues.

iven it has such a big impact on the performance of your spray equipment and the health and safety of painters, it makes no sense to skimp on your choice of spray booth compressed air filter units. This is particularly true when you consider the cycle-time disruption and cost just one rework can cause. More importantly, technically clean compressed air is especially critical when it’s being supplied to a painter’s air-fed hood to keep them protected during booth paint application. With all this and more, the new SATA 500 Filter Series has been designed to excel.

90 years of experience SATA has been developing leading edge air filtration units since 1931 and its latest creation builds on these 90 years of industry leadership by introducing a variety of handy upgrades and advancements. For example, the stage 1 cyclone separator and sintered filter has come in for a redesign. The result is a constant, uniform airflow which efficiently accelerates any oil or moisture droplets so they are thrown against the side of the filter housing and are removed from the airflow. In addition, an automatic drain means one less maintenance item you need to remember. The other two stages (fine filter and activated charcoal) have also been refined and a new sintered activated charcoal filter cartridge is able to absorb more harmful substances.

Simplified, synchronised maintenance Thanks to the redesign, filter maintenance for all three stages is now every six months. A convenient in-built display clearly shows the time remaining in months until the next filter maintenance. The filters themselves feature an easy three step replacement process and the fine

filter and activated charcoal cartridges fit perfectly simply by being inserted – there is no need for screw fittings or extra seals.

Protecting painters, powering spray guns When it comes to the ability to provide technically pure air for painters to breath, the SATA 500 Filter Series is second to none but it also contributes to spray gun performance. Given that compressed air is the only thing powering your spray gun, the 500 Filter Series holds a large reserve volume of air (compared with cheap filter units). This ensures consistent airflow and avoids issues from pressure drop at the gun, even with multiple painters spraying at the same time. When you consider all this, a SATA 500 Filter Series is a cheap investment in your business. The new SATA 500 Filter Series is available from your SATA distributor. R

REFINISHER

COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE COATINGS REFINISHER

Clickand select

When you need to target which Commercial Performance Coatings products are right for your application, the new Product Selector gives quick and easy 24/7 access.

lthough it’s not necessarily complex, the Commercial Performance Coatings product portfolio is vast. After all, there are product technologies and options capable of providing an effective coatings solution for virtually any application you can think of. In the past, understanding the finer points of these product options typically meant putting in a call to an expert at PPG’s Customer Service

Hotline or dropping into a Paint Powerhouse store or Commercial Performance Coatings distributor. You can still do this but now there is a convenient alternative you can access whenever and wherever you like – the Commercial Performance Coatings ‘Product Selector’.

Information at your fingertips Making the Product Selector freely available online at www.ppgcpc.com.au, instantly provides existing and potential customers with a simple to access solution that is packed with an enormous amount of useful information. It means people are free to do their research at a time and place that suits them and it’s fully compatible with mobile devices, laptops, tablets or PCs. Whether it’s searching for a quick answer about a particular product’s capabilities, exploring the product options to suit a particular application or comparing the characteristics of different products – all of this can

easily be done at your leisure. Best of all, by answering a series of straightforward questions, the Product Selector provides the power to drill down into the Commercial Performance Coatings range and focus in on the product solutions that are best suited to your application.

Explore every available option The idea of the Product Selector is that, each time you use it, it starts out with every single product option in the Commercial Performance Coatings universe open to you. As selections are made at each step, the system automatically eliminates any product options that don’t fit with your requirements. As you progress through subsequent steps the system refines your search more and more until, what you are left with at the end is a product or small selection of products which are the most suitable for your particular application. For example, the first question is about substrate – ‘what are you painting today?’ This includes different types of steel, non-ferrous metals, timber, fibreglass, aluminium, glass splashback, concrete, etc. The following questions are designed to determine additional factors, such as what sort of speed you looking for, what corrosion resistance, the desired appearance, the application method you are looking to use, the paint type (1K, 2K or 2K isocyanate free) and the resistance to chemicals, stone chip and abrasion. At various points, the Product Selector also asks you to choose from a star rating system to determine your requirements for factors such as durability, ease of use and cost. Where the result highlights more than one product option that can be used to successfully tackle the task, the Product Selector will list them with a ‘good’, ‘better’, ‘best’, rating. This makes it easier to choose the product that will do the job and fit within your budget. If you make a mistake or decide to explore different options as you progress through the Product Selector, it’s no problem – simply go back as many steps as you like and change your inputs. As you progress, the process is super quick and visual so the flow of information is very easy to understand – why not give it a try!

COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE COATINGS 15

Waste Bins Cranes

Structural Steel

Built in step-by-step instructions After guiding you to the best product solution for your needs, the Product Selector then backs it up with a wealth of very handy additional information. For example, it provides very detailed step-by-step instructions on everything from how to properly prepare the substrate, through to how long the product requires to cure. What’s more, there are also quick links that take you to the Technical Data Sheet (TDS), Product Data Sheet (PDS) and

Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and all this information can easily be printed out. Alternatively, you can access this detailed information onsite with your mobile device and then follow the step-by-step instructions as you actually do the job.

Locally developed just for you One of the key features of the Product Selector is that it was developed locally, specifically for local users – just like the Commercial Performance Coatings range

which is also manufactured locally. Creating the Product Selector has been made possible by tapping into the incredible experience and knowledge base of the Commercial Performance Coatings technical team, the marketing team and portfolio analysts based at PPG Australia’s Clayton, Melbourne, headquarters. The result is a very simple to use but very powerful tool that is ideal for anyone with almost any application. The Product Selector is available now at the Commercial Performance Coatings website – www.ppgcpc.com.au. R

REFINISHER

FEATURE STORY REFINISHER

From the

ground up

icture a traditional custom shop and it can conjure up images of old-school craftspeople slowly and methodically beavering away with time-honoured tools, such as hammer and dolly, English wheel, swages and bucks, to painstakingly fashion bespoke parts. In contrast, Down Town Kustoms actually thinks of itself as very much a 21st century interpretation, although it has the age-old coachbuilding capabilities, too. At its disposal, Graeme Brewer and his team has a smorgasbord of tech driven tools and processes, including CAD (Computer Aided Design), 3-D modelling and 3-D printing, all aimed at maximising efficiency, along with the quality of the end result. According to Graeme, coming from outside the industry, as an air-conditioning mechanic, actually turned out to be an advantage when starting Down Town Kustoms in December 2007. Without a reference point, he and first employee, Damien Parker, set about establishing the workshop in Taree, on the mid-north coast of NSW, with high tech foundations. “Because neither of us had worked in a custom workshop, we were paranoid about doing things right and it ended up being crazy good. We thought everyone was building cars the way we did but, it turns out, there are just a select few and the proof-is-in-the-pudding.”

Graeme also brought along an obsession with chassis and suspension which he had picked up after getting into the ‘mini truck’ scene at about 17 years old. “When I started Down Town Kustoms I specialised in air bag suspension. A lot of slammed cars are pretty terrible to drive but I figured out a way to keep them low but to drive well at the same time. It has been a massive focus for me and I even took it

FEATURE STORY 17

REFINISHER

Whether it’s a muscle car, street machine or hot rod, the epic builds from Down Town Kustoms feature hi-tech solutions that go hand-in-hand with bespoke craftsmanship.

upon myself to study suspension and chassis design. Today, we design and manufacture all the chassis and suspension components in-house. Creating them in complete assemblies, using CAD, means there is no guesswork involved. On the computer, I can run the suspension through its travel, check there are no clearance issues and check full lock on the steering in either direction. There is even a program that does a driving simulation!” Bringing all these technologies together, along with a skilled crew to utilise them, didn’t happen overnight. The steady build up was capped off by a 2017 workshop renovation which debuted Down Town Kustoms’ new paint department, as well as a partnership with PPG. “We decided it was time to add our own booth and paint area. When it came to a paint system, I did the research and everyone was adamant that PPG is the best. I’m really glad we went with PPG – the products are great and the support we get, particularly from Joal Butcher (PPG Territory Manager) is fantastic.

We use PPG’s Deltron basecoat system, as well as different special finishes from the Vibrance® Collection range when required, and then finish it off with VCC580 Custom Clear. When you see what our painter is able to do using PPG products, the results speak for themselves. I’m also adamant that we are a custom shop – always was and always will be – which means we only build custom cars or selected classics – no random things like gates, fences or fab work. The paint shop is there just for our builds. It might be a bit of a luxury but I’m stubborn – I refuse to paint random things or smash repair work.” According to Graeme, the fact that Down Town Kustoms chooses to do just custom work and nothing else is one more element that sets it apart from many other custom shops. Nowadays, there is a team of eight, including fabricators, bodyworkers, a painter, an auto electrician and an assembler, who tackle a wide variety of different custom work but majoring on muscle cars and the occasional pickup truck. As the team grew, it has freed up Graeme to dedicate more time to computer designing, as well as working on the business.

FEATURE STORY 18

From the ground up

REFINISHER

“When a new job comes in, we don’t perform a single cut on that car until it’s fully built on screen. First, we work with the customer to learn about their dreams and if that fits their budget. If it doesn’t, we look at their priorities – big brakes, wheels, engine, etc – to make sure they have those items and look at where we can keep costs down elsewhere. The whole idea of introducing all the technology is to be efficient at everything we do so we can offer a very reasonable hourly rate. It’s also about using the latest techniques. For example, we don’t do bodywork in the normal smash shop sort of way. I reached out to a good friend, Peter Lamb from Melomotive, who taught me all about surfacing in a more industrial design kind of way – it’s faster and more accurate. We trained all the guys and now our bodywork area is set up more like a design studio with proper lighting and tools. People talk about ‘street’ cars and ‘show’

cars but we basically build all our cars the same way. What separates them is the extra physical time it takes for things like ultra-precise body gapping and bodywork alignment.” Rather than the old trial and error method, Graeme says, advanced ‘top-down’ modelling is used which sees every single part built on computer so there is no guesswork involved. The result is a smooth, easy build process where there is minimal stress for him and the team. “A really good example is a HT Monaro we did recently. The theme was for it to look like a classic HT Monaro but to change every aspect so it worked like a modern car. This was really the first car where we were able to apply every technique we had learnt. Everything was 3-D modelled and there was lots of 3-D printing of prototype parts for testing. For instance, instead of refurbishing the worn-out door hinges, I drew them on CAD and 3-D printed a prototype hinge assembly. After bolting it to the car, we could swing the door to make sure we were totally happy before going ahead and CNC machining them out of a solid block of aluminium. At the same time, we improved the design. Instead of just a pin rolling on cast aluminium, it now rolls on self-lubricating bronze bushes. Afterwards, we did the same thing for the bonnet and boot hinges.” “When it came to the interior, we didn’t want to use the costly and timeconsuming traditional method.

FEATURE STORY 19

Instead, we 3-D scanned the car, I drew the entire interior layout in CAD and then we CNC routed the door cards out of solid foam, before wrapping them in leather – it was so much quicker and easier. The Monaro is a monocoque body so I designed a three-quarter chassis that actually cups into the floor and slots in very easily, while also fitting around the front k-frame. It’s stronger, it drives better, it puts the power to the ground better – everything is better! Best of all, that design work is fully transferrable to the next HT Holden which comes in the door – I just click on the file, send it to the laser-cutter and it’s done.” While he thoroughly enjoys working with his tightknit crew, Graeme says he particularly relishes the opportunities he gets to design in the computer world where it becomes a totally immersive experience. “Where it can take days designing a part the traditional paper way, with CAD you can design a complex part in just minutes. When you are on a roll, it can actually be a real adrenaline rush. As soon as the thought enters your brain, it flows down your fingers into the mouse and keyboard and it appears on screen – it’s that fast! There is a lot of time spent on computer but it’s way quicker than designing part manually. What it does is cut out massive amounts of labour time which frees up money in the budget to spend more on the priorities with the car.” Look at the accompanying images and you could be forgiven for thinking the workshop has been cleaned up especially for a photo shoot but it’s actually how you will find it on any given day. “First thing on the agenda every Monday morning

is a thorough clean. We are aiming for that high end dealership type experience where it’s immaculate all the time. If a customer is going to spend up to $500,000 on a car, you want them to walk in and feel totally comfortable with giving us their pride and joy to look after. The boys love it, too. It’s a very, very comfortable place to work.” Despite being located around 3.5 hours north of Sydney, Graeme says he has generally been able to find skilled staff, with most of his team moving to Taree from other parts of the state or Queensland. Although team members have their individual roles, they work together for the ultimate goal. “I would say that we are all perfectionists and it’s hard to know when to stop sometimes. But when you finish a car and hand it over to the customer who has a huge smile – nothing beats that. We hand the car over as a team so everyone is involved. If we go somewhere to show a car, I take all the guys. If we win an award, we all get up on stage to accept it. Our success really does come from the team, as a whole – I can’t stress that enough. We are like a family who just want to build really nice cars and I’m so grateful for the boys and all they R do for the cause.”

REFINISHER

TALKING TRAINING REFINISHER

Take advantage of the latest cordless power tools and compact accessories to build speed, flexibility and convenience into your de-nibbing and polishing operations.

operations wherever and whenever they want. Their compact size also means they minimise the affected area which saves valuable process time. Leading the charge are MIRKA’s advanced battery powered tools, such as AOS-B 33mm de-nibbing tool, ARP-B 77mm polisher and AROP-B 77mm random orbital polisher which feature Li-ion battery technology and brushless electric motors that make them powerful, high torque and long lasting.

Mobile plan is a winner

p until recently, the choice of tools and accessories for tackling surface rectification tasks tended to be one size fits all. Typically, it was a bulky and relatively heavy, 200mm electric polishing machine (either direct drive or random orbital) fitted with equally large sized buff pads. Although this option is fine for large areas, it’s an inefficient solution when it comes to rectifying a small de-nib spot or surface blemish and, because it has to be plugged into a power socket, there

are limits to where it can be used. This is where modern alternatives are boosting productivity, says John Hristias, PPG Business Support Manager Asia / Pacific.

Battery powered revolution Battery technology has improved rapidly in recent times and this has helped drive a revolution in the development of compact, portable tool. What they do is give repairers the opportunity to quickly and conveniently target de-nibbing and polishing

Anywhere, anytime Because they are not tied down to a power point, portable battery powered tools can be used anywhere and this opens up possibilities you may not even have thought of. For example, I was at a collision centre recently where a car was in the carpark ready to be returned to the owner when someone noticed ‘ghosting’ on the freshly refinished dark colour. Traditionally, it would have been driven back into the detailing area to have the correction done but this disrupts the workflow in that department. With this one, a member of the team simply carried the portable polishing kit (complete with battery powered tools) to the car, polished the affected area and it was ‘job done’.

Setting up your mobile plan Convenience is often undervalued when it comes to

TALKING TRAINING 21

removes the dust nib with a circular random orbital motion which leaves a scratch pattern that is much easier to polish out. In addition, by minimising the area affected by the de-nib process, the fine scratches can then be quickly and effectively polished out with a 77mm polisher. Afterwards, if required, a larger area or the entire vehicle can be polished with a conventional 150mm R MIRKA pad.

workshop productivity. Having all the right tools, equipment, accessories and products in the right place has been proven to save time and frustration, allowing the job to be done more quickly and productively. Having a complete de-nib and polish kit is a particularly effective choice and now you can take advantage of MIRKA’s costeffective ‘Systainer’ offer rather than the hassle of setting one up yourself. Inside the robust carry case, you will find all the cutting-edge solutions – including three tools and a spare battery, polishes, buff pads, de-nib roses, etc – needed to quickly and conveniently target de-nibbing and polishing operations. Being completely portable, it’s not even restricted to the detailing bay – this de-nibbing and polishing arsenal can be used wherever it’s needed, from a quick job in the carpark to the fit up bay or the quality control area. And because it makes it simple to keep everything in one place, you won’t waste time searching for items.

Small is fast A compact, battery-powered tool and buff pad makes it easy to closely target the affected area which allows the job to be done more quickly, thus saving valuable time. This can include a wide range of everyday jobs, such as prepping for a blend, polishing prior to a spectro reading, de-nibbing and polishing out de-nib scratches and polishing small items, such as mirror casings. Indeed, it’s particularly good

for the de-nibbing process. When manual de-nibbing, technicians often use a back and forth motion which leaves linear scratches that take much longer to polish out. In contrast, MIRKA’s AOS-B 33mm de-nibbing tool precisely targets and

The MIRKA Systainer is available now from authorised MIRKA distributors across Australia and New Zealand and includes: • Carrying case (400x300x158mm) • AOS-B 33mm de-nibbing tool, incl. battery • ARP-B 77mm polisher (tool only) • AROP-B 77mm random orbital polisher (tool only) • Spare Heavy Duty 5.0ah Battery • 100 pack of POLARSTAR SR 32mm Channel PSA 5μ • 100 pack of POLARSTAR SR 32mm Channel PSA 7μ • Polarshine 5 Finishing Compound - 250ml • Polarshine 15 Polishing Compound - 250ml • Polarshine 35 Polishing Compound - 250ml • Polarshine Liquid Wax - 500ml • Two pack of 80mm Lambswool Pads • Two pack of 85x25mm Yellow Foam Waffle Pads • Two pack of 85x25mm Black Foam Waffle Pads • Two pack of 400x400mm Microfibre cleaning clothes • 60ml Finessing Damper

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CUSTOMER PARTNERSHIPS REFINISHER

50t

Kenworth

Anniver

of local manufacturing Backed by strong supplier partners, including PPG, Kenworth has created an impressive ‘Australian made – World’s best’ manufacturing operation spanning half a century.

ack on 20th January 1970, a snub-nose Kenworth S-model and the latest cab-over model rumbled along Canterbury Road, Melbourne, heading towards the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. At Bayswater, around 27km east of the Melbourne CBD, the two trucks turned off the single lane road and park in an open paddock. At the time, this was grazing

land but the site was soon teeming with people for a special ceremony to establish the 28-acre site as the Australian home of Kenworth. It was a massive investment and leap of faith to step up from the previous CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kit assembly operation to begin building Kenworth trucks from component parts but truck operators quickly fell for these versatile workhorses.

Whether it was mining, logging, livestock, general freight or any other heavy-duty application, operators found they could rely on Kenworth to get the job done, even in the hottest and harshest environments or when travelling the most unforgiving roads and hauling the heaviest payloads. After the very first Australian made Kenworth truck, a K125CR, rolled off the Bayswater production line on 2nd March 1971, the wheels were literally set in motion. Fifty years, 60 models and more than 70,000 trucks later, the vision has paid off handsomely with locally built Kenworths becoming the heavy truck of choice across New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, as well as Australia. It’s a tribute to the people behind the brand, says PACCAR Australia Managing Director, Andrew Hadjikakou. Note: PACCAR Australia is a subsidiary of PACCAR Inc. (one of the largest heavy duty

ersary

truck manufacturers on the planet) and comprises Kenworth Trucks, DAF Trucks, PACCAR Parts, PACCAR Financial and PacLease. “Today, the workforce behind each truck is measured in the thousands. An extended family of exceptional employees, dealers and suppliers that span the nation. Not everything has changed though. Each Kenworth is still specifically application engineered for its intended task and the desire to build the world’s best trucks still inspires and unites us.” At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking US and Australian built models are similar – apart from which side the driver sits – but you would be wrong. From the mid-70s, a combination of factors has given rise to a range of exclusive local models capable of dealing with unique local conditions. As well as different local regulations, other elements needed to be

5 catered for, such as harsh road conditions, hotter ambient temperatures and the fact that local roads tend to go up and down hills (rather than cutting through them) so engines often operate at peak torque. Rather than offering just a standardised range, Kenworth gives operators exceptional flexibility to create their own unique configuration. From relocating a battery box, fuel tank or other piece of equipment, through to modifying a cab or selecting a specific chassis length, the local engineering team is there to help. Despite hitting its half century, the Bayswater plant has been consistently extended and updated in order to maintain its efficiency. One thing that has not changed is Kenworth’s longstanding supplier partnership with PPG which is all about providing a paint finish to match Kenworth’s legendary toughness. Over the years, this relationship has received special recognition with PPG winning multiple Kenworth Supplier of the Year awards.

CUSTOMER PARTNERSHIPS 23

PPG Kenworth Account Manager, Mark Elliott, is permanently onsite to work closely with the entire Kenworth team. “My day-to-day role includes everything to do with Kenworth’s paint process, from ordering product and ensuring deliveries arrive on time, to supporting the production line team or helping a customer who is going through the process of choosing new colours. There is no limit to what we do for Kenworth! One of the biggest but most rewarding challenges is developing product solutions which build greater productivity and quality into Kenworth’s production system. When it comes to that, I might be the person onsite but there are a lot of PPG people behind me who support Kenworth, including the local Clayton laboratories and even at PPG in the US. Apart from day-to-day finetuning, we have been able to introduce a quicker curing topcoat technology which reduces production cycle-time and a conductive primer that results in a better final finish. This a role where every day is challenging but I really enjoy working with the Kenworth team to continue achieving a great end result.” By fostering a culture of innovation and investing heavily in next generation technologies, PACCAR’s passionate employees and its dedicated suppliers have achieved something remarkable. They have produced a product that goes well beyond its status as a transport workhorse, to be genuine love by its customer base. Kenworth has risen to every challenge over the 50-year manufacturing journey and you would not want to bet against the brand still going strong when R it chalks up its century!

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MVP BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 24

MVP – AUDITS AND ACTIONS

PART 1

REFINISHER

You don’t know what you don’t know In many instances, a collision centre owner will recognise the markers indicating there are issues within their business, however they often don’t have the tools to identify where they are and how to fix them. This knowledge gap can really put the brakes on productivity and profitability but it doesn’t have to be this way. Greg Tunks, MVP Business Solutions Manager ANZ, explains how an MVP Business Solutions Audit systematically examines the business from top to bottom. Not only does it highlight

the core issues, it then provides a structured and straightforward Action Plan, along with ongoing support, to correct inefficiencies and get production really humming. Best of all, it’s included in the package of support services you get as a PPG customer!

Trigger point Generally, the process starts when a collision centre owner realises they need some specialist support and puts their hand up. It could be triggered by all sorts of factors – from financial struggles or having difficulty getting sufficient workflow processed in the shop, through to parts issues or the impact

of too many reworks. In other instances, it can be triggered when their MVP Business Solutions Manager conducts a review of the business financials and uncovers a gross profit low point in the panel or paint departments which signals there are inefficiencies.

Perceptions are not necessarily reality Although they know the business is suffering issues, owners typically have difficulty pinpointing where they are. For example, they may believe the paint shop is an issue because it’s where jobs appear to bank

MVP BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 25

they are the ones at the coalface of the business each day. In fact, some staff welcome the opportunity to have their say. Because we are an external, independent person, they sometimes feel like it’s a chance to get issues off their chest. At the end of the day, staff typically want to work in a well organised and safe environment and they don’t want frustrating roadblocks put in their way.

Checklist The Audit, itself, consists of 50 questions for each of the panel, paint and administration areas – 150 questions in total. Each question is scored on the basis of a ‘2’, a ‘1’ or a ‘0’ and is measured against the latest best practice for operating a productive and profitable collision centre. As we move around and observe the shop in action, we are looking for answers or proof that certain tasks are being done. If the task is being fully used, that question scores a ‘2’, if it’s being partly used it scores a ‘1’ and if it’s not being used at all, it scores a ‘0’.

A picture says a thousand words

up and choke the system. However, the problem could actually be anywhere along the chain leading up to that point – it’s just that it doesn’t become obvious until it hits the paint shop. By doing an MVP Business Solutions Audit, it clearly highlights where any issues (large and small) are so they can be targeted and fixed.

Realistic results When it comes to conducting the audit, the MVP Business Solutions Manager will simply arrange a date that suits and it generally takes between three and five hours to complete. Apart from individual collision

repairers, we also do audits on Multi Shop Operations (MSO). For MSOs, we are also looking for standardisation across the whole gamut of their sites. On the day of the Audit, we will introduce ourselves to the staff and give them a basic understanding of what we are doing but it’s crucial they don’t do anything special – to get a realistic result we need to see how the business functions day-in, day-out. Staff also need to understand we are not auditing people, we are auditing the processes, flow and functionality of the business. At times, we do get some feedback from staff because

One of the additional things we do, which has become a powerful part of the MVP Business Solutions Audit, is to take a lot of photos as we go through the checklist. It gives us two advantages. Firstly, we can refer to them to remind us about particular equipment, processes, etc. Secondly, once the Audit is complete, we will add certain images at the back of the document. It can be a real shock for owners because it shows them how their shop actually looks, rather than the way they perceive it looks. Owners can also be reluctant to believe that specific issues happen in their shop until they are confronted with the photographic evidence. Finally, we can also add photographs of what they are aiming for, such as a nice neat parts department versus their disorganised space or a clean, tidy paint room versus their dirty, cluttered one. R Next issue we will look at the second phase where we deliver the Action Plan.

REFINISHER

PPG PEOPLE REFINISHER

PPG Staff Profile

Marissa Tasios A

fter working in various roles following secondary school, including running fixed operations for an aviation company at Essendon Airport, Marissa continually felt the calling to a career in marketing. Over the years, she has steadily built on her qualifications, subsequently completing a Batchelor of Business, majoring in Marketing, and then a postgraduate Graduate Certificate in Marketing and Digital Communications. Despite admitting she didn’t know a lot about PPG when applying for the role of Marketing Assistant Refinish ANZ, the job interview quickly convinced Marissa it was the job she had been looking for.

Marketing Assistant Refinish ANZ “I felt a really good connection to the people at the interview and I liked the wide scope of the role. We are a small, tightknit team so we do pretty much anything and everything to do with marketing. For example, I do some graphic design and, at the moment, I am preparing the latest issue of the

Favourite hobbies /pastimes? Cooking Favourite food? Anything with seafood Favourite drink? Mocha coffee or a frappe Favourite music / band? Hans Zimmer (he does film scores) Favourite car / motorcycle? My trusty Subaru Forester Favourite holiday destination? Cyprus – the people are beautiful, there is never any rain and my extended family are there

Paint Perspective mini magazine which is fun. I have also taken on social media and run with it and we are currently working on redeveloping our website which is fun to do with the US team. There are challenges – every project tends to be new, with no framework to use as a template, so we have to figure it out along the way. That is where the teamwork comes in – we bounce ideas off each other, everyone works collaboratively and there are no egos. We also have awesome customers and I love the industry in general because the people are so down to earth. I have been here for 2.5 years now and it’s all these things that make you want to come to work every day!”

Here at PPG, we work to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and materials that our customers have trusted for more than 135 years. Have a career with us & you will find meaning in your work every day! You will engage in opportunities that will shape you both personally and professionally. We make it happen and seek candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our values, with the commitment and drive to strive today to do better than yesterday – everyday. PPG provides equal opportunity to all candidates and employees. We offer an opportunity to grow and develop your career in an environment that provides a fulfilling workplace for employees, creates an environment for continuous learning, and embraces the ideas and diversity of others If you are passionate about the automotive and refinish industries, then PPG could be for you! Opportunities may include: - Technical Demonstrators - Retail Sales Assistants - Territory Managers - Key Account Managers - Customer Service - Business Support - New Business Development View our current opportunities https://ppg.referrals.selectminds.com/

PPG INNOVATION REFINISHER

CHARGING INTO THE FUTURE Battery electric vehicles are the new frontier in sustainable mobility and PPG is helping manufacturers accelerate the development of tomorrow’s energy storage solutions.

hances are you currently drive a vehicle that is powered by an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) but, like it or not, there is almost certainly an electric powered vehicle in your future and it could be far sooner than you think. While some automotive start-ups, such as Tesla, have gone purely electric from the very beginning, traditional vehicle brands around the globe are now firmly on the bandwagon, investing billions of dollars in creating Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) platforms. A growing number of major vehicle brands have even announced a complete halt to

development of their ICE powertrains and have actually nominated a date where they will no longer be offered for sale. The bottom line is, the future is electric!

Driving the battery electric revolution As demand continues to rise for new and sustainable mobility platforms, including autonomous, connected, electric and shared vehicles, PPG is devoting global Research & Development muscle to the task of developing innovative enabling technologies. This includes specialised coatings with the capacity to improve the performance, safety, range and sustainability of lithium-ion batteries used in BEV applications. It may surprise you to learn that there are actually two to three times more coatings content on a BEV, compared to the traditional protective and decorative body coatings on an ICE vehicle. The historic shift from ICE powertrains to BEVs represents a tremendous opportunity for businesses at every level but, at the same time, it also presents profound challenges, according to David Malobicky, General Manager PPG Mobility. “As the age of BEVs dawns, PPG is already helping automotive OEMs, as well as

battery and component manufacturers, to accelerate the development of tomorrow’s light vehicle and commercial vehicle new energy storage solutions. Our broad-based materials expertise covers virtually every area of lithium-ion battery design and construction and gives us the tools to help customers in a variety of ways: • Increasing performance by boosting energy density and reducing cost per kilowatt hour. • Enabling safer operation of high-density batteries by utilising PPG Battery Fire Protection / Dielectric / TGF (Thermal Gap Filler) coatings products which work to prevent or mitigate a fire from a battery thermal runaway event. • Helping to reduce battery production cost – PPG Binder reduces cathode coating / drying cost by up to 30%. In addition, battery pack coatings reduce total applied cost by replacing the films / sheets / blankets in battery construction.

PPG INNOVATION 29

• Support improved ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’ – PPG sealants can be removed and reapplied which facilitates field repairs. In addition, our coatings range offers options, including low VOC, UV cured and e-coat.

Power up for a more sustainable future David and his team fall under the ‘Mobility’ umbrella within PPG’s Automotive OEM business which boasts partnerships with vehicle OEMs and suppliers right across the globe. A significant proportion of battery product R&D is being carried out at the sprawling PPG Coatings Innovation Center in Pittsburgh, in the U.S., as well as at the company’s battery laboratories in China, says David. “Our job isn’t simply to identify the best technologies to address specific functional requirements – we also aim to align each solution with the overall battery system design, as well as to each customer’s unique process capabilities. For example, focusing specifically on advanced batteries, PPG

has solutions for both lithium-ion battery cell production and battery pack assembly. At the lithium-ion cell level, we are utilising our expertise in coatings science to deliver a cathode binder offering improved performance, cost and sustainability. Specifically, our cathode binder solution delivers improvements in the safety / compliance by being NMP (N-Methyl-2pyrrolidone) free. We also help reduce manufacturing costs through higher solids products, shorter mix times and increased pot life which drives lower solvent recovery and increased cells per batch.” “Not to be underestimated, we are also able to give manufacturers greater overall battery cell design flexibility via film build improvements and higher power and energy density cells. When it comes to battery pack

assembly, PPG offers critical solutions to support the overall battery pack design, while supporting customers on performance, cost, safety and application. These include thermal management materials, adhesives, sealants, corrosion and impact coatings, dielectric coating systems, battery fire protection, and EMI/RFI shielding, which are applied to many different pack designs and components.” PPG’s commitment to ‘protect and beautify the world’ has moved into the sustainable mobility sector. Customers are quickly finding that collaborating with PPG’s market leading global strength can help successfully implement reliable, high-volume, automated production of battery cells, modules and packs. Indeed, PPG has either commercialised products or is in the advanced stages of qualifying / launching products with top BEV OEM customers across the globe. Just as PPG’s exterior paint technologies have been the go-to-choice for vehicle protection and premium appearance over many decades, there is a very good chance that the BEV in your future will also feature PPG battery R coatings technologies.

REFINISHER

Internal affairs The finely tuned and complex chain of events that go on inside your refinish spray gun are the key drivers behind how easy it is to use and the quality of results you achieve.

n face value, a spray gun can appear to be a pretty basic concept. After all, it’s just a matter of bringing paint material and compressed air together to create a finely atomised spray, right? In basic terms, ‘yes’ but the design and innovations individual spray gun manufacturers apply to this process is reflected in the performance differences seen between brands. Note: For the sake of this article, we are focusing only on gravity fed, refinish style spray guns.

Complex synchronicity Spray gun performance is actually a combination of many components and design features working in unison.

For example, the air cap plays a key role, as does the fluid tip which, in conjunction with the fluid needle, controls material delivery. The fluid tip and the air cap form the point where the two internal passages – compressed air and material – come together. When the trigger is depressed, the initial portion of travel introduces compressed air to the air cap. Further travel opens the fluid needle allowing material to flow from the cup or pot, under atmospheric pressure. Interestingly, the atomisation of the paint material actually happens outside the gun and the process also gives the tiny droplets velocity to propel them to the surface being painted. At the fluid tip, the annular ring introduces a stream of air that surrounds the flow of paint fluid, thus allowing it to expand and begin mixing with the air. Just outboard of the annular ring is the containment holes which help prevent the developing spray pattern

from expanding too quickly. Further outboard, in the ‘horns’ of the air cap, are a series of small side port holes which also play a crucial part by impacting on the expanding flow of paint and air. The main aim of the jets of air from these side ports is to help form the atomised paint into a fan shape. Altering the fan width is then possible by adjusting the volume of air directed to the side ports. When you consider the precise design and manufacture of all these holes it’s obviously bad to poke anything metal into them during cleaning. Change the shape of a hole and you change gun performance! It’s easy to see why intensive R&D, meticulous design and precision manufacture is so important, particularly when the system has to cope with an incredible breadth of scenarios, including different material viscosities, inlet air pressure, gun adjustments and painter’s preferences. Typically, when buying a premium spray gun, such as the SATAjet X 5500, this is what you are paying for.

HVLP versus RP RP is a SATA acronym for Reduced Pressure. Basically, it uses conventional spray gun concepts which atomises more with pressure than air volume but it has been optimised for high transfer efficiency of more than 65%. Although this

is not as high as with HVLP, RP technology tends to let the painter work a little faster and gives more flexibility in terms of spraying distance. HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) technology was developed to help reduce emissions. It features a maximum of 10 psi at the air cap and atomisation is mostly achieved using air volume, rather than higher pressure. This allows HVLP guns to achieve maximum transfer efficiency but, to do so, the painter needs to keep the gun closer to the substrate during the application. Which is best? It depends which you prefer and which better fits your style, as well as the paint brand and type of material you are applying. Another factor to consider is the shop’s compressed air system – HVLP requires a good air system whereas RP can better deal with a poor one.

Innovation leads to the X-factor Despite more than a century of development in spray gun design, innovations are still appearing. For example, as part of its R&D process, SATA noticed that painters tended to fall into two application methods. Some preferred a fast application with more paint output, whereas others preferred a more controlled application with a lower speed – this doesn’t mean slower, they just used a different method to achieve the same result. As a result, the X-Nozzle System was created. It features on the SATAjet X 5000 spray gun where it’s designed to fit everybody’s needs via either an I-Shape or O-Shape spray pattern. The shapes already existed, although they were not constant across the nozzle range but with the X-Nozzle System, they are! For each nozzle size, you can choose between the O-Nozzle, basically for a higher, more traditional SATA application speed, or the I-Nozzle, for a slightly slower, more controlled application. Importantly, whichever spray pattern you choose, the fan size and shape remain the same when changing between nozzle sizes – the painter doesn’t need to adjust. R

CT REFINISHER

HIGHWAY INTO THE PAST Thanks to one man’s vision and a specialist team of artisans, Bill Richardson Transport World has staked its place amongst the very best automotive museums on the planet.

t just six-years-old, Bill Richardson sat in the cabin of a 1949 Ford Five Ton truck and his world was transformed forever. That simple moment sparked a lifelong passion for trucks that saw him establish the transport business still bearing his name, HW Richardson Group, as well as making truck collecting his hobby. Leaving road transport workhorses to quietly

rust away at the end of their life simply was not good enough for Bill. As he went about building his business empire, with interests in transport, concrete and fuel, he also amassed an extraordinary collection of rare and internationally significant trucks and other vehicles. When Bill died in 2005, he had over 150 vehicles, as well as numerous

petrol bowsers and other transportation memorabilia. Today, under the direction of Bill’s daughter, Jocelyn, the collection has expanded to over 300 vehicles and at least 200 petrol bowsers, along with a treasuretrove of other rare, colourful and nostalgic items. Nowadays, Bill Richardson Transport World is housed in a beautiful, purposebuilt art-deco building in Invercargill, at the bottom of New Zealand’s South Island, which has been open to the public since December 2015. And it’s not just Kiwis who come to get transported to the past. Tourists from all over the world flock to

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the museum which now welcomes tens of thousands of visitors each year. What’s more, under the ‘Transport World’ banner, it also includes the nearby Classic Motorcycle Mecca (with bikes hailing from as far back as 1902, through to machines from today), Dig This Invercargill and The Lodges at Transport World boutique accommodation. Spread over 15,000m² of floorspace, Bill Richardson Transport World is an eclectic mix of vehicles in period settings and features well-known names, including Ford, Dodge, Mack, International, Austin and Morris, as well as little known brands, such as Pierce Arrow, Gotfredson, Maple Leaf, Autocar, Stewart and Diamond T. One of the most significant exhibits, according to Workshop Manager and Curator, Graeme Williams, is a 1940 Dodge RX70. “It was made for the Texaco Oil Company and is loosely called the ‘Airflow’. This is one of only three restored examples in the world and it is a beautiful looking thing. Bill had a real eye for style but he was also very interested in the technical steps in truck design and looked for exhibits which showed the developments in transmissions, suspension, engines, etc.”

Graeme heads a full-time team of seven tradespeople, plus around 10 part time volunteers and other helpers, including school kids. Each of them brings their own set of skills, along with a lot of passion. “Our job is to protect the collection and maintain everything. For a start, can you imagine how many pneumatic tyres we have to keep pumped up? It’s a balance between ‘preservation’ and ‘restoration’. We want to keep these old vehicles in as original condition as possible so preservation is what we aim for. Bill was actually doing that from way back in 1967. When everyone was taking paintwork that was only a little scruffy and sand blasting and repainting, Bill was preserving them ‘as found’ and now that is the recognised way to do it. Bill’s philosophy was to keep the money for vehicles that really need restoring,

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Images: Transport World

HIGHWAY INTO THE PAST

E N D U R I N G PA R T N E R S H I P

o this day, Bill Richardson’s such as the early and rare other legacy, HW Richardson vehicles. That is why two of Group, is still family run and our halls have exhibits which stronger than ever. Nowadays, have been largely left as they it’s one of New Zealand’s largest were found to reproduce that privately owned companies, ‘barn find’ scenario. They are encompassing 48 brands, around not derelict, let us just say they 2500 staff and offering services still have their original working from transport, concrete and clothes on.” petroleum to contracting, quarrying Whether it’s preservation or and environmental. To ensure a high restoration, PPG coatings play level of durability and appearance, a key role, says Graeme. the group specifies PPG products “Our painter, Howard, has over to be used on its vehicles. As part 40 years’ experience and an eye of the partnership, this has seen the for detail you would not believe PPG team develop FleetSpec livery and when he tells me that PPG specifications for many of the individual fleets is excellent quality material, under the Richardson Group umbrella, covering then I am agreeing with him. vehicles from light trucks up to full size semis. Many of the group’s vehicles also take Not only that, I can see that we advantage of the nationwide PPG FleetPool are getting the results we want.” Network of independent repair, re-livery and Depending on the size of the refurbishment specialists. job, a restoration project can take up to two years to complete and finishing it with authentic colours is When relics are taken through the essential. Typically, an un-faded section painstakingly precise restoration process, of original paintwork will be found (under time is the biggest challenge. According bonnet, interior, etc) and polished before a to Graeme, there is never enough of it! RAPIDMATCH™ spectrophotometer is used Currently in progress is the restoration to take an accurate reading to determine the of a 1934 Chrysler CW Imperial eightexact colour on PPG’s PAINTMANAGER XI® seater limousine and a 1959 Volkswagen colour management software. Graeme says Kombi Ambulance, dubbed ‘Florence’, a lot of the ‘as found’ trucks also get PPG which actually served the local community protection. “If the paintwork is in reasonable throughout the 1960s. Although time condition, we give it a good clean and apply a PPG clearcoat to protect the existing finish. We use a lot of clearcoat!”

consuming, the process is well worthwhile when a beautifully restored vehicle drives out of the workshop under its own power. “The engineering challenge of the preservations and restorations is what I, personally, enjoy the most. You do it to get a vehicle as authentic as you can. That is where you get the satisfaction from – it’s a bit like putting a puzzle together. It’s satisfying to see it come together in the end.” With components for these old vehicles rarely available off the shelf, team members use their exceptional skills to produce ‘authentically fabricated’ parts. Nowadays, that is supplemented by a lot of ‘Internet’ time searching out items that are required. For example, authentic interior parts for Florence were sourced all the way from Belgium. Valuable support also comes from a network of people around the globe who refer the team to various parts, particularly for Chrysler and Ford V8s, etc. Sometime, Graeme even get the odd call out of the blue. “Today, a man phoned – he was a motor mechanic for 50 years and has a collection of carburettors which he is going to drop in tomorrow.” With a collection that spans from the 19th to the 21st century and growing, Bill Richardson World is billed as the largest private collection of its type in the world. According to Graeme, one of the things that keeps his tightknit team of artisans going, is the public response to these gleaming works of art. “I have been really encouraged by the amount of people who are interested in our museum. That tells me that the interest in these older vehicles is still there from people of all ages – we are not dinosaurs just yet!” For more information about Bill Richardson Transport World visit www.transportworld.co.nz.

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