The Auto Refinish Market
generation of clearcoat products which use state-of-the-art
technology to make high-quality refinishing even easier and
more efficient for bodyshops,” said Toomey. “They can be
used universally, are particularly quick-drying, offer a high
gloss and are extremely scratch resistant. In addition, we in-
troduced a new Primer Filler which helps to reduce process
times, energy and waste. Thanks to UV-A technology, it is
also easier and safer to use. BASF’s innovation focus does not
end with our products; we are also going beyond paint to de-
velop automated shop management technologies that support
better and more efficient shop operations.”
With OEMs increasingly using extreme colors to differenti-
ate their offerings, such as highly chromatic, “candy-like” fin-
ishes, PPG is widely implementing its use of nanotechnology
in the form of highly dispersed pigments to accurately match
these colors. “Many of the newer colors are transparent in na-
ture, where the undercoat color plays a role in the final appear-
ance,” said Gareth Hughes, PPG director Americas Technology,
Automotive Refinish. “In response, PPG’s ENVIROBASE High
Performance waterborne basecoat, for example, employs a
spectral gray primer system that combines the primer color
with the transparency of the waterborne basecoat to dupli-
cate the OEM process. The legislative trend in recent years to
lessen the environmental impact of the industry via low-VOC
solvent- and water-based technologies in basecoat offerings is
increasingly extending into ancillary refinish products such as
primers and clearcoats. PPG’s waterborne systems for example
include a wide choice of 2.1 and 2.8 VOC undercoats and 2.1
VOC clearcoats, and our value-conscious OMN and SHOP-
LINE brands available in North America offer full low-VOC
compliant systems”
Given the collision center’s desire for reduced energy con-
sumption and faster throughput during the bake cycle, PPG
is responding with products offering ultrafast cure chemistry
at a lower energy rate.
Another key trend that’s
driving new technologies in
refinish is the OEM’s effort
to reduce vehicle weight
in order to meet government fuel economy goals.
“This has led to increased
use of weight-reducing
aluminum and carbon fi-
ber substrates,” said Hughes. “As a result, PPG is placing an
increased focus on corrosion control chemistry and clearcoat
systems that can provide the necessary protection of these types
of substrates.”
Axalta’s latest introduction is a fast drying low temperature
curing clear coat, a technology that responds to these two mar-
ket drivers. “First, it meets the need to reduce cycle time and
to increase body shop through put,” said Winokur. “Second,
Human Power Team Aims to Break 140 km/h barrier with AkzoNobel Support
AkzoNobel’s Vehicle Refinishes business has renewed its sponsorship of the
Human Power Team (HPT) Delft and
Amsterdam.
Up until 2015, HPT Delft and Amsterdam had won the men’s category in the
World Human Powered Speed Challenge for four years in a row, and held the
world human powered speed record.
Staged each September in the Ne-
vada Desert, the event pits teams against
each other to produce the fastest perfor-
mances using super-aerodynamic recum-
bent bicycles. The most obvious features
of the competition bicycles are their re-
cumbent (lying down) riding position
and the lightweight aerodynamic shell
that covers them, both of which reduce
wind resistance.
Determined to push the record beyond 140 km/h, the team is looking again
to AkzoNobel and its Sikkens performance coatings for help with that all-important issue of drag reduction.
VeloX 6, the team’s bike for this year,
has undergone changes in external
shape and internal mechanics for even
greater efficiency.
Remco Maassen van den Brink, mar-
keting director for AkzoNobel’s Vehicle
Refinishes business, commented: “We
are delighted to see 20 students of vary-
ing age, experience and knowledge col-
laborating in a team effort that mirrors
our ‘winning together’ approach. Their
shared spirit of innovation, and the way
they rapidly learn to solve problems,
make improvements and achieve every-
thing within strict budgets and deadlines,
is also very impressive.”
He added, “We hope our latest
advances in lightweight, smooth and
robust coatings will give them an extra
competitive edge and we wish them
great success.”
Photos courtesy of PPG Industries.
