Quality paint products and protecting the global and shop environment DO mix. Companies have made great strides this year in improving the sheen and scratch-resistance of coatings while making technological innovations that cut emissions and drying time, saving your money and your health. Take a look at what we found:

New Clearcoats, Hardeners Cut Drying Time

Two new clearcoats from DuPont Automotive Finishes deliver super-fast dry times along with enhanced appearance and application latitude. ChromaClear G2-4500S with Hyper Cure Technology dries faster than any other force-dry clear in the industry, while G2-4700S with Hyper Cure is the industry's fastest air dry or express bake clear. Both products also increase energy savings and reduce SKUs.

A three-component clear for use on spot, multi-panel and overall repairs of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) base/clear finishes, G2-4500S increases production by maximizing vehicle throughput and minimizing energy consumption, and allowing the shop to deliver the vehicle immediately if it is baked properly. G2-4500S eliminates the traditional 30 minute, 140 degrees Fahrenheit baking cycle required to process clearcoat. In fact, the bake cycle can be reduced by 50 percent. That is, 10 to 15 minutes (total cycle time, including temperature ramp-up) at 160 degrees Fahrenheit (booth temperature setting, not substrate temperature).

A second-generation version of ChromaClear 4700S, G2-4700S with Hyper Cure is a 4.2 VOC three-component clearcoat that can be used for spot and multi-panel repairs of OEM base/clear finishes. G2-4700S eliminates the conventional 30 minutes at 140 degrees Fahrenheit baking cycle normally required to process clearcoat. It air-dries in 1.5 hours at 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and can be express baked (10 minutes at 120 degrees Fahrenheit) for even faster delivery. That is, 10 minutes (total cycle time, including temperature ramp-up) at 120 degrees Fahrenheit (booth temperature setting, not substrate temperature). Thanks to the short bake cycle, the energy savings alone make this clearcoat extremely profitable.

Spies Hecker's newest product, Permacron MS Clear Coat 8015, offers similar advantages in bake time. It can be air dried without baking or baked for just 15 minutes at 140 degrees Fahrenheit versus the conventional 30 minutes.

"The clearcoat holds an outstanding gloss, yet has the productivity that shops will love. It helps with fuel consumption as well as shortens the actual time in the booth," said Bob Pittenger, Spies Hecker training manager.

Pittenger sees faster cure times as the goal most companies are aiming for.

"Shops are demanding productivity with no compromise of quality," he said. "There are several technologies that could evolve in the future. Ultraviolet technology is here, but there are certainly challenges around it. Waterborne is very prominent in Europe and in some parts of the United States."

For him, it's a question of speed versus quality and versatility. "There are basic rules of chemistry that exist with all current products that cannot be changed. They can be altered though, with new chemistries and advances in technology," said Pittenger.

Spies Hecker has also expanded its comprehensive HS hardener system with the introduction of Permasolid HS Hardener 3307 Express, which is formulated to ensure excellent dry through in cooler temperatures and for air dry applications. The universal Permasolid HS hardener range is ideal for all temperatures and conditions. From extra slow to express, the hardeners are designed to achieve the optimum result at different temperatures and drying conditions for various sized repair areas. Permasolid HS hardeners can be used universally in all Spies Hecker 2K surfacers, wet-on-wet surfacers, single-stage top coats and clearcoats.

In conjunction with the introduction of 3307 Express, Spies Hecker has also released the Permasolid HS Hardeners flier. The flier includes descriptions, features, benefits and selection table for the complete HS hardener system. The table is an easy-to-use reference guide for selecting the right HS hardener for your application according to size of repair, temperature and drying conditions.

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Corp. recently introduced a new clearcoat, CC930 Speed-Plus Performance Clearcoat. This new clearcoat uses URE-FLEX technology to provide excellent gloss holdout in both air-dry and baking environments.

"It ensures excellent through-cure, allowing the product to be out of dust in as little as 20 minutes, cut and buffed in approximately 90 minutes air-dry," said John Corry, vehicle refinish and regulatory marketing manager for Sherwin-Williams. "CC930 meets 3.5 VOC regulations, yet sprays and performs like a National Rule product. It performs optimally with wet-on-wet limited flash application, resulting in reduced application time and significantly improved booth cycle time."

The URE-FLEX technology reduces material costs and additional mixing requirements because a flex additive is not required, thereby quickening the entire refinishing process. Furthermore, CC930 requires minimal baking time while providing full-bake results in gloss and through-cure, Corry said.

Several of BASF's newest products also focus on reducing a shop's cycle time.

"We have launched several clearcoats - including R-M DC5100 and DC5300 CTR Clears, and Glasurit 923-450 Multi-Bake Clear and 923-550 High Performance Clear - that are designed to enable a painter to move the vehicle out of the spray booth more quickly, thus getting more vehicles painted," said Darlene Eilenberger, BASF Automotive Refinish's brand marketing manager.

Plans to further reduce cycle time include not just BASF's new family of clears, Eilenberger said, but also the rapidly approaching ultraviolet-cure (UV-cure) products that will dramatically speed up cure times in the shop.

High-Solid Technologies Lower Emissions in Basecoats, Clearcoats

The effort to reducing solvent emissions of automotive paint has taken a step forward with the introduction of DuPont Super Solids ultra-low emissions coatings technology at the DaimlerChrysler Newark, Del., assembly plant. The Super Solids technology reduces by 25 percent the volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions of the final clear coat applied to the Dodge Durango at the Newark plant. DuPont accomplished this by increasing the solids content of the coating to 65 percent from an industry high-solids coatings standard of 50 percent solids and 50 percent solvent.

At the same time, the technology offers a significant improvement in scratch and mar resistance. A refinish clear that matches the mar-resistance and appearance of the Super Solids clears will be introduced by DuPont Automotive Finishes later this year. Developed in collaboration with DuPont's European research and development labs, it is based on new resin technology.

"Our Super Solids technology represents an entirely new way of formulating coatings products," said Edward J. Donnelly, group vice president of DuPont Coatings and Color Technologies. "Our researchers found a way to build into our clear coats an extraordinary capability to resist fine scratches and mars caused mainly by repeated washings."

In product lifecycle assessments, the new technology compares favorably with non-liquid powder coatings, also supplied by DuPont. This is based on a total inventory of energy usage and emissions from the time the product is initially produced until it is applied to a vehicle.

PPG Industries recently introduced its new Envirobase Waterborne Basecoat, offering collision centers the ability to increase productivity while decreasing VOC emissions. Boasting impressive flash and cure times, Envirobase Basecoat dries significantly faster than solvent-based products. It has a VOC content no greater than 3.3 pounds per gallon. Typical solvent-based materials can have an average VOC content of more than 5 pounds per gallon.

This waterborne basecoat requires no mechanical mixing - shaking the bottle is adequate preparation. The latest in high-solids science, it offers efficient coverage, using 25 percent to 30 percent less material than conventional solvent-based basecoats used on the same repair.

Overall, Envirobase Basecoat allows for faster, more complete coverage, while requiring as much as 60 percent less reducer, said Gretchen Jezerc, global director of marketing for PPG Industries' automotive refinish division.

"Spot repairs often represent as much as 70 percent of a collision center's business, making a speedy, easy-to-use product like Envirobase a sound choice for a high production shop looking to reduce costs and increase throughput," she said. "Additionally, shops can maintain color quality while assuring environmental compliance."

With nearly 400,000 color variations, Envirobase Basecoat can accurately match all late-model OE finishes, including popular metallic, pearl and solid colors. Unlike other waterborne products, said Jezerc, Envirobase remains stable over time, for consistent quality color. Envirobase bases are designed to work with PPG's premium-quality Global Refinish System and its quick-drying clearcoats.

Currently PPG representatives are performing on-site demonstrations of Envirobase to their customers at their shop locations. In the very near future, PPG plans to offer training courses at its state-of-the-art training centers, a training manual and an online training course on its Web site (www.ppgrefinish.com).

Glasurit 90 Line, a waterborne paint line BASF introduced in 1994, was recently relaunched in an improved form.

"Waterborne refinish systems are here to stay and will grow in importance in response to increasing environmental and regulatory considerations," Eilenberger said. "The Glasurit 90 Line system performs every bit as well as traditional solventborne systems. An interesting fact is that, worldwide, 60 percent to 70 percent of OEMs already use waterborne finishes in their manufacturing plants, which is a testament to the quality and acceptance of waterborne paint."

Other new products on the market include Valspar's latest product, DTM 2000. DTM 2000 is a direct-to-metal high-build primer/surfacer that eliminates the need for a pre-treatment primer.

"DTM 2000 is a very productive wet-on-wet sealer that is available in white, black and gray to produce multiple shades of gray for fast basecoat color hide," said Shelly Cullen, marketing manager for Valspar Automotive Group. "With DTM 2000, you only need one product to cover your high-build primer and sealer needs. You get the great performance of an epoxy with the productivity of a urethane primer/sealer."

BASF's Glasurit Small-Damage Repair System (SDRS) offers shops the potential of an entirely new and additional revenue source combined with increased customer satisfaction, Eilenberger said.

"SDRS is a unique system that enables a painter to make repairs to small scratches without clearcoating the entire panel," she said. "With the SDRS, a shop can, for the first time, repair small paint damage at a cost that many customers are willing to pay. This capability offers shops a tremendous opportunity for increased incremental sales without cutting into conventional paint repairs."

Since its launch in early 2002, the SDRS has proven to be very popular and has enabled a number of collision repair facilities to realize a dramatic increase in revenue.

Alexis Burt is a communications assistant for the Automotive Service Association (ASA). She can be reached at alexisb@asashop.org.

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