How To Handle Low VOC Paints by Curt Harler Shop owners will have to touch up their painting techniques when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) proposed "National Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emission Standards for Automobile Refinish Coatings" go into effect next year.
The EPA estimates the annual cost of the VOC rules at $5 million. Much of the regulation's costs result from training people on the use of low-VOC coatings, including body shop personnel, as well as people working for coating manufacturers and distributors.
The EPA says the costs of coatings will increase by less than a dime a gallon. The cost of auto body repair jobs is expected to go up by one-half of one percent.
"We think that is a bit low," says Fred Wissemann, project manager for DuPont Automotive Products, Wilmington, Del. He says the EPA underestimated the cost and productivity impact of the rules. "For a shop using a lot of lacquer products with very fast dry-times, those extra minutes tend to add up," he said. "If you are not using a productive clear, but a bakable clear, you will see an impact after the bake has cooled down."
In most cases, however, the added dry-time will be a matter of minutes. "No more than five to 10 minutes on a job. Shops with baking will see no difference," says Darlene Eilenberger, brand marketing manager for BASF, Southfield, Mich. She says that, while a gallon of paint may cost more, the material will be more concentrated in the can. "When the paint is reduced, the cost of spraying a job will be about the same."
There will be some impact on the cost of a gallon of paint, most manufacturers agree. "The costs to produce the product have increased and the selling prices are slightly higher," says Thomas Verghese, North American marketing director for ICI Autocolor, Westlake, Ohio. While the cost of a liquid gallon will be more, on an as-applied solids level basis, the cost will not be significantly different because the majority of the cost of a gallon of paint is in pigment and binders, not the solvents. And it is in the solvent area where the VOCs are being reduced.
Kurt Bazil, marketing manager for Sherwin-Williams, Cleveland, Ohio, says the applied cost -- mils of thickness to square foot of coverage -- will be within 5 percent of current materials. With the new products, dry-time on short bakes and sprayability will be close to existing products. Sherwin-Williams says clearcoats will be from 20 percent to 30 percent higher in solids.
The reward to society from using paints that meet the VOC regulations is a reduction by 36,000 tons of VOCs below present levels. That's a 37 percent cut.
"We whole-heartedly support the new regulations and can't wait for them to take effect," Mike Sack, PPG director of marketing, said. "Industry helped write these regulations so there's really no surprises in the national standards or anything we can't live with."
Paint manufacturers and shop owners were blind-sided several years ago by stringent Southern California regulations, which Sack termed a "viscous law."
"We had absolutely no input when the California regulations were drafted and industry wasn't asked if the technology was available to meet the new environmental requirements," Sack said. Fearful of similar legislation occurring on a national level, the paint industry formed the Refinish Coalition to lobby and draft for national regulations.
While the EPA's proposed VOC regulations won't supersede local or state regulations, the intended pollution reduction targets are "achievable" under current technology, according to the paint manufacturers.
Manufacturers, resellers and shop owners now have a tremendous marketing opportunity while complying with the new regulations, Sack said. "We as an industry want to do our part to keep the environment safe and protect the ozone layer," Sack said. "And there is no doubt that solvents used in the refinishing process will, over a long period of time, negatively impact the environment. Now whether we as an industry have more of a negative impact than lawnmowers, weed-eaters or other appliances across America is an open question."
Consumers will be impressed with a shop that is doing its part to save the planet by utilizing more environmentally friendly paints, Sack said. "We see this as a tremendous sales tool for us," he said. "We urge everyone to proudly advertise the fact that they are complying with the new regulations."
According to Jennifer Hackney, who handles technical services and environmental regulations for American Standox, Plymouth, Mich., the VOC standards, as written, will not change anything a shop owner is doing today with Standox products. "All products that still comply can be manufactured or imported," she says. "In our case, all of our products comply, so they can still be imported."
Recommendations to cut back on thinner coat, for example, are required of manufacturers. "But the body shop is not bound by that regulation," she notes, since compliance is required of manufacturers, not shops.
"As with any product introduction, we recommend that the painters take the time to learn the differences with applying high-solids products," says ICI's Verghese. He agrees with other manufacturers who say there will not be any changes in the color capabilities for new compliant products. "There is no difference in the storing and handling of compliant products prior to use," he said. "When applying the product, painters need to keep in mind that these are higher-solid materials and they need to make a slight adjustment in their spraying techniques."
All of the manufacturers say they will be offering instruction and demonstrations in the use of the new products to help workers master the proper technique.
Bob Loro, Loro Auto Works, Oak Park, Ill., has been working under the Chicagoland regulations for some time. He says he saw no difference when it comes to VOC compliance. "But then, we've been shooting with an HVLP system for about nine years," he adds. "The cost of compliance is a lot cheaper when you do it ahead of time. The more progressive shops have not been taken by surprise."
Since the paint distributors do most of the tracking, record keeping in Illinois has not been a problem. Under the EPA rules, auto body shops would not have to worry about record keeping. "The Illinois law is a bit less stringent than California's," Loro adds.
California's law is a bear. "I'd love to be working under the national rule. I could live with that," says Kevin Caldwell of Autobody by Caldwell in Laguna Hills, Calif. "We got sold down the river five years ago." His shop was fined several hundreds of dollars under California's VOC rule just three days after it went into effect. But he also has other problems with the system.
Caldwell says the material is unfriendly and that it doesn't flow out well. "Durability is a big question mark. Will the new paints last two years? Five years? Ten years? We still have to guarantee them for life."
DuPont's Wissemann says refinishers should pay more attention to surface prep and surface cleaning than before to prevent contamination problems. "High solids materials, enamels and clearcoats are sensitive to cleaning," he notes. "A careless moment can result in fish eyes and craters in the job."
A shop's favorite Candy Apple Red will remain the same color, even with the lower VOC formulations. Most manufacturers have lowered VOC in the solvents and kept the base paint pigments the same. Changing to waterborne paint is the only way for manufacturers to reduce VOCs in the pigment and that is not practical for most shops.
The high-volume, low-pressure equipment typically used with lower VOC paints may require the fluid tip to be modified. To atomize the paint better, smaller fluid tips may be required, but this can vary among products. Check the users guide for your particular product.
Wissemann suggests paying more attention to worker safety with the two-component and three-component systems used to lower VOCs. He advises proper respiratory equipment, gloves and eye protection in the spray booth. "Those chemicals are not really good for you. The need for proper respiratory protection is even more important."
A shop owner concerned that a favorite material will be lost can always inventory the paint and use it at will. There are two limitations, of course. First, carrying inventory is expensive. Second, paint has a shelf life after which it goes bad; and, after a year or two, newer, better materials will probably be available and will make the old goods outdated anyway.
More than inventory, shop owners like Caldwell are concerned about productivity. "With two booths, on a cold, wet day or a hot, humid day, I can get four cars done," he says. "Under the best conditions, I can do eight a day." Before California instituted its rules, he would run 12 to 15 cars using a urethane system. "The days of scratch and blast are gone," he says.
Another piece of advice: don't wait before buffing the clear. Often, a big job will take precedence, but with the newer materials, Caldwell advises getting right to the job. "If you wait, it will sand real hard," he says. "We've also had adhesion problems at the undercoat stage. You can't be the least bit sloppy with it."
Caldwell also misses having as many color matches as he did in the past. "When you take insurance business, you can't pick and choose," he notes. "Sometimes you have to re-paint a whole vehicle because you can't match the color."
"There is a long learning curve with the new materials," said Caldwell. "You run into it every time they change the system." His best advice to shop owners is to get involved in any proposed local regulation so that you can provide input and influence how the regulation is written.
"Training is essential to productivity and efficiency," says Bazil. Shops will face problems with applying too much film build, he notes, making education and practice vital.
"Handling should be the same with the new formulations," says Eilenberger. "Paint will seem thicker going through HVLP guns. But when the paint is applied, there should be no difference. Every color will match."
She notes that existing product lines will be converted to low VOC, with bases and colors formulated to be low VOC from the start. This fall, BASF is introducing low VOC 22 and 55 lines to replace the older 21 and 54 lines. The products formulated to be low VOC from the start promise better handling properties, more like what shops have become used to using.
Curt Harler is a freelance writer based in Strongsville, Ohio.
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AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLIV No. 10, October 1996