At the recent winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, the German men’s two-man bobsleigh team of Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis, and women’s bobsleigh team of Mariama Jamanka and Lisa Buckwitz, both took home gold. Half way around the world, in Berchtesgadener Land, Germany, the employees of Grassl Bodyshop celebrated these brilliant achievements because they were responsible for painting and foiling the sleds.
Grassl Bodyshop started work on the men’s and women’s two and four-man bobsleighs for the German national team at the end of 2017. And they had to fit them in around their everyday work. “We’re a very busy body shop with a very high throughput, so productivity and process reliability are always decisive factors in product choice, which is why we rely on material from Cromax,” explains Grassl.
“The sleds are primarily made of carbon fibre and glass fibre, so pre-treatment with the Epoxy Primer Filler 840R and the 901R Universal 2K Plastic Primer Filler from Cromax was necessary to ensure optimal adhesion,” says Grassl.
The next step was to eliminate previous wear and tear from the sleds. The team at Grassl laminated cracks then treated them with 779R 2K Multi-Function Putty and then used 799R VOC Spray Putty. This was followed by the LE2004 Low Emission Surfacer Plus. Then came Cromax Pro Basecoat in Traffic Yellow, and the finishing touch was the hard-wearing CC6400 Standard VOC Clear with XK205 Low Emission Activator.
“The bobsleighs reach top speeds of up to 150kph so the paint must be particularly resistant on the track,” explained Grassl.
Grassl also painted the sleds for the French bobsleigh team and completely rebuilt a sled for the Principality of Monaco. The body shop is also responsible for the paint repair of numerous PistenBullys, the vehicles that prepare local slopes and trails and which are often also exposed to extreme winter conditions.
For more information on Cromax products and services, contact the local distributor or visit www.cromax.com.au.