Collision repair businesses are always seeking the elusive trio of efficiency and cost savings, without any compromise to quality. Sometimes it is with the everyday items that are intrinsic to the operation of good repairs, like workshop consumables, where this trinity can be most readily achieved.
This is why sia Abrasives has gathered its Swiss expertise and innovation into a new range of abrasives called 1550 siapower that aims to pack a punch in their prime role of stock removal but also add durability to the product and efficiency to paint prep processes.
sia, a Robert Bosch company, has a reputation in abrasives that extends from the automotive workshop and is tested in the rigours of everything from commercial transport to aerospace to the wind turbine industry.
To deliver these benefits to the automotive refinish trade, sia has taken an innovative but user-friendly focus towards both the materials in its range and the design of the new siapower 1550 so that workshops can rely on it every day.
sia National Sales Manager Stewart Pack says their key objectives with the 1550 siapower was efficient stock removal and a very long lifetime in dry sanding applications.
“Our latest innovation in the field of abrasives sets new standards in terms of stock removal rates and efficiency. Process steps are tailored to the application to boost efficiency, saving time and money,” Pack says.
Optimal outcomes for different applications
Each part of the range has been carefully designed to optimise their use in the different process steps, adding greater efficiency in incremental but significant time and production savings.
The 40–220 grit range utilises ceramic content and offers the highest stock removal rate
The 240–600 grit range uses semi-friable aluminium oxide that is blue-fired while the 800 uses white aluminium oxide and is aimed at perfect surface quality.
The 400–600 grit range has optimised clogging characteristics for lacquer sanding. The combination of anti-clog stearate, grain quantity and the chosen resin type reduces clogging to a minimum.
The products are specifically designed for a wide range of workshop tasks including sanding off coatings and impurities, sanding out unevenness at the edges of repaired surfaces, flatting of bodyfiller and composite materials, fine sanding of primer filler, keying of old and new lacquers and matt finishing of old and new lacquers for blending.
The innovative thinking at sia extends throughout the 1550 siapower range, including the paper thickness, which is tailored to the grit and application, is designed for optimum performance whether it is on body filler, primer filler and lacquer.
Adding to the workplace
The range shares an optimal multi-hole pattern designed for the best dust extraction and reduced clogging, that in turn extends the lifetime of the product.
The longer lifetime of the discs means fewer changeovers, lower costs per job and less process interruptions . When the time comes for replacement, the easy fit central hole in the discs is designed to be easily positioned and can be quickly attached to the backing pad for simple easy changeover.
In a simple but valuable addition to the range, the grit identifications are applied with laser to ensure technicians always see what they are working with even after continued use.
Less dust also means a better and cleaner workplace, adding to the occupational health and safety of working conditions in the bodyshop.
siapower extends the sustainability of its products to their wider environmental impact and the use of certified raw materials.
Its Frauenfeld facility in Switzerland only uses products from FSCTM-certified and controlled sources for the paper backing to live up to the motto of “Forests for all, forever”.
These certified products can be identified by an FSCTM label and corresponding licence number: FSCTM C168085. Further to this, the Bosch Group with its more than 400 locations worldwide has been carbon neutral overall since 2020.
Multiple selections, multiple applications
sia products have a long and successful history across the globe that has demonstrated impressive removal rates across the automotive, truck, bus and railway industries, as well as aerospace and wind power sector.
1550 siapower is particularly suitable for dry sanding and can be used on a wide range of materials including: primer filler, body filler, lacquer, paint, epoxy, cathodic dip primer coat, gelcoat, and glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GRP).
The range is also designed to meet the specifics of the workshop with a range of discs in 125 and 150mm; rolls in multi hole and perforated versions plus strips in multi hole denominations to meet a range of tool and hand sanding options.
You can find additional information at: siaabrasives.com/en-au/siapower/