You can’t make time but you can use time more wisely and PPG’s new low energy cure solutions are all about offering that versatility, according to John Hristias, PPG Sales Director Australia.
As I travel around the country working with customers, one of the common requests I get is ‘can you give us more time?’
Collision centre owners are resigned to the fact that they can’t get more skilled staff so what they want PPG to do is give them solutions that let them process more work with the team they already have.
This is what has made people so excited about PPG’s latest low energy cure range. With no need to purchase any extra equipment or make major changes, these products can be slotted straight into a shop’s production process where they offer the ability to instantly reduce cycle-time and application time, reduce energy cost per job via shorter or no bake cycle in order to process more volume and, therefore, boost profitability.
The beauty is that this is not just one new product – this PPG developed solution actually takes a holistic approach, from the primer stage, to the new, flexible Envirobase High Performance basecoat application, right through to the final clearcoat curing. Best of all, it’s not just theory – as their popularity grows in the market, we are finding these technologies really work in real life.
Prime time
For example, when it comes to priming you have two high tech PPG options. The UV cured technology – ONECHOICE® UV8080 UV Cured Primer Surfacer aerosol and the sprayable OneChoice SU1280 UV Cured Primer Surfacer – is still a really good option thanks to its excellent film build and incredible speed. However, in the current industry climate we are finding that repairers are tending to do larger jobs, as smaller repairs have dried up, and a lot of second-hand parts are being used where they need some repairs and priming.
This is where LVP-565 Air-Dry Primer plays a really good role. For a start, it air-dries in just 30 minutes (@ 20°C), at which point it’s fully cured and ready to sand. If required, you can also hit it with IR for five minutes @ 45°C to 50°C (check the product data sheet). The best bit is that instead of having to apply multiple primer coats with flash-off in between, LVP-565 Air-Dry Primer is applied in a rapid, single visit mode where absolutely no flash-off is required. Think of what you could do with this time saving alone.
Not only that, it also features excellent film build and, the ability to lay down a super smooth film, makes it extremely easy to sand. This has already made it a favourite amongst painters. Finally, what really surprises people is the great gloss holdout it has after being cured and topcoated.
Clear leadership
We also have two new low energy cure clearcoat options. LVC-131 UHS Clearcoat is a multipurpose solution that suits anything from a single panel to a full respray.
It offers excellent flexibility to choose the bake cycle that fits with your production process – either a short, 15 minute (@ 60°C) high temperature cure, or 40 minutes (@ 40°C) low temperature cure.
Having said that, we are finding that a lot of people are taking the air-dry option using LVC-177 Rapid Performance Clearcoat.
Instead of a conventional clearcoat that takes 30 to 40 minutes to bake at high temperature, LVC-177’s air-dry mode means that after application it’s dust free and ready to handle in just 20 minutes @ 20°C. And if you want to go faster, we are seeing bake times of just eight to ten minutes @ 50°C in a good quality booth.
With something as fast as these low energy cure solutions, people automatically expect a certain loss of gloss and difficulty in polishing. In fact, what has really surprised repairers is how good the gloss holdout is, how hard these clearcoats are after curing and how easy they are to polish. Application is via a fast, single visit mode (a light closed coat followed by a full wet coat) or you can go with the traditional two coat method.
Another feature that factors into the return on investment potential for these products is that they go on so smoothly, repairers are actually finding that consumption is considerably lower than with conventional clearcoats. When you add up all the advantages, these clearcoats are just a win/win/ win.
Time to embrace sustainability
The key reason behind PPG’s development of these low energy cure solutions was to reduce the burden of rising energy costs on collision centre operations and, although that has taken a backseat to the speed, ease of use and quality, it’s still a major contributing factor.
Essentially, by simply choosing these products your business is automatically more sustainable without even thinking about it. As well as the ability to lower your electricity and gas bills, the reduced carbon footprint of your business is also something you can communicate to your customers and work providers.
Note: PPG’s MVP Business Solutions team conducted a comprehensive study across the local industry to determine an average energy cost per job.
After analysing over 50,000 individual repair jobs it was calculated to be approximately $31.00 per job. As those costs continue to rise, energy usage is becoming an increasingly important factor in the repair process.
Time to change
The versatility of PPG’s low energy cure solutions makes them perfectly suitable for virtually any size of shop – whether turning out one to two cars a day, through to 20, 30 or more.
There are no finicky techniques to master, no special equipment to purchase and painters seem to be genuinely excited about utilising new technologies. It does take a small mindset change when switching from conventional bake cycle products but it’s also very straightforward and easy to achieve.
Even as they enjoy the benefits, many repairers are blown away by the quality element of these product, asking ‘how can something this fast be so good?’ We suggest you give them a try to find out.