101 Collision in Westlake decided to make the move to waterborne in July to beat the June 30, 2008, deadline for Los Angeles County, and make the conversion at a time when plenty of support would be available, said General Manager Juan Diaz.  The Thousand Oaks location is the first of the company's four locations to make the conversion.

Meanwhile, North Ranch Bodycraft & Glass Owner Tom Sarac said he decided to put in the waterborne system in March, even though his shop is in Ventura County, which has no requirement yet.  The decision was partially based on the fact that the company's smaller location in Venice would need to make the conversion and he said he prefers to have both shops using the same products and equipment. But he said he also did it for environmental and marketing reasons.

Sarac and Diaz both said the decision to move to waterborne has been a positive one that has improved quality as well as the bottom line at their shops.

Getting ready
Both shops needed to add some equipment and modify their paint booths prior to switching to Akzo Nobel's Sikkens Autowave waterborne system.  Allard said that before installing Autowave, Akzo Nobel performs a shop analysis to determine any changes that are needed prior to using the product.

Allard said booth airflow is critical, and normally a supplemental system is used to increase air movement across the panel. Most booths move about 100 feet of air per minute, while waterborne systems perform best when airflow is greater than 250 feet per minute.  He said that a clean supply of compressed air is also critical because oil or water in the lines will lead to finish problems.

Sarac said it cost about $10,000 per shop, including adding the Garmat Accele-Cure overhead fan system to its booths, purchasing hand-held and stand mounted blowers, and purchasing new spray guns.

 
Paint Manager John Detlefson at North Ranch said the Garmat system seems to work for drying but added that he has noticed a bit more dirt in the finish as a result of the overhead fans creating turbulence and pushing air straight down onto the vehicle.  He said the shop's Trisk hand-held fans have become his preferred method because they are quick and precise, allowing him to dry a front end in about two minutes, for instance.

Diaz said 101 Collision also chose the Garmat Accele-Cure system and added a drying system to the air lines that feed its booth.

 
Allard said that new spray guns are required in most cases.  The water will eventually eat away at the regular steel, so they need a nickel plating to protect them, he said.  Detlefson said the new guns cost about 20 percent more than a similar gun for use with a solvent system.

Painter training
At 101 Collision the equipment conversion process began on a Friday, Diaz said, and the painter was familiarized with the products on Monday and began spraying with the new system on Tuesday--with additional training and oversight lasting for about a week.  "We have a very good painter," Diaz said.  "He picked it up very quickly."

"When you have the right person behind the gun it makes my job easy," Allard added.

North Ranch Paint Manager John Detlefson, who had previously worked as a tech rep for Akzo Nobel, said his training went even faster.  "There was really no learning curve," he said.  "We had the tech rep in for three days and that was it."

The prep
Diaz said he believes that using waterborne products has added about five minutes per panel to the prep time as more care is required -- perhaps an additional 30 minutes of prep on a complete paint job.

Prep is more important for waterborne systems than solvent systems, Allard said, because of the way they cover.  "For instance, if you let the cleaning solvents evaporate off of the panel rather than wiping them dry you will see it," he said.

Diaz said that the little bit of additional time pays off in the end.  "I think it's just better," he said.  "It's a cleaner job, which minimizes our polishing work."  He said polishing time is also reduced because the waterborne paints lay down very flat.

Detlefson said the product is definitely less forgiving of sloppy prep work.  "The paint film isn't as thick, so some of the scratches left by 300 or 400 grit sanding will show through, but if you are prepping properly with 800 it looks great.

"It does react a little more to dirty panels but as a painter you're supposed to be cleaning them anyway."

As a shop owner, Sarac said he views the product's intolerance to sloppy prep work as a positive.  "I think it makes us deliver a better product," he said.  "There is less room to cheat, so you have to go through all the steps and do a better job."

Color match and painting
Another step definitely required when working with waterborne is a color spray-out card, Detlefson said.  The color as it appears in the can or when freshly sprayed is not what it will look like when it dries, so "stick matching" is out of the question, he said.

"It looks kind of crazy as you put it on the panel," Detlefson said.  "It has a rainbow look before it dries."

Detlefson said that using the spray outs, color matches have worked as well as with a solvent system.  "You always have colors that are more difficult to match than others but the color matching has been very good."

Allard noted that painters "were also always supposed to do spray outs with solvent systems as well but they have learned how to take shortcuts."

One unexpected advantage, Detlefson said, is that re-repairs are easier on panels sprayed with waterborne.  "You don't get the lifting that you do with solvent systems."

It's also not necessary to wait for cans to mix, Detlefson said, just pick it up, shake briefly, and start pouring.

Diaz said another advantage is that the system uses fewer toners, resulting in less inventory for the shop.

Allard said that waterborne is not compatible with aerosol cans, which he sees as an advantage.  They often resulted in wasted materials because they were often mixed with more material then needed.

Diaz said that while his shop is spending a little more time prepping, it is largely offset by the fact that the paint dries faster and allows technicians to begin assembly work more quickly.  "You can put it together within a few hours."

Detlefson concurred that the waterborne system definitely dries faster, helping productivity.  The product also goes on in a thinner film, he said, resulting in less product being used.  "It flashes quicker and it covers better," he said.  "You can pretty much cover anything in two coats."

The only caution Detlefson added was that he has only used the product during summer. He is waiting to see how it will react in the more humid winter months.

The dollars and cents
While Sarac noted the $10,000-per-shop cost for converting to waterborne, he said the savings in material costs are very noticeable.  He added that productivity has remained steady since the changeover.

Allard said that over the past three months, he has measured a 15 to 18 percent drop in material costs on the same volume of sales at North Ranch.  In particular, he said, shops use less toner, which is relatively expensive, offset somewhat by an increased amount of binder, which is relatively inexpensive.

Sarac said the reductions in cost should pay back the changeover costs by the end of the year.

The shop has been able to use the changeover to waterborne as a marketing tool for retail and insurance customers, Sarac said, by stressing the environmental aspects and the improved quality.  He said several insurance providers have also agreed to a paint materials price increase, agreeing that there is a bit more labor involved in the prep and by the need to do spray outs for every vehicle.

"One real advantage to doing this now," Sarac said, "is that I got a lot of support from my paint company.  I didn't want to wait until everyone was trying to make the change at once."

The final word
The pluses and minuses of waterborne aside, Detlefson said, "This is the best product I've sprayed in the last 15 years.  It lays down flatter on the panel than anything I've used, and it covers as well."

Diaz added that in his view, even if the requirements for waterborne went away, he believes 101 Collision would continue using it.