St. Louis--George Washington was the first President of the United States, Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, and Mike Swederska, owner of Shur-Way Auto Body was the first to use waterborne paints in St. Louis.
It all began when Swederska, an avid fly fisherman, and conservationist realized that his business practices did not align with his "green" philosophy.
Swederska, a "nature Nazi", according to his sons, is a member of the clean stream organization, and an activist against gravel mining.
"I have always been green-minded," he said. "So, I was having a hard time owning a body shop, because anytime I got into an argument with somebody about the harmful effects that pesticides and gravel mining have on our creeks and streams, they would always throw back in my face what I do for a living."
Swederska said it was then he realized that he needed to make some changes to his business, so he started writing letters and making phone calls to all the paint manufactures in attempt to get waterborne paints in St. Louis.
"It was my goal to be the first guy in St. Louis to use it, promote it, and get as many body shops in the St. Louis county area to switch to water-based paints," he said.
In early December, 2007, Sikkens Car Refinshes in Earth City answered the request and Rep John Copeland promised to provide Swederska with Sikkens Akzo Nobel Water-based paint.
"We were the guinea pigs," he said. "We jumped right in, and it has been great, we are never looking back."
Swederska said switching to water-based paints has been great on so many levels. To begin he said that Sikkens water-based paint and clear coat has only 2.1 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the lowest in the world.
Once it is dry he said it does not soak into the groundwater, so it does not get into the creeks, streams, and fisheries. He added that the overspray is heavy, unlike solvent, so it falls directly into the filter, and the smell is minimal because it is water.
Using water-based paint has also allowed Swederska to cut back on waste, because he said he can mix such smaller quantities.
"My toxic drums that Safety Klean picked up were previously about 15 gallon every three months and at the rate we are going with water-based, I don't see us producing 15 gallons in a year."
Before he started spraying water-based paints, Swederska said he learned that his customers would prefer to do business with a shop that used a more "green" product.
"I would ask customers, 'everything else aside, if a company sprayed an environmentally friendly paint, and another sprayed a solvent-based paint which one would you choose,' and every time the answer was the business that sprayed the water-based paint."
The cost for water-based paint compared to solvent based paint is pretty much the same, he said, adding that the mystic about all the equipment that must be purchased to dry water-based paint is bogus too.
"It is all just wrong," he said. "If I could get anybody in here to show them how fast water-based dries compared to solvent, they will throw solvent away and never look back."
Swederska said his total investment to switch to water-based paint was about $15,000, to add six ceiling fans to his two-bay Garmat booth. He said the fans not only dry the paint instantly, but will move air to help keep his painters cool in the summertime.
He said some said that a new air compressor would have to be purchased in order to spray the paint, but he said he is using the same compressor they used to spray solvent, and that if a shop has an adequate compressor to paint solvent today, then that compressor will shoot water without problems.
"So, you have to invest in some kind of an air dryer and honestly if you don't have the money to invest in ceiling fans, which I highly recommend, there are a couple other cheaper ways that you can do it, that I have drawn up," he said.
He said water-based paints can have some drawbacks though, including implications with humidity and freezing.
"Humidity is somewhat of a factor, especially if you have a booth without a furnace, otherwise, humidity is not a factor," he said. "Cold weather is a factor with water-based paints, because you cannot let it freeze, so it is important that our Sikkens supplier stores and delivers the paint properly."
One other thing that many people need to know is that just because it is water-based does not mean that it is safe to get on your skin, he said.
"I want everyone to realize the humans are made up of mostly water so your body is going to absorb water-based paint until it dries on your skin," he said. "The safety issues for water and solvent are the same in my opinion, so you have to take proper precautions."
Swederska is especially concerned with safety because his son is the lead painter. In fact, most of Swederska's family works at Shur-Way, including his wife, his brother, his daughter-in-law, and two other sons.
The shop is made up of three separate buildings including one designated as an office, which also has an area for estimating, mechanical repair, and frame work. Another building is specifically for paint, and another is for prep work, buffing, and washing cars, he said. In all, it totals 5,000 square-feet.
Swederska said he runs through about 35 cars a week with an average repair order between $1,500-$2000. He said he uses primarily OEM parts, which he gets from Lou Fusz, Don Brown Dodge, and McMahon Pontiac GMC.
"I accomplished what I set out to," he said. "My goal was to bring water-based paint to St. Louis, and we did it. Now I would like to see more and more body shops go with water-based. Why is our water and or air any different here than it is in California? We are just as human as they are."