Refurbished Vehicles to 4 NJ Veterans

On July 21, four deserving New Jersey veterans were presented with refurbished vehicles to provide them independence and the ability to work and take care of their families, thanks to the National Auto Body Council (NABC) Recycled Rides program along with car donor GEICO and collision repair partners Caliber Collision Centers, Ray Mees Auto Coach and Cherry Hill Collision Center.

The presentation was held in conjunction with the NABC® Garden State Pars for Cars Golf Fundraiser at Mountain View Golf Club in Ewing Township, NJ.

The veterans were selected by New Jersey Veteran’s Network.

This event marks some 2,750 vehicles presented by NABC, including nearly 40 in the Trenton/ Princeton/Ewing Township area, and more than 370 vehicles donated by GEICO.

“What an honor to recognize four deserving veterans and, along with our NABC members, present them with refurbished vehicles that provide them independence and the ability to work and care for their families,” said Bill Garoutte, president and CEO of the NABC. “Many thanks to GEICO for donating all four vehicles and to the collision repair shops for restoring them to like-new condition. To hear these veterans share their stories and the impact these vehicles will have on their lives is truly inspirational.”

Shawn Mangin, a U.S. Army veteran who served as a gunner and infantryman, received a 2016 Hyundai Sonata donated by GEICO and refurbished by Cherry Hill Collision Center. After his service in the Army, he supports a natural disaster response team.

“This will help me get the independence that I once had,” said Mangin. “The New Jersey Veterans Network really came through for me and helped me out when I needed them. Now, I try to dedicate as much time to them as I can.”

Dina Bowers, who served in the U.S. Navy on a submarine, received a 2018 Toyota Corolla donated by GEICO and repaired by Ray Mees Auto Coach. With an 18-yearold adopted daughter and challenges with chronic pain and mobility, a reliable car will make her life much easier.

“Thanks to everyone who had anything to do with this. God bless you,” said Bowers. “This means so much to me. I’ve always bought secondhand cars that are not very reliable. I volunteer with my church and take people to appointments, church and other activities, but it was hard with an unreliable car. Having a 2018 car is just amazing. Thank you!”

Pedro Muriel is a U.S. Army veteran who served several tours of duty but faced challenges when he returned home. Today, he is the single father of four boys and works to give back to other veterans in need. He received a 2017 Hyundai Elantra donated by GEICO and refurbished by Caliber Collision Pennsauken.

“Thank you to everyone who had a hand in this,” said Muriel. “Thank you to Michael Boll from the Veteran’s Network. That guy is amazing. This means a lot to me. As a single father, not having a reliable car makes it hard to get around. But I don’t make excuses, I do what I have to do as a dad. This will help me out tremendously and I will pay it forward. This will allow me opportunity to help more veterans.”

Hazel Rogers was presented a 2018 Hyundai Elantra donated by GEICO and repaired by Caliber Collision Pennington. She served in the U.S. Army as a cook stationed primarily in Germany. Without a reliable vehicle today, she is challenged to care for her family and herself.

“This car is an incredible gift,” said Rogers. “Not only will it give me a way to get back and forth to medical appointments and such. My daughter is in college and I try to go see her once a semester. We’ve had quite a bit of struggles the last year and I lost my dad to COVID. This will help us get back to our life. Thank you to anybody who had anything to do with repairing this vehicle. This is life changing.”

The lead technician who handled the repairs for both of the Caliber Collision locations, Thomas Adams, donates his time and talents to repair NABC Recycled Rides for a special cause—his late father-inlaw, who perished at Pearl Harbor. He has worked on four NABC Recycled Rides.

“I do this for my father-in-law,” said Adams. “He was awarded a Bronze Star for his bravery, and want to help other veterans by honoring my wife’s father.”

NABC Recycled Rides is a unique program in which businesses representing all facets of the collision repair industry team up to repair and donate vehicles to individuals and families in need of reliable transportation. Since the inception of the NABC Recycled Rides program in 2007, members of the NABC have donated more than 2,600 vehicles valued at more than $36 million.

Source: NABC

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How Waterborne Technology Can Improve Cycle Time Performance

The number of color coats required to make a refinish repair is one it can significantly reduce sprayouts. Comprised of thousands of

primary consideration for evaluating the throughput performance of a refinish paint system. Yet, as most know, the most accurate way to vet a system’s productivity is to evaluate the entire refinish process – from color identification, right on through to the final clearcoat. As example, PPG’s waterborne refinish system incorpovariant and prime color chips, each chip is sprayed with actual waterborne paint. “The color deck is ‘dead-on’,” says Jeff Smith of Pro Collision, Grand Rapids, Michigan. “If the color is in the deck, there’s no need to do a sprayout, like we always had to perform with our previous system.”

rates a host of features designed to speed cycle time performance.

Blending Performance

Given that refinishing most often calls for blending, how efficient a system can perform an accurate repair and eliminate chances for re-dos is especially critical to achieving maximum cycle time performance. PPG’s waterborne system employs an easy, one-gun process designed to achieve a fast, tight blend and accurate match the first time out. In fact, in a 2-3 coat application, it’s possible to perform a spot repair in less than an hour.

This fast blend process is aided by a very thin film build, enabling the basecoat to dry fast. Only 2-3 minutes flash time is needed between coats and the clearcoat can be applied in 1015 minutes. The system’s EN-V® Series clearcoat line offers fast bake times as short as 10 minutes.

Color ID and Matching Efficiency

The throughput of a refinish system must include its color-matching ability. Afterall, if the color doesn’t match, how fast the repair was achieved won’t matter. In this regard, PPG has heavily invested in ensuring the ENVIROBASE® High Performance waterborne basecoat system delivers color-matching excellence. Its color variance program is one example of this commitment.

Since color variants to OEM prime colors are an everyday challenge for identifying a correct formula, those identified by PPG’s color variance team are quickly incorporated into PPG’s comprehensive color formula database. Formulas are updated daily through PPG’s PAINTMANAGER® XI color software. In the long run, the daily update of the database saves the technician valuable time searching for the right color formula.

Another real time saver is the Chromatic Variant Deck since

To ensure color accuracy, the basecoat’s latex particles orient metallic flakes smoothly to accurately match the color travel from face to flop. Painters won’t find any evidence of mottling or halos around the repair, which can appear using conventional basecoats. Any dirt or specks can be easily de-nibbed, further facilitating a fast blend repair.

To summarize, when evaluating throughput performance— from color identification to final clearcoat—the Envirobase High Performance system covers all the bases to achieve the cycle time performance demanded by today’s high-production collision centers.