December 2011 Shop & Product Showcase

Shop and Product SHOWCASE

www.autobodynews.com www ww w.au w.au autto tobo tob body bod dyne dyne news ws.c .com com

DECEMBER 2011 INSERT / TOOLS, TECHNIQUES AND TESTIMONIALS D

BASF Prestige Imports Collision Center Lakewood, CO...........................2–3

Global Finishing Solutions Collision Solutions Corporate Headquarters Indianapolis, IN .........................4–5

PPG Old Forge Collision Center Lansdale and Chalfont, PA ..........6–7

Pro-Spray Icon Collision Services Memphis, TN .............................8–9

SATA PPG Training Center Kansas City, MO Sherwin-Williams Automotive Training Center Burr Ridge, IL .........................10–11

Spies Hecker 1st Class European Authorized Coachworks Pompano Beach, FL ................12–13

SprayZone.net Shop Owners Talk about Exceptional Products and Services that have Greatly Benefited their Businesses.

Autowest Collision Group San Jose, CA .........................14–15

2 DECEMBER 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | Shop and Product Showcase

Prestige Imports Collision Center is a BASF Waterborne Advocate in Colorado

by Autobody News Staff

When his customers are spending big money on vehicles costing more than $50,000, and sometimes well into six figures, Jim Frost, the manager at Prestige Imports Collision Center in Lakewood, Colorado, knows his paint jobs have to be toptier every single time. That’s why he’s enthused on several levels about his conversion to waterborne paint. Frost is very pleased about the performance and the finished product he’s getting with Glasurit 90-Line, BASF’s waterborne product, and Prestige is proud to be a Colorado waterborne pioneer—the very first body shop in the Centennial State to adopt the green approach nearly three years ago.

Frost, now 41, started working for his father’s shop at age 15. Now his collision center serves three Colorado dealerships: Prestige Imports’: Porsche Audi; MercedesBenz of Littleton; and Mile High Honda Acura Mitsubishi. Prestige Imports Collision Center will repair any type of vehicle, but primarily focuses on the European brands its dealership sells, as well as Ferraris, Bentleys, Maseratis and Lotuses, among others. With 19 employees, this 19,000 square-ft. facility has an average repair ticket of approximately $3,300 and at any given point it’s likely that the shop will have more than a dozen repair orders in-house averaging more than $20,000 each.

Frost conducted an in-depth study before he chose BASF as his paint vendor, he told Autobody News. “We decided to change to waterborne and adopt all of the California laws even before they went into effect there. We analyzed all of the waterborne paint lines that were out there starting a little more than three years ago. We discovered that BASF offered an ideal solution for us in our environment. Many of the cars we repair were originally painted with BASF waterborne from the factory.

We liked the product and appreciate their support, so that was a big part of the decision.”

Becoming familiar with BASF Glasurit 90-Line involved watching other shops using it, Frost explained.

“I went out to Southern California with my painting team to their training facility there and BASF took us around to local body shops that were using the BASF waterborne product.

At that point, we went through some training and when we came back here, we felt as though we were

Prestige Imports Collision Center Location: Lakewood, CO

Telephone: 303-238-7391 www.prestigeimports.com www.????.com Company At A Glance...

Type: Collision Repair

Facility Employees: 19

In Business Since: 1974 DRP Programs: Zero

Number of Locations: One All of the equipment and systems at Prestige have to be top-notch, and maintained immaculately, because they work on the world’s most expensive cars, which have some of the world’s most demanding owners.

ready to roll. FinishMaster, our local jobber, assembled all of the necessary materials and we came in one Saturday and switched over to water.”

It was a challenge for his paint crew during the first month or so, but Prestige didn’t have a single comeback and the learning curve flattened out quickly. “Change is never easy, but we’re always looking to make ourselves better,” Frost said. “We decided to push the envelope and make a definitive move. After 30 days of saying this is the way we’re painting cars and we’re not looking back, the painting staff accepted it.

And now I can guarantee that they would never even try to go back.”

What was the biggest issue in converting to BASF Glasurit 90Line? “The main challenge for us is our climate here in Colorado,” Frost said. “The humidity swings and the temperature changes here all the time, so we had to start what I call ‘cocktailing our mixes’ to make them correct. Once we were able to solve that, it was seamless. We retrofitted the booths and we installed more fans and that was essentially it. A lot of people were telling us that we had to buy a lot of other equipment, but we determined it wasn’t actually necessary.”

Frost also uses BASF’s paint inventory system and values it for its ease-of-use. “We have incorporated their SmarTools inventory control and management system, and we like it. Every week, I get an accurate report, so I know what to order and exactly what I have at any given time. I also credit that to an increase in profitability, because we don’t run

out or ever buy too much of the product.”

Even without any pending legislation on the horizon in Colorado, body shops are moving toward the waterborne solution statewide, Frost said. “Since we switched over in 2008, roughly 35 shops have converted. We always invite other shops here so they can see how we’re doing it. We’ve even had other shops sending their painters here, pulling the triggers alongside our crew to learn the product and tell them ‘hey, it’s not so hard. You don’t need to be afraid of it.’ We tell other shops to try the BASF Glasurit 90-Line and make your own call. There is no substitute for doing it yourself. Some of these shops are competing with us, but we have no problem with sharing information this important. In the end, we should all be stewards of the land, and if I can help to get one guy over his apprehension in using this product, then that is definitely a win for everyone.”

Business life is a series of tradeoffs, but switching to waterborne was a win-win for Prestige, Frost says.

“The product costs slightly more, but the coverage is superior. The color matches are more accurate and we have experienced an increase in our overall material gross profits since we made the change. We’re very environmentally-minded here in Colorado and we participate in the Environmental Leadership Program sponsored by the state. They’ve recognized us for our green practices from a recycling perspective and they awarded us with their silver certificate for the changes that we’ve made here.”

Combined Production Space: 19,000 square feet

Prestige was the very first collision facility in Colorado to make the ‘green move’ to waterborne, when they adopted BASF’s Glasurit 90-Line in 2008.

Prestige reports that their color matches are dead-on with BASF Glasurit 90-Line.

BASF Company Contact: David Brez Strategic Initiatives Manager Phone: 951-315-1395 (Mobile) email: david.brez@basf.com website: www.basfrefinish.com

Shop and Product Showcase | AUTOBODY NEWS DECEMBER 2011 3

4 DECEMBER 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | Shop and Product Showcase

Collision Solutions’ Indianapolis Body Shop Turns a Trial by Fire into a Win-Win with a State-of-the-Art GFS Paint Booth

by Autobody News Staff

Sometimes a negative or even tragic event can lead to a positive outcome.

When a serious fire hit Collision Solutions in Indianapolis, IN, and destroyed its paint booth, management took the opportunity to make lemonade from lemons. The fire, bad as it was, gave the owners a chance to rearrange the shop’s layout and make some important changes—in this case waterborne. Instead of being paralyzed by the devastation, the shop made some moves. They bought a new cutting-edge ECO Expert paint booth from Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) and converted one of their locations to waterborne paint before any restrictions mandated it. Collision Solutions was soon turning out amazing paint jobs and their crew quickly became fully comfortable with waterborne and the numerous benefits offered by their new GFS paint booth.

“We took a couple of the prep stations and replaced all of the old equipment with GFS equipment after looking at several companies. We went with GFS based on what people out there in the industry were telling us about the company and its track record.”

Owner Aaron Clark, 40, is a second-generation body shop owner whose parents operated a shop more than three decades ago. “I started working in our family’s shop when I was 16 and worked my way up from porter to technician,” Clark told Autobody News. “In 1994, my partner and I opened our own shop in friendly competition with my parents’ company. It was a very successful operation that eventually grew into a two-location business in the Indianapolis area.”

In 1998, Clark sold his interest in the two shops and returned to work at his parent’s shop. By working harder and smarter, Clark starting adding new locations. “We’ve grown and currently have five stores in Metro Indianapolis with 75 employees. We fix 500–600 vehicles every month.”

Today, Collision Solutions is an $11–$12 million business maintaining several DRPs. Clark is the current Chairman of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), and has served the organization on its Board of Directors for the past five years.

Clark’s relationship with GFS– which bills itself as “the world’s leading provider of technologically advanced capital equipment solutions for the finishing industry”— started almost immediately after the

Collision Solutions Corporate Headquarters Location: Indianapolis, IN

Telephone: 317-787-8366 www.collisionsolutions.com Company At A Glance...

Type: Collision Repair

Facility Employees: 75

In Business Since: 1978 DRP Programs: 10

Number of Locations: Five

Combined Production Space: 88,000 square feet (combined)

After a fire destroyed their old paint booth, Collision Solutions bought a new cutting-edge ECO Expert paint booth from Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) and converted the location to waterborne paint.

fire that nearly destroyed his business. “We were in the process of changing over to waterborne anyway, so it was important for us to get a paint booth that was going to treat us well while using the waterborne finishes and that’s why we went with the GFS ECO Expert booth,” Clark said. “We put the four-corner tower blowers in it and installed a double prep deck adjacent to the paint booth. We took the opportunity to move the booth to a better location and connect it to a mix room and installed additional overhead doors in the building to create a better flow through our paint department. Even though it was definitely an emergency when our old paint booth caught fire, we have used the crisis to get better equipment and improve our operation overall.”

Clark says he wants to be able to buy a paint booth and then forget about it for a very long time. “We would like to enjoy 30 years of service out of this type of equipment and expect to see that from this GFS booth. We’re very excited to be working with GFS. This is our first GFS piece of equipment and by using it side-by-side with the other equipment we’re still using at our other locations, we can see that it performs better than the other equipment we’ve had. No question about it. We wanted a paint booth with all of the latest technology that’s currently available and the ECO Expert is exactly that. Everything is computerized and has all the features we were looking for.”

The process of installing the ECO Expert booth was painless and the power savings are considerable, Clark said. “Our rep, Don Putney of Indiana Booth Associates, installed it completely in October of 2009. Price-wise, GFS was very competitive, but we were more focused on all of the other things we were getting from the company. We were interested in the Variable Speed Drive (VSD) motors and the digital panel and the corner blowers we installed are totally controlled by the digital panel. Also, a big plus is that the booth pulls less electricity. We’ve seen an overall drop in our electrical bills, because the VSD motors pull less juice.”

The GFS ECO Expert has been the real instrument in getting Collision Solutions up and running with waterborne. “We have never sprayed solvent in that booth. We converted to water the first day we got the ECO Expert and we’re happy we did,” says Clark. “We’re not in an area where we have to use it by law, but we have five stores and since we were installing this new paint booth, we decided to spray waterborne to conduct our own internal testing.

We’re still using solvent primarily at my other four stores, but by looking at the profitability and the performance, we will definitely be converting another store at some point soon. It’s a better and safer product and since it’s being used at the OEM level (for new vehicles), it should be used by collision industry repairers.”

Collision Solutions has grown into a $11–12 million business with five stores in Metro Indianapolis that repair 500–600 vehicles every month.

Aaron Clark is a second-generation shop owner and the Chairman of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS)

Global Finishing Solutions Phone: (877) 658-7900 email: autorefinishsales@globalfinishing.com website: www.globalfinishing.com

Shop and Product Showcase | AUTOBODY NEWS DECEMBER 2011 5

6 DECEMBER 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | Shop and Product Showcase

Old Forge Collision Centers Outshines with PPG’s Aquabase® Plus Waterborne

by Autobody News Staff

Proactive body shops are recognizing the inexorable change to waterborne paint, especially in states where the laws are looming, but not yet a reality. Anticipating an advantage over their feet-dragging competitors in the next few years are forward-thinking shops like Old Forge Collision Centers, a 20-yearold company with two locations in Pennsylvania that together repair an average of nearly 200 vehicles monthly.

Old Forge’s General Manager, Bob Scarpello, 54, is a 30-year veteran of the collision industry and a former painter. Three decades ago, his first job out of tech school was painter’s helper and by continually learning and improving his skills, Scarpello eventually progressed up the ladder into upper management.

One of the first things Scarpello did when he was hired at Old Forge, was to take a long, serious look at converting both of his locations to waterborne paint, he told Autobody News.

“We were one of the first body shops in Pennsylvania to go with waterborne paint. When I came here in 2003, after reading everything I could get my hands on about waterborne painting systems, I realized that it would eventually be coming here. I mean, Europe has been using it for decades, so what are we waiting for?”

Before he could pursue the changeover, Scarpello had to persuade the owners. “Our owners, Peter Watson and Larry Schoppert, were environmentally conscious already, which made it easier. It didn’t really take much coaxing on my behalf to get them on board. I met with them and told them, ‘this is the way things are going and pretty soon we will have to do it anyway.’ I told them that the conversion will benefit us in two ways. First, we’ll get customer recognition around Pennsylvania for being a waterborne early adopter.

Several local newspapers have published articles about our conversion process. Second, we’re providing a safer environment for our crew and for the planet. It’s all positive stuff and from day one it’s been a great journey. I can’t complain about any aspect of it.”

Scarpello met with several paint companies and decided to go with PPG and their Nexa Autocolor™ Aquabase® Plus waterborne product. “I wanted to be a step ahead of

Old Forge Collision Center

Location: Two locations in Lansdale and Chalfont, PA

Telephone: 215-368-3100 www.oldforgecollisioncc.com Company At A Glance...

Type: Collision Repair

Facility Employees: 25

In Business Since: 1981

DRP Programs: 12 (Lansdale) and 8 (Chalfont)

Number of Locations: Two

Combined Production Space: 32,700 square feet (combined)

Lead painter Dave Miller getting results with PPG’s waterborne product Aquabase® Plus

everyone else, so we met with PPG to discuss their waterborne products. I had used PPG solvent-based paint extensively at other shops where I worked before, so I knew that their quality was outstanding and the service was always excellent. So, we took two months to strategize the changeover and hash out the details.

“My biggest concern was how the painters would react when they have to start using waterborne after using the solvent for so many years. But I didn’t need to worry so much. PPG made the switch as smooth as butter.

They took all of my painters to their school in Baltimore and after one day there my paint crew came back and reassured me about the product.

They were especially happy with the color matches and the blending aspect of the Aquabase® Plus. Even my lead painter, Dave Miller was literally blown away. Now we don’t have to spend time taking spray outs and tinting them for 45 minutes to get a color match. The color matching qualities of Aquabase® Plus is a lot better than what we ever encountered with the solvent.”

That conversion took place in 2008, aided by Old Forge’s jobber Bill Flannery and his crew. “We had to reorganize our paint department in several ways. The drying system, of course, was considerably different with the waterborne.

The old solvent system we were using was based on heat and now it primarily involves air flow. We had to revamp our paint booth and

install several air movers in there to get the air flow suitable for the waterborne. But my painters love it and they will never go back to solvent, guaranteed. Once they adapted to the PPG waterborne, they were saying ‘Why did we ever use solvent?’”

Have any of Old Forge’s local competitors made the switch to waterborne? Some have, but Scarpello is baffled that other body shops seem reluctant to make the move to waterborne. “The only switch involves the basecoat, because the sealers and primers and top coats are still solvent. So, it’s not like everything has changed. One piece of the puzzle is now different, but it’s so easy that I can’t believe it when I hear that other shops are fighting the change.”

“Some are in the process of converting, but we were definitely the first in this region,” Scarpello observed. “Some of them are getting on board with it, but I know that many of them are waiting until the last minute to change, and we didn’t want to wait. As a result, we got more attention from PPG and my jobber, because back then we were the only ones doing it. In the next few years, there will be a rush to these waterborne systems and body shops will be competing for their attention. A lot of shops around here will be struggling and shuffling to get it done, and we will already have been using waterborne for five years by then.” If you’re an educated consumer, who would you take your vehicle to?

Old Forge Collision Center’s Lead Painter Dave Miller appreciates the spot-on colors he gets with the Aquabase® Plus paint

Old Forge Collision Center’s General Manager Bob Scarpello has taken his operation into the waterborne age with his PPG Aquabase® Plus system

PPG Automotive Refinish Company Contact: Cindy Piazza Phone: (440) 572-2800 email: piazza@ppg.com website: www.ppgrefinish.com

Shop and Product Showcase | AUTOBODY NEWS DECEMBER 2011 7

8 DECEMBER 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | Shop and Product Showcase

Tennessee’s Icon Collision Sees Results Working with Pro-Spray’s Solvent & Waterborne

by Autobody News Staff

As the owner of Icon Collision in Memphis, Tennessee, Tim Russell runs a body shop that fixes approximately 210–230 cars every month, does $6 million in business annually and oversees six busy divisions—including two detailing businesses, a PDR department, a glass division, a retail collision branch and a wholesale body shop. Specializing in highend luxury vehicles, Icon works with several Memphis-area car dealerships that don’t have their own collision centers, such as Lexus of Memphis, Wolfchase Toyota-Scion, Performance Toyota and Wolfchase Dodge Chrysler Jeep. Russell needed a paint system that will produce top tier paint jobs each and every time, either waterborne or solvent, depending on the job. That’s why he’s pleased to be using both of Pro-Spray’s paint systems—the solvent basecoat and the H2O waterborne basecoat.

Russell, now 51, worked for sixteen years at a Memphis dealership group running their collision center and servicing their eight dealerships.

When the group was sold to a large company, the climate changed rapidly. Russell wasn’t happy with the new corporate environment, so he decided to start his own shop. Icon Collision was opened in 2006 and the business grew at an alarming rate.

The shop did $80,000 in sales the first month and doubled that the second month. Today, the business grosses roughly $500,000 every month.

When Russell opened the doors at Icon six years ago, he initially signed with another paint company.

“In the end, I left them because their color matches were not accurate enough. We just weren’t able to hit on a lot of the colors. They brought in their managers and it got to where I couldn’t even hit white pearls for Lexus cars anymore and it got embarrassing. So, we started looking around for a better solution.”

Russell sat down with Mike Aguirre from Color Connection, whom he had known for quite some time and who was now representing Pro-Spray. They met with Todd Berry, Pro-Spray’s local distributor and Phil Rich, Pro-Spray’s territory sales manager, to go through the advantages and savings associated with the Pro-Spray products. As they say, ‘the proof is in the pudding,’ so Russell and his crew tested and retested the products.

Recalls Russell, “One day, I couldn’t get a match on a Lexus we

Icon Collision Services Location: Memphis, TN

Telephone: 901-213-3266 www.iconcollision.com Company At A Glance...

Type: Collision Repair

Facility Employees: 23

In Business Since: 2006 DRP Programs: Zero

Number of Locations: One

Combined Production Space: 24,000 square feet Tim Russell at Icon Collision knows that no paint company will come up with perfect color matches 100% of the time, but Pro-Spray gives him the best matches he’s ever achieved.

were painting, so I called Mike at Color Connection and said ‘can you match this color?’ He said, ‘we can butt match the panels.’ I told him, ‘get down here, and if you can butt match these panels, we’ll talk.’ He gave us the Pro-Spray paint and without tinting or mixing, we hit it right on the first time. It was pretty incredible.”

“All of the Pro-Spray people came here to the shop and we talked to them. I looked at the pricing and realized it’s about 40 percent less than what I was paying the other company. I could also see that they hadn’t done a price increase in three years, while our other paint company was raising their prices about 6–10%, or even more, every year.”

Other benefits became clear the more he looked at Pro-Spray. “I analyzed Pro-Spray’s clear coats. That is always one of the main things I look at. I like high-solid clears, and they have 52% high-solid clear, with the competition coming in at 48%. It doesn’t look like a big difference, but if I can get a better clear at a lower price, why not?

“The major things we were concerned about were the color matches and the protection provided by the clear coats. It’s not rocket science. If it’s prepped properly, it will last.

We’re more concerned with the color match and the clear.”

Hitting on color matches with Pro-Spray also got his attention, Russell explained. “Hey, I‘m not expecting every paint manufacturer to match every color every time, because it just isn’t going to happen.

There are times you’re going to have to tint, for various reasons, and that’s a reality. But, Pro-Spray definitely impressed me and I made a deal with them. We started with Pro-Spray in late 2009 and we never looked back. We’ve been spraying it ever since.”

Adopting Pro-Spray was a gradual yet fairly drama-free process, Russell said. “We started by using their solvent product. We liked it and about six months ago we added their waterborne line. Pro-Spray brought in their people so we didn’t have to send anyone to a school. It was convenient and efficient. They had five people here for a full two weeks with the solvent and two people here in the shop with one week for the waterborne. We added the waterborne because more and more of these newer models are painted with waterborne.”

Right now he’s still painting more cars with solvent, but that may change, Russell said. “I have both systems in place and I’m letting my painters decide. They’re picking 90% solvent right now, because they’re comfortable using it. Right now it takes them 15-20% longer using the waterborne. So, I’m going to have to make a decision soon on whether to make a full changeover to waterborne or use both. My guys get paid flat rate and the more cars they paint means more money in their pockets. Everyone hates change, but we like the Pro-Spray H2O waterborne, so once we can get better at using it, the transition will be easier to make.”

Icon Collision in Memphis, Tennessee, is currently using both solvent and waterborne products by Pro-Spray in their busy shop. They’re painting more than 200 cars monthly.

Owner Tim Russell values Pro-Spray’s colormatching capabilities, as well as its attractive pricing and the quality of the finished product.

Pro-Spray Automotive Finishes Phone: (800) 776-0933 email: info@prosprayfinishes.com website: www.ProSprayFinishes.com www.ProSprayH2O.com

Shop and Product Showcase | AUTOBODY NEWS DECEMBER 2011 9

10 DECEMBER 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | Shop and Product Showcase

SATA Filtration and Dan-Am Air (DAA) Aluminum Piping Preferred at Paint Training Centers

by Autobody News Staff

You can be the finest painter in the world using top grade paint and the best equipment available, but if your air isn’t dry, clean, or easily accessible, your finished product won’t hold waterborne or solvent paint either.

“Water is the new way, but the need for good air has never changed.

It is now just more evident,” says Tony Larimer, Director of Sales & Marketing for Dan-Am Co., the exclusive independent importer/distributor for SATA Spray Equipment in the USA & Puerto Rico.

SATA Spray Equipment, an internationally known company, manufactures a wide range of spray guns, compressed air filters, respirators for worker health protection, hand held dryers, disposable cups and accessories. Also available from Dan-Am Company is their aluminum piping system for compressed air called Dan-Am Air (DAA). The advent of waterborne paint has more and more body shops talking about the importance of clean dry air, but it isn’t a new concept to Larimer and SATA. “Over the past few years, the trend has turned toward the use of waterborne technologies,” Larimer explained. “Many are switching due to local ordinances or regional VOC rules that have been put in place in the past couple years and others are switching to waterborne simply for performance advantages. It doesn’t matter if it’s waterborne or solvent, both require clean air. Shops today also have much higher use requirements and need more Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) than in the past.

They’re using HVLP guns, supplied air respirators and blow guns to dry the waterborne paint, and all of this necessitates clean dry air.”

Larimer offered us a quickie tutorial outlining the benefits of DAA piping system. “To achieve optimum clean dry air, SATA offers filtration that cleans air down to 0.01 micron particle size, yet offers high CFM capabilities of up to 129.6 CFM. Through Dan-Am Company (SATA’s distributor in North America), we feature DAA smooth walled aluminum piping system with high CFM flow, clean contaminant-free interior pipe walls, with high flow fittings that do not cause restriction of air. It’s easy to install with push on connections, and very versatile. SATA filters and DAA create a clean air system that meets the requirements of today’s shops. By allowing the higher CFM storage capacity and by lowering friction, the compressor can work much

PPG Training Center

Location: 2604 NE Industrial Drive, #220 Kansas City, MO 64117

Telephone: 816-474-0600 www.ppg.com

Company At A Glance...

Type: Paint Training Center Facility Employees: 6 In Business Since: 1883

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Training Center Location: 7019 High Grove Blvd.

Burr Ridge, IL 60527

SATA’s newest DAA aluminum piping systems are efficient, affordable, and easy to install

less and it’s also an excellent way to conserve energy.”

SATA & DAA products, including the DAA aluminum piping system, are currently featured at the PPG Training Center in North Kansas City, Missouri, and at the SherwinWilliams Training Center in Burr Ridge, Illinois, Larimer said. “Both facilities have seen a large increase in air flow since using our piping and the end result is that they’re experiencing much cleaner air, both to paint with and to breathe. It all contributes to superior paint jobs, waterborne or solvent.”

Marty Dewey is a Training Manager at the Sherwin-Williams Automotive Training Center. With 27 years working in various capacities with the paint manufacturer, he knows compressed air. “Now, with the country moving to waterborne, techs say they need clean air more than ever, but the fact is, whether you’re using waterborne or solvent, dry clean air has always been one of the determining factors,” Dewey said. “Anything that will make waterborne work better will also make solvent work better, so it doesn’t matter where you’re located or what you’re using—the need for dry, clean air is universal. The body shops that have been most successful can cite clean air as one of the reasons for that success.” Dewey has seen a significant difference since incorporating DAA’s newest piping earlier this year.

“Dan-Am Company and SATA have given us some great support providing up-to-date spray equipment and DAA piping, so we can use it in our training sessions. They feature all of the current technology,

which is important, because we don’t want to train people on products that are 5–6 years old. Dan-Am Air’s newest aluminum piping systems are affordable and easy to install.

“Their aluminum piping is guaranteed for 100 years,” Dewey explained.

“Our old piping was 14 years old and we were starting to see corrosion and rust coming through the lines. We had to change filters all the time to battle it. Once we put in all the SATA filters and Dan-Am Air piping those problems disappeared and now our compressor runs 90% less. We didn’t know that the old system was leaking air, but it evidently was, so we’re very pleased with the new DAA piping & SATA filtration.”

Kevin Clark is the Director of the Kansas City Business Development Center for PPG Industries and he’s also impressed by the new DAA aluminum piping system currently being used in his facility. “We had Dan-Am Co. put in all of our air lines and SATA filters five months ago when they came out with the new aluminum system. We’re the first PPG training center to go with this piping and after installing it we checked the system.

We went from approximately 60 CFM to 75–80 CFM at peak (120 lbs) and we’re still at the same numbers.

“With waterborne, adequate CFM is vital, because of all the blowers and dryers required,” Clark said. “If you’re running two or three blowers at the same time, sufficient clean air is a big deal. Our waterborne classes have doubled since last year. We teach the critical importance of plenty of clean dry air to paint these cars with waterborne. For us, DAA aluminum piping & SATA filtration are a big part of that.”

Telephone: 630-887-7516 www.sherwin-williams.com Company At A Glance...

Type: Paint Training Center Facility Employees: 3 In Business Since: 1884

Pictured on top is SATA’s aluminum piping, which is clean and pristine, even after extensive use. The corroded steel pipe pictured below is what many body shops are struggling to work with.

SATA’s 484 filtration system is paint manufacturer recommended for waterborne materials

Dan-Am Co. – Exclusive independent distributor of SATA Spray Equipment in the US and Puerto Rico. website: www.satausa.com DanAm Air – a Dan-Am Co. website: www.danamair.com

Shop and Product Showcase | AUTOBODY NEWS DECEMBER 2011 11

12 DECEMBER 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | Shop and Product Showcase

Pompano Beach Shop Values 30-year Relationship with DuPont Performance Coatings

by Autobody News Staff

Many body shops seem to change paint vendors every so often for all kinds of reasons, but Kevin Roe, the owner of 1st Class European Authorized Coachworks in Pompano Beach, Florida has been with DuPont Performance Coatings since 1981 and has no plans to change anything. Why is he such a happy customer and steadfastly loyal to the company?

“If it isn’t broken, why fix it?” Roe said. “We started painting cars with DuPont the first day we opened and they have followed through on everything they’ve promised. Sure, we get other paint companies trying to get our business and offering us the world, but I’ve never had any reason to consider a change.”

1st Class is factory certified to repair an impressive array of elite nameplates, including Ferrari, Maserati, Audi, Tesla, Volkswagen, Jaguar and Aston Martin. The shop began working on aluminum-intensive brands starting in 2003 and a year ago they started working exclusively on Ferraris and Maseratis in partnership with Ferrari Maserati of Fort Lauderdale, a local dealership.

With an average ticket of $20,000, you can be certain the owners of these vehicles are highly discerning and expect nothing less than stellar paint jobs each and every time. “These people spend top dollar, so they want it done right,” Roe explained. “We have customers in here who actually use paint gauges to check the thickness of the paint when they pick up their cars. So, it has to be perfect.”

After using DuPont’s solvent products for many years, Roe switched over to Spies Hecker® Permahyd® Hi-TEC, a premium waterborne paint system in DuPont’s portfolio of brands more than six months ago.

“The cars we’re working on are painted with waterborne coming out of the factory, so we want to paint them the same way here. We’ve been able to cut our time in the booth, because we don’t need to flash between each coat, the way we did with the solvent. The quality is exceptional across the board.”

By sending his two painters to Spies Hecker® training, Roe was able to hit the ground running with Permahyd® Hi-TEC. “They completed the company’s three-day training and got certified before we put the waterborne in here. With support from FinishMaster, our sup-

1st Class European Authorized Coachworks Location: Pompano Beach, FL

Telephone: 954-758-3784 www.1stclassauto.com Company At A Glance...

Type: Collision Repair

Facility Employees: 15

In Business Since: 1981 DRP Programs: Three

Number of Locations: One

Combined Production Space: 17,000 square feet By using Spies Hecker® paint, mixing system, management software and training programs, 1st Class stays efficient, profitable and busy, repairing approximately 1,000 cars annually.

plier, and the technical folks at Spies Hecker®, it was problem-free.

Sure, my painters are still improving on the system, but as they get even more comfortable with it, we will save still more time and hit better color matches faster.”

The changeover to Spies Hecker® Permahyd® Hi-TEC waterborne was painless and one of the smartest moves he made, Roe believes. “It was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done in our 30 years in this business,” he said. “We felt confident and prepared going into it, thanks to Spies Hecker® and FinishMaster. We’re painting roughly 80 cars here every month, so we need to get them in and out without delays or having to re-do work. Everyone knows cycle times are huge in this industry and the insurance companies are always looking at them.”

Another benefit is access to ProfitNet™ Collision Shop Management System.

“We use it primarily for billing and costing. ProfitNet™ is able to measure and manage every aspect of our business,” says Roe. “As the job goes through the shop, the system is costing it from beginning to completion and flagging all our employees on their hours. We cost all the parts, the materials and the sublet items to make sure the markups are correct.

We’ve been using it for at least 12 years and it’s great because it tell us where we stand. We can clearly see how much we’re making on each job, which is essential.”

In addition to coordinating and tracking scheduling, costing, parts

and labor by using the system, Roe utilizes ProfitNet™ to interface with his accounting systems, dealer systems, CSI companies and rental car companies, as well as communicate with his customers, insurance companies and parts vendors, he said.

Another valuable tool provided by the paint manufacturer and coveted by 1st Class is the DuPont Performance Services (DPS) management learning program, Roe said.

“By taking DPS classes and getting DuPont-certified, we’re able to know where we can make money and how to find additional revenues.

We’ve learned how to control costs better and communicate more effectively with the insurance companies, which is very important. We didn’t just sit through the courses and forget about them. We use these strategies every day and they’ve helped us in almost every aspect of our operation.”

Do Roe’s customers know and/or care about the fact that his shop paints their high-end vehicles with waterborne product? His emphatic response is an enthusiastic ‘yes’!

“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback, because our clients are concerned about the environment, just like the rest of us. We highlight that fact in our literature and tell our customers about it whenever we can. We’re proud to be using Spies Hecker® Permahyd® Hi-TEC for a lot of reasons and that’s definitely one of them.”

1st Class European Authorized Coachworks uses Spies Hecker® Permahyd® Hi-TEC waterborne on many of the world’s top nameplates, such as Maserati, Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin.

The two painters at 1st Class have been using Spies Hecker® Permahyd® Hi-TEC waterborne for more than 6 months and every month they become more familiar and comfortable with the product and the system.

Spies Hecker® Phone: (888) 371-3313 prompt 9 email: SpiesHeckerUSA@usa.dupont.com website: www.upgrade2hitec.spieshecker.com

Shop and Product Showcase | AUTOBODY NEWS DECEMBER 2011 13

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A.Q.M.D. Rule 1147 Approved Lownox Burner – Ready to Install 14 DECEMBER 2011 AUTOBODY NEWS | Shop and Product Showcase

Autowest Collision Group Jumps into the SprayZone

by Autobody News Staff

With six locations in California and one in Las Vegas, the Autowest Collision Group paints 600–700 vehicles every month—that’s why it’s important that their equipment be topnotch and cutting-edge in every way.

By working on any type of car, but specializing in elite brands like Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Porsche and BMW at some of its select locations, the Autowest Collision Group knows that each paint job has to be not just “good enough” but “the very best.”

That’s why Autowest Collision Group recently purchased five Ozone paint booths and several prep stations from SprayZone.net, one of the leading manufacturers of automotive paint booths. Autowest has been working with SprayZone.net for the past three years and is immensely impressed with its products and their proactive overall approach to customer service.

Alex Astts, 40, is the Regional Manager at Autowest Collision. He was hired by the 24-year-old group in 1994 as a detailer and quickly progressed through the ranks, from prep to dispatching, to estimating, and finally to upper management. Initially, Astts auditioned SprayZone.net with some repair work and once he felt confident in the company, he coordinated a large purchase of equipment from them.

“We had SprayZone.net repairing some of our existing booths at the beginning and they also helped us retrofit them for waterborne when the laws here in California went into effect,” Astts explained. “We were using portable heaters and we purchased their JETdry heating air system by installing permanent heaters in the corners of our booths to cure the waterborne better. Then last year we started buying booths and prep booths from them.”

By adopting SprayZone.net’s JETdry heating air system, Autowest has been able to cure their vehicles effectively while producing an exemplary finished product. The system is designed to accelerate the overall spraying and backing process. Each of the four towers located at the corner of the booth provides four nozzles at a minimum of 3500 CFM, greatly accelerating flash off and curing cycles, according to SprayZone.net.

When asked about the main benefits of working with SprayZone.net, Astts said, “They are very easy to work with. There isn’t a lot of red tape with SprayZone.net. When we ask for

Autowest Collision Group Location: San Jose, CA

Telephone: 877-334-9692 www.autowest.net Company At A Glance...

Type: Collision Repair

Facility Employees: 200

In Business Since: 1987 DRP Programs: One

Number of Locations: Seven

Autowest Collision Group appreciates the cutting-edge performance and technology of its new Ozone paint booths manufactured by SprayZone.net. Pictured is painter Juan Ceja at Autobahn Collision.

something, we sit down with them to make a plan and then it’s done. I’m not just talking to a sales person, because I’m dealing directly with one of the company’s owners, Napoleon Garcia, who is also their Marketing Director. If I want something, he does whatever he can to make it happen and he won’t up charge me for doing it. I have worked with other paint booth companies in the past, and whenever I asked them for something that wasn’t in their catalog, they had to get back to me. Sometimes I would wait a week and not even get a straight answer. With SprayZone.net, I get the answers right away, because I’m not dealing with a [low-level] employee.”

Paint booths are imperative to the daily operations of a body shop, but with seven locations, Astts wants to be able to buy them and forget about them. “SprayZone gives us excellent customer service and the equipment is guaranteed for three years, so we know that our booths, mixing and prep stations will always be working at a high level to meet our volume. We bought Ozones, the finest booths they have. We really like the grilled floors that allow everything to go through the bottom of the booth. That way, we don’t have to worry about things like dust collecting on the booth’s floor.”

Installation of the SprayZone.net booths was drama-free, Astts asserts. “They put them in five of our locations and it included everything.

They did our air lines, compressors, mixing rooms, prep stations all at the same time. At one of our facilities, we bought a portable prep station from

them as well, because it fit nicely into the layout of our San Jose shop. It’s a big shop, so it allows us to prep cars anywhere in the facility without dollying the cars all over the place.”

Astts is also very pleased with the Ozone booth’s cutting-edge technology, featuring SprayZone.net’s patented Speed-Touch LCD. Unlike most control panels which must be installed 3 to 5 feet away from the automotive booth or mixing room, SprayZone.net’s SpeedTouch LCD is designed to be installed inside the compartment. The SpeedTouch LCD is a digital touch screen that offers spray-standby for energy conservation, Spray-On with VFD technology, automotive pressure control and JETdry control.

Another innovation featured in Autowest’s SprayZone.net booths incorporates the manufacturer’s Dragon-Flame. Essentially it’s an air make-up unit made to work within the heater's curing cycle. It’s designed to work in any waterborne or solvent-based condition to consistently provide superior finishes.

Working with the VFD, the DragonFlame is able to recycle on bake from 80 to 140 degrees in under seconds.

Astts greatly values his strong relationship with SprayZone.net, which includes the ongoing support and maintenance of his booths, prep stations and mixing stations. “They do all our filters and they are always double-checking my booths to see that they’re working properly. They make it very convenient and we have nothing but great things to say about SprayZone.net.”

Alex Astts, Regional Manager at Autowest Collision Group, contracted SprayZone.net initially to repair some of its existing paint booths before deciding to acquire several Ozone paint booths from the company.

Autowest Collision Group bought SprayZone.net Ozone paint booths and associated equipment for several of its seven locations, including Autobahn Collision in Belmont, California.

SprayZone.net Address: 14059 Garfield Avenue Paramount, CA 90723 Phone: (800) 466-1260 website: www.sprayzone.net

Shop and Product Showcase | AUTOBODY NEWS DECEMBER 2011 15

What is the Autobody News Shop & Product Showcase?

• It’s a way for shop owners to share information, peer-to-peer, about the products and services that have helped them improve their businesses.

• The products described herein are often associated with substantial service benefits provided by the companies that created them.

• These testimonials can be easily retained for future reference. Autobody News produces the Shop & Product Showcase special insert biannually. Look for the next one in June 2012.

“This is our first GFS piece of equipment and by using it side-byside with the other equipment we’re still using at our other locations, we can see that it performs better than the other equipment we’ve had. No question about it. We wanted a paint booth with all of the latest technology that’s currently available and the ECO Expert is exactly that. Everything is computerized and has all the features we were looking for.”

“Price-wise, GFS was very competitive, but we were more focused on all of the other things we were getting from the company. We were interested in the Variable Speed Drive (VSD) motors and the digital panel and the corner blowers we installed are totally controlled by the digital panel. Also, a big plus is that the booth pulls less electricity. We’ve seen an overall drop in our electrical bills.”

—Aaron Clark, Collision Solutions, Indianapolis, IN

“Their aluminum piping is guaranteed for 100 years,” Dewey explained. “Our old piping was 14 years old and we were starting to see corrosion and rust coming through the lines. We had to change filters all the time to battle it. Once we put in all the SATA filters and Dan-Am Air piping those problems disappeared and now our compressor runs 90% less. We didn’t know that the old system was leaking air, but it evidently was, so we’re very pleased with the new DAA piping & SATA filtration.”

—Marty Dewey, Sherwin-Williams Training Center, Burr Ridge, IL “We had Dan-Am Co. put in all of our air lines and SATA filters five months ago when they came out with the new aluminum system. We’re the first PPG training center to go with this piping and after installing it we checked the system. We went from approximately 60 CFM to 75–80 CFM at peak (120 lbs) and we’re still at the same numbers.”

—Kevin Clark, PPG Industries Kansas City Business Development Center

“We started by using [Pro-Spray’s] solvent product.

We liked it, and about six months ago we added their waterborne line. Pro-Spray brought in their people so we didn’t have to send anyone to a school. It was convenient and efficient. They had five people here for a full two weeks with the solvent and two people here in the shop with one week for the waterborne.

We added the waterborne because more and more of these newer models are painted with waterborne.

“One day, I couldn’t get a match on a Lexus we were painting, so I called Mike at Color Connection and said can you match this color?” He said, ‘we can butt match the panels.’ I told him, ‘get down here, and if you can butt match these panels, we’ll talk.’ He gave us the Pro-Spray paint and without tinting or mixing, we hit it right on the first time. It was pretty incredible.”

—Tim Russell, Icon Collision, Memphis, TN

Download a PDF at: www.autobodynews.com/sps t b d /

“We’ve even had other shops sending their painters here, pulling the triggers alongside our crew to learn the product and tell them ‘hey, it’s not so hard. You don’t need to be afraid of it.’ We tell other shops to try the BASF Glasurit 90-Line and make your own call. There is no substitute for doing it yourself.”

“We decided to change to waterborne and adopt all of the California laws even before they went into effect there. We analyzed all of the waterborne paint lines that were out there starting a little more than three years ago. We discovered that BASF offered an ideal solution for us in our environment. Many of the cars we repair were originally painted with BASF waterborne from the factory.”

—Jim Frost, Prestige Imports Collision Center, Lakewood, CO

“The cars we’re working on are painted with waterborne coming out of the factory, so we want to paint them the same way here.

We’ve been able to cut our time in the booth, because we don’t need to flash between each coat, the way we did with the solvent.

The quality is exceptional across the board.”

—Kevin Roe, 1st Class European Authorized Coachwork, Pompano Beach, FL By sending his two painters to DuPont training, Roe was able to hit the ground running with the Spies Hecker® Permahyd® Hi-TEC. For color mixing and matching paint, 1st Class uses DuPont’s X-Pert Dispensing System, the industry’s first computerized paint mixing tool. “ It changes and it’s an ongoing process with many variances, because there are new clears coming out all the time, but the X-Pert System is the best we’ve used.”

“I wanted to be a step ahead of everyone else, so we met with PPG to discuss their waterborne products. I had used PPG solvent-based paint extensively at other shops where I worked before, so I knew that their quality was outstanding and the service was always excellent.”

PPG made the switch as smooth as butter. They took all of my painters to their school in Baltimore and after one day there my paint crew came back and reassured me about the product. They were especially happy with the color matches and the blending aspect of the Aquabase® Plus.

—Bob Scarpello, Old Forge Collision Centers, Lansdale and Chalfont, PA

“I’m dealing directly with one of the company’s owners, Napoleon Garcia, who is also their Marketing Director. If I want something, he does whatever he can to make it happen and he won’t up charge me for doing it.”

—Alex Astts, 40, Autowest Collision, Pompano Beach, FL Astts is also very pleased with the Ozone booth’s cutting-edge technology, featuring SprayZone.net’s patented Speed-Touch LCD. Unlike most control panels which must be installed 3 to 5 feet away from the automotive booth or mixing room, SprayZone.net’s Speed-Touch LCD is designed to be installed inside the compartment.

PO Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018

Phone: 800-699-8251

To learn more email: advertising@autobodynews.com