Waterbased Coatings are winning the battle

The wood coatings industry has seen many changes in recent years with the most important being the evolution of waterbased paints as a viable alternative to solvent based paints. Bob Nordgren from JOINERS Magazine recently had a chance to catch up with Wellington based Territory Manager Gavin Graham from PPG Industrial Coatings along with John Te Kawa of Total Bodyshop Supplies, the Wellington distributor for PPG and one of their key customers Mike Telfer from Total Resurfacing Solutions (TRS) to find out more about how waterbased paints have been received particularly by those in the wood coatings sector.

“We have been using waterbased coatings for a number of years now with mixed results. We have not had the confidence in the durability of the coatings until PPG developed the Amerthane 500 product” comments Mike Telfer Managing Director of TRS who spray 5000-7000m2 of panelling and doors per year.

Having a product that can rival traditional 2K/Solvent based coatings for durability also has the advantages of lower emissions and cost savings. Mike acknowledges his company saves $20,000 per year in purchasing and disposal of solvents not to mention the beneficial health effect on their workers.

The market has been asking for a system like this and PPG have put a lot of resources into developing a full workable system with primer and topcoat. It has the right quality and speed of turnaround that spray shops require.

Waterbased has reignited the market for specifiers like architects and designers because it can produce hard durable finishes offering multiple colours and sheen levels while having a low carbon footprint. We use the product on various substrates new MDF, whiteboard, timber, glass and have found it compatible with re-painting previously painted (2K) kitchens.

This is reinforced by Total Body Supplies factory manager John Te Kawa. “It’s an exciting time having introduced the WB primer/ pigmented topcoat system from PPG to our customers. Our three shops in Petone, Palmerston North and Napier are open to the public and retail customers as well as the trade applicator’s and we see an increasing number of customers repainting rather than replacing kitchen componentry with the waterbased option: it’s cost effective, environmentally safe, user friendly and has a large colour and gloss level selection. You might be surprise but PPG refinish first developed WB automotive coatings some 10 plus years ago and now 80% of our automotive work these days is with waterbased coatings.”

What about from the paint suppliers point of view? Gavin Graham is the Wellington Territory Manager and has been some sixteen years in the neighbourhood.

“There has been no doubt that the move to waterborne paints has now fully infiltrated the paint scene here in New Zealand. Now customers have a “Greener coating choice” that customers, applicator’s and designers are genuinely excited about using and specifing. WB clear and pigmented systems are also helping our larger applicators to reduce their DG (Dangerous Goods) levels as only the part B (hardner) needs to be locked away, which is an important fact when council compliancy is a major issue these days with flammable goods.

Through our local distributor Total Bodyshop Supplies we can now offer all our end users such as TRS the full benefit of new coating technology that has taken 5 years to fully develop. All the testing and trialling we have done has confirmed that.”

Total Bodyshop Supplies deals both with retail and general industrial trades meaning they supply not only colour matching services but also offer every sundry you can think of to achieve an excellent finish, such as sandpaper, safety equipment, spray guns, air tools and the like as well as PPG powdercoating and wood finishing products. “The 2K waterbased system we now offer has been gaining acceptance with every day especially among cabinet and furniture makers be it for new or refinish work.” notes Gavin. The solvent vs waterbased paint wars are coming to an end and the best thing of all ‘it has been 100% developed and manufactured in NZ for NZ conditions’ which is important with what’s happening in the world at the moment.”

For further information contact

John Te Kawa, Total Bodyshop Supplies on 021 056 4202 or john@ totalbodyshop.co.nz

Mike Telfer, Total Resurfacing Solutions 027 435 4741 or mike@ totalresurfacing.co.nz

Gavin Graham PPG Industries NZ Ltd 021 288 9518 or ggraham@ ppg.com