Low-VOC or Waterborne Paint? Here’s the Latest News Part IV
Conversion is not easy and will require some budgeting for the equipment. More so for the shop than for a PDR technician who won’t be using spray booths and blowers. Shops will have to make major upgrades to minimal ones depending on the shop’s size. Add these potential changes to the changes possibly needed for the readiness needed for aluminum vehicles and the owner can quickly become overwhelmed. This unfortunately could mean the delay and discourage them from going waterborne, at least immediately. Sherwin-Williams stores have staffed themselves with knowledgeable representatives who are there for the sole purpose of helping shop owners and PDR technicians with the waterborne conversion process. These same representatives will actually go to your shop, or to you, and will work with you during the training process so that you are better equipped to make those hard decisions about the waterborne products. The idea is that once you see how efficient and cost effective it is after crunching the numbers, you will be more willing to make the change. Perhaps the biggest selling point to be noted is the sharp colors. OEM’s are producing vehicles today that are on the same waterborne systems because the color and coverage is highly superior to solvent-based. It’s interesting to note that states that are not yet regulated are the ones moving towards waterborne systems. This could be mostly as a result of having more time to make the costly changes, but I think it has more to do with being told what to do and choosing to do it without being told. It’s important to be able to say “Ha, you’re not the boss of me, I made the changes because I wanted to.” Well, that’s how I see it anyway.
