Shop conversions to waterborne application systems are surging across California as collision repairers come into compliance with government mandates designed to ease paint-based air pollutants. A gallon of color coat is prohibited from emitting more than 3.5 pounds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and waterborne is the only commercially available finish able to meet that standard.
Each of the state's 4,100 body shops is under the (spray) gun to eventually make the shift to waterborne. Deadlines for implementation are staggered as 20 regional pollution control agencies formulate specifics based on extensive "suggested control measures" promulgated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
The South Coast Air Quality Management District in the Los Angeles area, with nearly 1,800 collision shops under its jurisdiction, is the first to initiate the CARB standards, followed by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Shop conversion plans in these areas must be in place by July of this year; active enforcement starts in January 2009 when noncompliant paint has to be off the premises.Solvent products are still permitted for primer and clear coats. "You need to have two different waste streams in your shop and two different gun washers," notes Doug Holcomb, sales team leader with Annex, a chain of eight paint-jobber operations. A shop's spray guns need to be exclusively dedicated for either solvent- and water-based applications and not used interchangeably.
Compressor systems frequently need to be addressed when switching to waterborne, according to Holcomb. The lines must be free of oil and moisture to attain good performance. "When I go around to my customers I'm concerned about the quality of their air," he says.
"Overall it's a really good paint," observes Jerry Diaz, an Annex counter sales representative. "It works perfectly fine. The coverage is great, anybody can shoot it and you can use half – or even less – the amount of paint."
"The bulk of our customers who wanted to changeover early are done," reports Dave Harshbarger, owner of Mac's Distributing. At first there were some misgivings throughout the Golden State's collision repair industry. "We were very reluctant because we hadn't seen the product, but now that we've seen it we're excited," he says."The change in the way you prep the vehicles is huge," Harshbarger relates. "The old paint was thicker, so you have to prep it longer, which means more dollars in time and labor costs."
Making the change
Within the Los Angeles Basin, "Everybody is onboard with it and they're making the change," says Chip Fabrizio, president of the South Coast Chapter of the California Autobody Association (CAA).
"It's been accepted because there's always change in this industry. We've known that it's been coming for years now," he adds, citing waterborne mandates in Europe, Canada and CARB's long process of industry consultations and preparations. "It's a must, it has to be done. You either have to have it or you'll be in big trouble."
Canada and California "are leading the charge" in North America to make waterborne a regulatory requirement, says Aaron Lowe, vice president of government affairs at the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA). Expect other jurisdictions throughout the United States to join waterborne's ranks in upcoming years.
Lowe does point out, however, that shop owners with waterborne already in place have discovered that conversion "is not as big an issue" as they initially feared it would be.
At Cormier Chevrolet in Carson, where Fabrizio is collision center director of a 20,000 square-foot, 30-bay facility, the waterborne conversion has resulted in paint jobs that are 10 times better than the old solvent-based finishes. "The color matches are a lot closer," Fabrizio says.
The dealership's shop floor has undergone a $1 million state-of-the-art upgrade that includes waterborne capability. A new booth costing some $130,000 features six air towers to ensure adequate drying.A new screw-type air compressor system with a dryer and 240-gallon holding tank was installed to the tune of $40,000. Waterborne requires a lot of air movement – as opposed to high baking heat for solvent-based – to achieve effective evaporation of the moisture content.
"If it's not dried correctly it will 'fisheye' and 'solvent pop' when you put the clear over it," Fabrizio explains. Finer pre-paint preparation also is necessary to alleviate bubbles, pin holes and other imperfections, yet he expects the Cormier Collision cycle times to remain consistent with its previous solvent-based productivity as the shop continues to adapt.
Among the South Coast CAA membership, "a lot of them are doing a retrofit" of the existing paint application equipment to reach compliance, although even that can be pricey at $30,000 to $40,000, according to Fabrizio. He's quick to add, though, that the actual cost can be considerably lower depending upon a shop's size and existing equipment.An early adapter to waterborne, the 7,000 sq. ft., seven-employee American Eagle Body Shop in Citrus Heights was converted over free-of-charge as a smaller-shop demonstration project by its regular paint manufacturer working in conjunction with Mac's Distributing. "I always wanted to be the first in our area to do this," says owner Ali Azar.
The paint booth didn't need to be retrofitted because the addition of two portable air-movers is enough to do the job. "With the hand-helds you should be fine, but you do have to follow the steps that they tell you."
The changeover was accomplished while Azar and his painter were attending a one-day training session, and then paint company representatives worked alongside the painter and Azar for two days to fully acclimate them to the new process.
"Waterborne attracts environmentally friendly customers," he notes, explaining how the system excels as a marketing attraction given the reputation that collision facilities typically have as being polluters. "We want to show our customers that we won't ruin the environment for future generations," Azar says.
Approaching D-Day
Paint manufacturers and jobbers have been taking an active role in helping shop owners navigate the complexity of the regulatory and recordkeeping dictates. (The parent CARB document driving the program is 144 pages long.)
A paint jobber who is providing conversion advice, employee training and initial paint materials set-up for free requests anonymity for fear of being inundated with telephone calls from non-customer shop owners striving to meet the deadline. Bemoaning the cost of airfare to the training center and other expenses, he suggests that each facility work with its current suppliers to arrange compliance details.
Another paint jobber has similar sentiments, ruefully revealing how he privately wishes that competitors would handle the conversions and he'd simply pitch waterborne paint sales later on.
"If I changed-over one of my shops per week I probably won't have all of my shops converted in time," the jobber laments. Numerous business owners are seriously lagging behind in the planning process. "It's going to be D-Day for some people. The sense of urgency isn't there. They won't address the issue until they have a real problem."This jobber also sees financial difficulties ahead for old-school "bodyman" shop owners who haven't sought management training. "You used to be able to kick a can and tell them they need more paint. Now you have to tell them how to run their business."
Pre-planning to execute affordability of the switchover was a top priority at Shanahan's Auto Body & Paint in Sacramento. "We budget for equipment within our company, and we cut down on things that weren't necessary to prepare for this," recalls manager Matt Stevens.
Shanahan's is spending $20,000 to retrofit two booths and another $5,000 to $6,000 for gun cleaners. "Aside from the cost I don't see changing to be a big burden," he says.
As with many businesses in California, "we're an environmentally friendly shop," says Stevens, which makes the conversion an acceptable route to pursue. Plus the Shanahan's painters are attuned to the program. "Nobody likes change, but they've seen it and they're okay with it."
The high-volume operation's paint manufacturer of choice is providing the set-up paint products for free; Stevens made a point to investigate all the options prior to making a conversion commitment. He strongly suggests that everyone use due diligence by conducting suitable research. "Do your homework before reaching a decision."
A factory finish
Roy Thompson at Thompson's S&S Collision worked closely with his existing jobber/paint supplier to convert his 30,000-plus sq. ft. Sacramento facility ahead of the deadline.
"I'm glad that we've done it early because I've had a lot of support from the paint manufacturer." He encourages any shop facing a conversion to get going sooner rather than later. "There's going to be a limited supply of people" to offer expert industry assistance as mandatory compliance comes closer.
"If I'm going to stay in business I'm going to be forced to do this in a year or so," says Thompson, co-owner of the 20-employee shop along with his wife and son. "As a businessperson I care about the environment," he adds, citing a long-time commitment to running a green operation. The waterborne adaptation is another tool touted to further attract a like-minded clientele. "I'm going to get some signs for the marketing end of it."
Two of the existing 12-year-old spray booths are being used as-is, while a five-year-old model is affixed with four corner fans to augment air movement. Hand-held dryers also are being utilized. "You definitely need a handheld." The total retrofit is expected to cost $6,000 to $7,000.
Echoing Lowe at the AAIA, Thompson says the company's waterborne conversion "is a big deal, but not that big a deal. I don't really see a downside to it."
A big upside is the finished finishes S&S is able to present. "The waterborne colors are really clear and crisp," he reports. "It mimics the factory finish better than solvents; they're cleaner, clearer and more factory."
Thompson is hoping to obtain a slightly quicker cycle time via a bake cycle of about 20 minutes compared to a half-hour under the old solvent system.
Cons to waterborne include a doubling of waste disposal costs and a higher level of pre-paint preparation. "The water-based base is way thinner than before, so it's not hiding as much," he observes.
"It has to be prepared finer and it's less forgiving with any imperfections," agrees Lee Gamboa, general manager of three Gamboa's Body & Frame locations. The preparation issues can be resolved by using 800-grit sandpaper instead of 500-grit, he points out.
Conclusion: Smooth transitions
The Gamboa shops are being converted over to waterborne one at a time and shifting the leftover stocks of solvent-based paint so the entire inventory is used prior to the compliance deadline.
"We're definitely excited about it," says Gamboa. He is astounded at the high-quality finish that can be obtained. "From what I've seen so far, the color chips that they have are so accurate. You can match the chip to the car" and duplicate the correct color even when different automakers are involved. A Ford chip can be applied and mixed to appropriately coat a Honda, for example. "It looks the same (as the original OEM paint job); it doesn't matter whose color it is."
A one-day training session was enough to gain a working knowledge of application strategy, according to Gamboa, who witnessed people who had never held a gun before becoming proficient with the process.
"The technique is different," he says. "Traditionally with solvent-borne basecoats we would extend our blends from a refinish panel into an adjacent blend panel," Gamboa recounts. "With waterborne, (the manufacturer) recommends feathering blends on the adjacent blend panel back into the refinish panel – kind of backwards to what we are used to. It's crazy – I've never seen anything like it before – but that's how you get it to match," he explains.
"There's still skill involved and there's a learning curve," cautions Gamboa, also expressing concern over whether insurance companies will pay adequate reimbursement amounts.
The waste stream issue is another task to be addressed. "Instead of one you've got two – you've got waterborne waste and solvent waste." It costs twice as much to have waterborne waste hauled away because the high moisture content resists incineration and the disposal firm must add fuel to the fire.
"It's going to be 17 percent more for base coat than we're paying right now," he notes.
Nonetheless, says Gamboa, waterborne's tide is rising within the industry. "It's less toxic for the painters," he concludes. "It's a superior product from what I can see."
