In an effort to reduce VOC emissions, new environmental regulations in California and Canada will soon require that waterborne basecoats replace solvent basecoats for vehicle refinishing. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have a vital interest in this development and how it will affect them in the future. With that in mind, major OEMs are turning to PPG to learn more about these new coatings.
To address the issue, PPG held a waterborne coatings training seminar specifically for OEM representatives at its Wixom, Mich., Business Development Center. The one-day event focused on PPG’s Envirobase High Performance waterborne basecoat and its anti-settle technology, ease of application and color match.
Attending the training session were representatives of the major domestic manufacturers: Brian Dotterer from General Motors; Ron Nomura, Dan Black and Doug R. Craig from Chrysler; and Gerry Bonnani and Mike Leach from Ford.
Nomura said, “I’m impressed with the ease of application of Envirobase. Waterborne products are where the industry is heading.”
Bonnani added, “Envirobase is a great product, and body shops will do well to utilize the benefits of waterborne basecoats for excellent color match and blending properties."
“Waterborne is the industry’s future. It’s a major industry change, and OEMs want to know all about it," said Ken Davis, manager, PPG OEM Business Development. "PPG has been leading the way on water conversions, and we wanted to demonstrate to the OEMs how good waterborne coatings are, how easy it is to switch over using our ‘Convert with Confidence’ process and how PPG provides technological support.”
PPG will be scheduling more training classes to help keep OEMs on top of the shifting automotive refinishing landscape. For more information, call (800) 647-6050 or visit www.ppgrefinish.com.
