PPG, with its “PPG Unleashed” booth theme, cool cars and hot bikes, captured the attention of scores of visitors at the 2019 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Attendees continuously packed the PPG booth for four days to take in stunning lowriders, brilliantly detailed motorcycles and much more against a backdrop of bold graffiti imagery.
“This was one of the most exciting displays we’ve ever had at SEMA,” said Rick Westerlund, PPG director of marketing, automotive refinish, U.S. and Canada. “In the custom car world, the street is where the action is, and PPG took it to the streets at the show. Attendees saw what happens when custom painters and builders tap PPG’s capabilities and let loose with their imaginations to produce jaw-dropping cars, trucks and bikes. This was truly PPG unleashed.”
Some of the industry’s most respected painters exhibited their work. Master painter and PPG instructor Paul Stoll gets credit for the finish on “Helldurado,” a 1969 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado owned by Joe Ray. Stoll used Envirobase High Performance waterborne basecoat and incorporated the Vibrance Collection Ditzler Big Flake Mini-Silver VM4421, VWM5556 Midcoat Clear and VM4501 Crystallance Silver Glass Flakes for the car’s multicolor finish. He also blended VM4350 Vivid Ruby Tinter and Envirobase High Performance EC700 One Visit Production Clearcoat to create “fingerprint” designs on the hood and trunk.
A 1959 Chevy Impala painted by Pete “Hot Dog” Finlan with Vibrance Collection colors at his shop, Hot Dog Kustoms, in Temecula, Calif., featured a sleek candy finish. Finlan turned to Deltron 2000 Basecoat, Vibrance Collection Big Flake silver and gold colors and Envirobase High Performance EC700 One Visit Production Clearcoat to get the look he wanted.
“It was super cool with lots of colors, and the attendees enjoyed the cars and artwork,” Finlan said of the PPG booth. “Great show. I was glad to be there.”
Visitors were spellbound by “Motown,” a 1963 Chevy Impala painted in Gold Candy by Richie Valles at his Unique Twist Auto Body and Paint in Burbank, Calif. Valles owns the car and applied Envirobase High Performance waterborne basecoat Vibrance Collection gold and copper toners topped with Envirobase High Performance EC700 One Visit Production Clearcoat to create a gleaming custom finish.
Kyle Morley and Jeremy Seanor excited the biker crowd with entries bearing their artistry. Morley built and painted his 2003 Harley Davidson Heritage Softail at his shop, XecutionStyle Kustom Paint in Elmer, N.J. Morley opted for PPG Deltron refinish products using DMD1683 Basecoat Black toner with Vibrance Collection black and charcoal toners and silver flake under a smooth Deltron DC4000 Velocity Premium Clear for a custom-mixed black candy finish.
Seanor, a PPG technical sales instruction supervisor, painted the 2016 Harley Davidson Lowrider S owned by Jetty Wright and built by Mark Matthews at Texas Performance Motorcycles in Cedar Park, Texas. Seanor gave the bike a custom candy-lime-green and Brown Sugar finish using the Envirobase High Performance system with Vibrance Collection metal flake, VWM5556 Midcoat and VC5700 Ditzler Custom Clear.
PPG-painted cars also earned prestigious awards at SEMA. Eric Perratt, owner of Pinkee’s Rod Shop in Windsor, Colo., won the Best of Show Ford Design Award with his 1936 Ford Roadster. The silky brown finish came from a Deltron-tinted DBC Basecoat and Global Refinish System D8152 Performance + Glamour Clearcoat. The car won two major awards earlier this year: the Grand National show’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster and the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association’s America’s Most Beautiful Street Rod.
Painter/builder Theresa Contreras and LGE-CTS Motorsports of San Dimas, Calif., won a Ford Design Award for her Ford Super Duty truck. She used Envirobase High Performance and Global Refinish System products to create the truck’s standout custom “Golden Green” candy pearl finish. She also painted a vintage Ford Bronco for Jay Leno in “Tonight Blue” – an Envirobase High Performance custom color—that was featured at the Ford booth.
To learn more about automotive refinish products from PPG, visit ppgrefinish.com or call (800) 647-6050.
