The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) announced it will be presenting the results of their recent blend study on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. PST during the Parts & Materials Committee presentation at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) at the Westgate Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The research project was conducted in August with the major North American refinish companies analyzing the time necessary to perform a full refinish on a panel, and the time necessary to blend the same panel.

“We’ve contended for a long time that blending a panel takes more skill and near equal amounts of time as it does to apply refinish across an entire outer surface of a panel,” said Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of the SCRS. “This is an issue that our members have routinely raised as a concern, and we are very excited to share the results of the study during the CIC presentation at the SEMA Show.”

SCRS worked with AkzoNobel Vehicle Refinishes, Axalta Coating Systems, BASF Automotive Refinish, PPG Industries and Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes performing the research at the Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) Center for Excellence at the GFS headquarters in Osseo, Wis.

The study was monitored and audited by DEKRA North America, the world’s largest unlisted expert organization in the TIC (testing, inspection, certification) industry.

The study utilized new OEM parts, donated by Ford Motor Company, including hoods, fenders and front door shells for the 2018 Ford F-150. The 2018 Ford F-150 was selected as the test subject vehicle based on parts availability and its position as the most appraised truck in 2021, according to data provided by CCC.

At the conclusion of the test, all 45 parts donated by Ford Motor Company and 10 part stands donated by 3M and SCRS as well as miscellaneous materials from the research project were all donated to the Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) in Eau Claire, Wis.

“Ford welcomed the opportunity to support the SCRS blend study with F-Series parts,” said Jen Boyer, director of strategy and collision business for Ford Motor Company. “The fact the Chippewa Valley Technical College is able to use the study parts ongoing for collision education is especially rewarding for us.”

The CVTC program was identified as a viable donor through the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) and because of the school’s partnership with GFS.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude for the donation of the Ford parts and body panel stands that were used in the SCRS time study to our program,” said Jerry Goodson, auto collision repair and refinish technician instructor and program director for CVTC. “We in September moved to a newly built facility that has over 15,000 square feet of space dedicated to collision repair. I am fortunate to have a greatly proactive advisory committee and some outstanding employers within our district that understand the need for technical education to train our future workforce. Since we are publicly funded, we are always mindful of our budgets, and donations like these from many different organizations help us train our students on the latest technologies. With the donation of over 40 aluminum body panels and part stands, we will be set to teach aluminum repairs for years to come.”

CVTC offers a one-year Auto Collision Repair & Refinish Technician program that provides hands-on auto body repair training. The programs entail skill development in the areas of estimating, frame repair, mechanical systems repair, plastic repair, structural repair, vehicle refinishing and weld-on panel replacements. This program is certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) in the areas of painting and refinishing, nonstructural analysis and damage repair, and structural analysis and damage repair.

CVTC offers a one-year Auto Collision Repair & Refinish Technician program that provides hands-on auto body repair training. The programs entail skill development in the areas of estimating, frame repair, mechanical systems repair, plastic repair, structural repair, vehicle refinishing, and weld-on panel replacements.This program is certified by the National Institute for Automotive Services Excellence (ASE) in the areas of painting and refinishing, nonstructural analysis and damage repair, and structural analysis and damage repair.

To register for the CIC meeting, click here.

For more information on SCRS or to join as a member, email [email protected] or visit scrs.com/join-scrs.