On the Waterfront - Collision Repair Magazine

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On the Waterfront

Written by Sam Piercey, Manager and Co-owner, Budds' Collision Services

Wednesday, 02 May 2007

Jump in now…don’t get left high and dry! All I seem to hear from repairers these days are panic cries about converting to waterborne paint. Well let me tell you, there's no need to get your knickers in a knot over this. My shop has been converted for a while and there's no way anyone here, from the prepper to the painter, would go back.

After all, it's just paint. And besides that, it's good.

Waterborne refinish material is good to work with, it's good for the environment and it's good for your health. If that’s not enough reason for you don’t worry. You've got no choice thanks to impending laws.

Complain 'til the cows come home, but save your breath. It's coming. Quit whining and get ready.

It's a simple matter. Either you're in or you're out. You're either going to be one who sees what's coming and prepares, or sitting flat on your butt wondering what hit you.

With the right training and equipment the transition from high VOC solvents to waterborne is mostly painless. For those out there that are well-equipped already, there's not that much to do. Really.

It's all about air flow, organization and cleanliness. Common sense, actually. Oil and water don't mix, so keep them separate. If your booth is well maintained and modern all you need to be concerned with is getting the paint to dry.

Sure, it involves a new way of doing things, but nothing major as long as you're running a decent shop.

And that's the kicker…not enough people are running decent shops. Heck, many are just trying to stay afloat with decades-old equipment and mindsets, but that's a topic for another day.

Now about this talk about low VOC conversion forcing shops out of business. Bunch of hooey.
Bad shops are going to force themselves out of business. That’s because they've been too lazy and sloppy to keep up to speed. Part of the reason is they haven't had to -- insurance companies keep paying them whether or not they invest in training, equipment and being legit. That's all going to change now. Thank God.

Who Pays?

Come 2010, insurers will only deal with compliant shops (they certainly wouldn't want to partner up with non-compliant shops to save a few bucks, would they?)

Now, is there a cost to going waterborne? You betcha!

Never mind the equipment, time and materials. Just consider how long it’s going to train.

Who's going to pay? Well at the end of the day, the driving public. But in the meantime the shops and paint companies are going to bear the brunt. But hopefully, that investment will be paid back soon enough. At least to the shops.

But hold on. Insurers will need to get their customers’ cars fixed right, and done fast. Insurers are sure to be looking to strengthen their partnerships with good repairers. Helping out with the costs of waterborne conversion would go a long way toward this.

Predictability

So here's an idea. Let's get the insurers to kick in some money for training costs now, before the rush. Then they'll have an idea of what's coming down the pipe and won't be shell-shocked when they enter the new world order of supply and demand.

Nice thing about classical economics and the universal laws of supply and demand: They’re predictable.

That's what we're seeing in Calgary now, with door rates going up in direct proportion to the number of cars waiting around to get in the bays to get repaired.

What's going on in Alberta with its critical technician shortages and long wait times is going to happen everywhere sooner rather than later. The switch to water will help.

You know, Wayne Gretzky wasn't much of a bodyman, but he knew the trends in collision repair when he said, “Skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it's been.”

I've seen the future and the future holds water. That's where I try and take my team. There ain't no sense in looking back.