The Auto Body Blog

The publication of draft VOC-emission regulations in April seems to have taken some of the steam out of the conversions to low-VOC products and waterborne basecoat.
It was expected that having draft regulations from Environment Canada would prompt collision repairers to take action and begin planning for the waterborne conversion. However, because the draft regulations extended the implementation deadline to Jan. 1, 2010, it seems the industry’s sense of urgency has diminished. In my opinion this will not be wise to leave your conversion to the last minute. With many shops needing to upgrade or buy new equipment, leaving your conversion to the last year/month could cause major purchasing problems. As demand goes up for the equipment the supply will go down. Good luck getting a compressor in six weeks when a hundred other shops are ordering one at the same time!

Brian Edwards reported at a recent CCIF meeting that the publication of the draft regulations on April 26 has cooled shops’ interest in converting to waterborne paint. “The backlog of shops that must convert is getting pushed further and further toward the deadline,” he cautions.

When the regulations were published in April, experts calculated that conversions would have to proceed at a rate of 400 to 500 per month in order to have all Canadian refinish facilities using new low-VOC products by 2010. In recent months, two more districts in California have adopted similar low-VOC regulations, with implementation dates of January 2009, and there is demand for waterborne basecoat even in non-mandatory areas of the United States. Both of these factors will raise the demand for personnel and equipment to support conversions.

So If I was a body shop owner I would start this conversion process now and not leave it any longer. Purchasing new equipment and any other supplies is quite easy at this time with waiting times being minimal. Your shop will be more environmentally friendly and it will start making more money as a result of converting to PPG Envirobase water borne paint.