PPG water borne conversions are gaining momentum in Canada.
According to PPG, more than 700 collision shops have made the transition to waterborne basecoat in anticipation of new air quality regulations in Canada. Pending and existing regulations intended to reduce VOC atmospheric emissions and improve air quality, has so far resulted in more than 700 facilities switching to PPG’s Envirobase High Performance basecoats.
Canadian shop owners who have made the change have been pleased with the results. Many of my customers we a little nervous about their switch to water, but after converting would not go back to the solvent borne paint again. But why is this I asked a painter at a local body shop. “As we get more familiar with the Envirobase paint we are finding it is faster and it provides a better color match than the Global system we were using previously. Also it lays down better and is a lot easier to blend than solvent based paint, plus gives us a smoother finish than our previous paint”.
In Canada, the regulations will take effect nationwide on January 1, 2010. To help assure shops make the conversion smoothly, PPG’s “Convert with Confidence” program provides shop owners, managers and technicians with training, advice and support before, during and after the conversion. A shop must attend a meeting on the new water system and watch a seventeen minute video on the do’s and don’ts of spraying water borne paint. One this is finished we then take a look at the shops equipment and make sure they are 100% ready to convert. According to Jim Downey, PPG senior regional manager, “Transitions are going very smooth; the program employs a methodical implementation plan for managers, then painters coming to class at our training centers. While they’re in class, we install the new equipment at the shop. When they return, everything’s ready to go with a PPG training team there to help.”
PPG is encouraging shop owners in Canada and the U.S to take advantage of the “Convert with Confidence” program as soon as possible to ensure they will be “shop ready” when regulatory deadlines take effect. It is better to do this now rather than leave it to the last minute as equipment and supplies will be in short supply. The time is NOW to convert your shop with confidence and grab a hold of the new way of refinishing technology.
22 responses so far ↓
1 Peter G // May 25, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Great! I hope that the United States follows suit though.
A question: what’s the difference in terms of quality between solvent and water-based paints?
-Peter G
http://www.classicvehicleauction.com
2 mike // May 25, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Hello Peter, thanks for the comment. Some of the U.S is already using environmentally friendly water based paint which centers in California and other major states with low VOC regulations. Canada has now embraced this product and has also lowered VOC emissions, see this link for more info.
http://www.ec.gc.ca/nopp/voc/en/secAR.cfm
To answer your question, the quality difference is this. Water based paint matches better than solvent based paints do. The colors can almost be but matched to the adjacent panel and in some colors they are. It is also faster than solvent in the dry times. Forced air is blown over the panel which makes the paint dry a great deal faster than solvent would dry. More cars are being put through the paint booth as a result.
And finally, most manufacturers are all ready using water borne paint so it is a lot easier to try and match water to water than it is to match solvent to water.
I hope that does an adequate job in answering your question Peter. Thanks for your comment and please come back soon.
~Mike.
3 jess // May 30, 2008 at 2:14 am
People always need the high quality auto parts with discounts.
4 Rick D // Nov 6, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Do you happen to know if the federal government has made or is making any funding available for small operators to make this switch? Thanks.
5 mike // Nov 6, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Hey Rick good question, I believe they should seeing is it will be manditory. It can be quite costly to switch if you do not have the proper equipement, the main peice being the compressor. That can be 8-10,000 CDN for a 25 HP compressor.
If you are in Canada, here is the government’s contact information including a phone number
http://www.ec.gc.ca/nopp/voc/EN/secAR.cfm#p8
Thanks for the question Rick,
~Mike.
6 Kenny // Nov 20, 2008 at 7:49 pm
We want to switch to water base but are hearing mixed comments on what kind of fans to install in our Blowtherm ultra 2000 booth. Do you have any experience in this matter?
7 mike // Nov 20, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Hi Kenny, first off great website you have going for your collision facility. To answer your question properly I will need a little more info on your paint booth. Is it a downdraft booth or a cross flow booth. When converting to water base paint you only really need tree stands and hand held blowers, it is a lot cheaper than booth mounted blowers and works just as well if not better than jets mounted into the booth. PPG in Canada includes two tree stands and four Iwata blowers in the conversion to water; along with a dedicated water borne spray gun per booth.
The best air movement blowers for converting your booth are Jun-Air Quads. They can mount in any spray booth whatever the make and model. If you run a high quality collision repair facility they are by far the best product on the market to date. See their product info here http://www.junair-spraybooths.co.uk/product_qads.htm
We have a Global Spray booth and we run global air cabinets mounted on the booth wall and run off the main control panel of the paint booth. In the last shop I worked in they installed Global air blowers in a Garmat down draft booth. I cannot find any info on this product at this time Kenny. I will keep looking for you until I find it.
Please let me know if that answers your question or if you need more information. I will be happy to help you as best I can.
Thanks for the question and much success to you.
~Mike.
8 Zac // Dec 23, 2008 at 9:49 pm
We just switched over from Global to Envirobase. I like how fast the system is but it seems to be harder to tint and we get alot more dirt in our paint. I like how much faster the system is but it really slows me down since I have to sand all these dirt nibs out of the paint before I clear.
Right now we are using the sata rps cups and filters and once we look at the filter it seems like they have a ton of dirt in them. So I was wondering why is this system so much dirtier than global. and how can we fix this problem of the chunks flying into the paint. I am in Nebraska and am one of the very few shops around here that is using envirobase so not alot of people know about the product.
9 mike // Dec 24, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Hello Zac, great question and their is a couple of reasons for more dirt. First of all the preparation needs to be cleaner than what you are used to with the Global system. The vehicle needs to be blown off really well and the masking needs to be tight, no loose pockets that trap dust.
As for the chunks in the filters of the Sata lids, water dries a lot quicker in the filters of the cups so even a half hour or an hour in the cup and the filter will clog up and look like dirt when it is actually dried paint chunks. I had that problem last week, paint in the PPS lid too long and it dried, after an hour I painted the top side of a hood and the dry paint splattered onto the hood. I should have used a new lid. So change the filters often in the RPS lid. 125 micron is the proper filter for water borne paint. You might be using the wrong size filter !!!
Another correction for the dirt problem is wet sanding, I find I get way cleaner jobs if I wet sand the primer and adjacent blend panels. If I dry sand I find the jobs come out with more dirt. Try wet sanding a few jobs and see if that helps the dirt problem. Make sure if you use blend paste that you wash all the paste off the vehicle and DO NOT let the paste dry on the vehicle. Tell me if you let the vehicle sit in the shop for a while masked before you paint it or does the car get masked and go straight into the booth. If the vehicle sits masked in the shop for a period of time this will add to the dirt problem, use a piece of plastic to cover the vehicle if it is going to sit around for awhile.
I use an Iwata LV-400 paint gun to spray the water which is a lower spray pressure, 20 LBS max and then dropped to 12 LBS for the control coat so that also plays a factor in dirt problems. The Sata and the Devilbiss use higher pressure and that can result in more dirt in the base coat. Please let me know what gun you are spraying with !!!
Tinting is a little tricky but once you get to know the system it will be easy. The toners in the water system are high strength, so a little goes a long way. I start adjusting colors at 2 Grams and then spray out on the card. If it needs to be adjusted some more use a gram at a time until you have a good match. Your color wheel is a good tool to use as you can see where the color will go, greener, redder, bluer, yellower and so on. If you do not have a color wheel than ask your rep to get you one, it will help you to see where your color needs to go. The only draw back for tinting is you will need to keep applying the color to the spray out card and that is time consuming. ALWAYS do a spray out card and document any changes to the color on the back of the spray out card. If you use sealer than seal the card as well. You will have a good color library in no time, mine is growing by the week and the frustration level is going down with every passing day.
If you have any more questions please feel free to ask me.
Thank you for your comment,
~Mike.
10 Glenn // Mar 25, 2009 at 12:04 am
I am a long time user of sikken and ppg lines of paint and ready to make the switch to water.My ? $$$$ will one litre of envirobase go as far as on litre of dbc or autobase + sense it is only reduced 10-1.And can envirobase be mixed in as little as 1/10th of a litre with a fairly accurate match? thank you
11 mike // Mar 26, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Hi Glenn, your spray able litre does not go as far as it would with solvent base. You need to mix a little more water based paint than you would with solvent. You can mix small amounts in certain colors but some colors require a minimum mix to achieve proper color matches. Coverage is good in PPG Envirobase if you use the proper shade of sealer which the scale will tell you when mixing colors.
Thanks for the comment,
~Mike
12 Bryan // Apr 21, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I’m going to start working at a shop soon which has already converted to water-base paint. Right now I’m using an Anest Iwata LPH-400 gun. Is this gun adequate for the new paint??
Also, what gun would you recommend for the new clear??, I’ve been told to use an Anest Iwata W-400.
13 mike // Apr 21, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Hey Brian, that’s the gun I use to spray water. It’s an awesome gun and will work very well with any waterborne paint !!!
I use a Sata Jet RP digital 1.2 mm tip to spray my clear coat. It lays the clear down like glass !!! You can use the Iwata W-400 for clear but I prefer them for base only.
Thanks for the comment and please visit again soon.
~Mike.
14 Brad // Nov 9, 2009 at 7:20 pm
I have the same problems as Zach and more. I was wondering why more dirt in the water too. Takes FOREVER to sand everything. We gotta new Global full down draft and new sata guns everything is 100% new. I get alota dry overspray when blending solid colors and metallics. and clear wont cover it up. And Why does people say that it dries faster than solvent?? It takes forever long to dry. I sprayed solvent the otherday and by the time I went in the mixing room to grab a drink i came back in and its dry and no blowing nor tack-ing between every coat. Is there something I can do to maybe help this stuff work better? They say spray like a cottage cheese look and then when you feel it it feels like a dirt road and sovlent is nice and smooth. not trying to hate on water i just think maybe somthing I’m doing is wrong. Any suggestions?
15 nutbar // Nov 10, 2009 at 10:43 pm
hello there, we just finished up some spraying at a couple of shops and it would be interesting for your audience to know that a few changes have taken place,,,firstly the w 400 should be adjusted to 24 psi for color coats and 14 for the control coat. If using the tekna, 24 to 26 with a 1.3 lays the base down very nicely, as usual the sata products rp and nr 3000 with 1.3 are very nice for laying it down. and for the control coats for both the tekna and sata remain the same 17 psi roughly. i just wanted to add that information to your site, very informative as always…..
16 mike // Nov 10, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Hey Brad thanks for your question. I need to ask you a few questions first to try and solve your problem/problems for you. Do you use sealer and which solvent do you use with it. I use slow solvent with 8081,8085 and 8087 which lays the sealer down smoothly with very minimal dry edges if any at all.
Next question is do you tack you sealer before applying your Envirobase basecoat, this will minimize or take away that dry look when spraying solids or metallics. I know with Sata guns PPG recommends that you spray the water at I think 27 or 30 PSI which is quite high for my liking. I use an Iwata W-400 and I spray at 24 PSI which lets my colors lay down smoother. When I spray, the water does NOT look like cottage cheese it goes on smooth and wet. Also do use 490 as a wet bed as this should be done on all blending panels. T490 is reduced 4:1 with water, 4 parts T490 1 part T494 and is applied in one wet coat and allowed to flash off 3-6 minutes using your blowers. Also is your booth equipped with blowers or are you using tree stands. Where in the world are you located, if you are in a high humidity part of the world then you need to turn up the heat in your booth to reduce the humidity and therefore dry the water quicker.
As for the dirt issue, I was spraying in a Global booth before taking the job I am at now and it was way dirtier than the Juneair booth I am in now. I use the same techniques for 10 years and for some reason the dirt in a Global booth was way worse then in the Juneair booth I am using now. What kind of tack rags do you use, a good quality tack rag will improve the amount of dirt in the paint work. I do not tack the water between coats but I do tack before I am going to clear.
So lots of info here that I hope helps you Brad, please let me know what else I can do to help you improve the quality of your paint work, I will be happy to answer all your questions you may have.
Thanks so much for your comment and questions,
~Mike.
17 mike // Nov 10, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Thanks for the update on the PSI info Nutbar, the readers can sure use this great info as we are all looking for the latest news on updates.
I have used a Tekna 1.3 mm Tip and I really like it for Envirobase basecoat. I still prefer the Iwata over the Tekna though, the Iwata is a lighter gun and my arm does not feel like it is going to fall off after a long day of spraying. I guess it’s whatever works for YOU.
Thanks for the update Nutbar and hope to see you back on the site soon,
~Mike.
18 guy bina // Jan 21, 2010 at 10:38 pm
i just started spraying water base and i have the same problem as brad i get alot of dry over spray when i blend my color and clear will not cover it up i spray right over sanded primer no sealer involved and still get that dry overspray any suggestions????? thank you guy bina oh P.S. i live in casper wyoming there is very little humidity here . thanks
19 mike // Jan 22, 2010 at 11:26 pm
Guy, you need to tack the base after each coat. Hopefully you are using T490 as a wet bed, then after you have laid your first two coats of base down you need to tack the area where you are going to blend the base into. If 20% reduction is not working good for you on your metallics, then reduce the base 30% when you are going to apply your control coat/coats. That will get rid of the dry over spray look.
Thanks,
~Mike.
20 TopHatPainter // Apr 15, 2010 at 3:42 pm
I know this post is a little dated, but this paint is starting to get some real notoriety in the custom paint circles, especially with the lowrider crews. I understand that they have a wide range of candy pigments in the Envirobase, and PPG got the go ahead from GM to spray all their collision repairs with the new paints. What I am wondering, with this being waterbourne (that means small amounts of solvent as opposed to water based where there is no solvent, correct?), if a shop used this would that change the type of permits and safety regulations needed to spray? Also, as an airbrush artist and custom painter, I’m curious as to how long these paints last (I know that is the first thing the old school custom guys bash on). Do they have the track record like, say Auto Air? Thanks for any help with this.
21 mike // Apr 15, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Hello Tophat, welcome. Yes you are correct, there is still a certain amount of solvent in the PPG Envirobase water borne paint. This meets the VOC regulations worldwide. If a shop used PPG Envirobase HP then in certain parts of the world the permits would be as far as I know, easier to obtain as you are exceeding the VOC regulations for your area. Safety regulations stay mostly the same, still need to wear a respirator, still need to have the paint waste taken away by your local hazardous waste company and so on.
Here is the shelf life of PPG Envirobase. 90 days mixed and stored in a container with a lid and two years unopened and stored at room temperature. That’s off the top of my brain but I will get exact numbers for you on shelf life. I hope that answers your questions for you Tophat. Feel free to stop by soon and check back on new posts on the Blog.
Thanks,
~Mike.
22 TopHatPainter // Apr 17, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Thanks a lot for getting back to me! I can’t wait to see how this stuff comes out of an airbrush. I am intrigued with this type of paint for sure. I see that this can be in our future with the world ‘going green’ and will be something I would consider offering. I’ve seen in the custom paint forums that it’s gaining momentum as a popular choice in custom paint applications and I hope I can jump on this. Your site has a lot of informatino, thanks.
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