waterborne paint

Does anyone else hate this stuff as much as I do? Im a painter at a Chevrolet and Cadillac dealership and we switched ten months ago. We're thinking about switching back to solvent. Just curious what everyone else thinks about it?

Witch one is ur shop using
I'm ppg certified and have used the enviro base and at first it took alot to get used to
what gun do u use
I used a iwata lph 400 that I used when I sprayed waterbourn but perfer a wsbsata 3000
but the shop supplied the iwata when they switched over

we use dupont cromax.its not to bad just takes awhile to dry.better make sure your body techs get their bodywork right.this stuff is'nt that forgiving.i put solvent on my on project.could of had waterbourne for free,so what does that tell you.overall its not that bad,just have to change your mindset some.just my 2 cents.i use sata hvlp 3000.

Edited: 3/30/2011 5:04:42 PM by whataberger

i too prefer solvent. i also use the lph400 to spray the stuff. its just a pain. we use the ppg enviro base. the wax and grease remover they provided during the switch sucked...if every drop wasnt dried when you sprayed base you could see where the drop evaporated from. but a nation wide switch is coming...its only a matter of time

We're using the Vortex system from Martin Senour. I use a Sata 3000 to spray with. It takes longer to paint everything because of the dry time and I've noticed we get alot more dirt in the paint causing much more time spent buffing. We also have a really nice blowtherm downdraft paint booth. I could go on and on with complaints but im gonna save it for the paint reps! Hahaha!

I am a paint distributor, and have been holding off on putting water in until the last minute, My shops are not requesting it, and the few that switched to ppg's enviro base are now buying mixed solvent from me.

I also know a few shops that are talking about completely getting rid of it again.

waterbourne is'nt for every shop.we paint on average 8-10 cars a day.with that said its my opinoin that you use more water than you do solvent .it does cover better because your putting down a coat an half.the draw back is like i said earlier its not forgiving ,there is not much film build.so sand tracking is an issue also.if it was my on shop, i would what till the last minute to switch.here in pa its not mandated yet.maryland is the same i think an delaware has to be be 2013.it just takes getting used to it.

We use Sherwin Williams and are going to be switched over in about a month or so....im so excited (insert sarcasm here)

its actually faster to use water if ur setup. its sprays better when u get used to it. ive used sikkens, ppg, matrix, dupont and a few other brands of water. alot of guys who spray water around here dont want to switch back.

Edited: 4/1/2011 3:31:14 PM by fochsml

Hi Shane,

Do you use a waterborne drying system in your booth? Unfortunately, waterborne paint does take longer to dry. Drying time can be rapidly reduced though by using an accelerated drying system. Many paint booth manufacturers offer these systems. The best ones are the ones that create turbulent airflow. Here is why:

With downdraft airflow, you will get a thin layer of boundary air right above the surface of the vehicle. It is low-pressure, slow moving air, which slows down the drying process. In order to achieve faster drying times, this boundary air has to be disrupted and dispersed. The best way to disrupt this air is by creating turbulent airflow on the surface of the vehicle.

It's definitely something your shop may want to consider instead of switching back to solvent, since, as Dustin said, soon it will be required of all shops.