DuPont Refinish Blog

• Interesting data on the Australian Motor Vehicle Census (March 2009) DPR

  23 August, 2010

  23 August, 2010

  In the latest census of registered vehicles by the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) the following is useful information relating to our industry:

  • The total vehicle park has grown from approx. 12.5 million vehicles in 2001 to over 15.5 million in 2009.  This includes passenger & commercial vehicles & motorcycles.

   

  • In the same time frame passenger vehicles has grown from 9.9 million to 12 million.

   

  • Toyota has grown its share of the passenger vehicle park from 17.3% in 2001 to 19.7% in 2009 to become the share leader.

   

  • Holden & Ford in the same time has dropped share from 19.4% and 20.5% respectively to 17.2% and 14.5%.  Also Mitsubishi & Nissan continue to lose share.

   

  • Mazda, Hyundai, Honda & Subaru continue to gain market share with Mazda at 5.5%, Hyundai 5.2%, Honda 4.5% and Subaru 3.5% in 2009.

   

  • Also BMW, Mercedez Benz, Suzuki, Volkswagon & Kia are growing share but each of these brands has less than 2% share.

   

  • The age of the vehicle park continues to get younger. As an example of this, the percentage of vehicles greater than 15 years in 2001 was approx. 25%.  This has now dropped to below 19% in 2009.

   

  • The average age of all vehicles registered was 9.9 years in 2009.

  For more information about the new powder pearls, complete our online enquiry form.
  
  

• DuPont Refinish Product Feature: 1052R & 1056R High Productive Surfacers

  1 April, 2010

  Latest News:  1052R & 1056R are now available for use with 256S and XK203 & XK 205 Hardeners, in addition to 1010R and 125S.
  
  
  A highly productive surfacer that is airdry in 1 hour.  What are you waiting for?
  
  DuPont Refinish’s 1052R and 1056R High Productive Surfacers are just two of DuPont’s ValueShade® undercoats that have been designed to meet the demands of the innovative bodyshop; both products feature fast drying and high filling capabilities.
  
  Without doubt the most outstanding attribute of both 1052R and 56R is its drying performance.  The product is dry to sand after only 1hour at 20°C (airdry).  If application in done in a prep bay, this can free up booth time and reduce heating costs.  Ultimately this allows you to get jobs done quicker and increase your throughput.
  
  In addition, 1052R/56R provides better hiding through the patented ValueShade® technology.
  The DuPont ValueShade® system is very simple.  DuPont Refinish has developed 7 shades of grey undercoat that perfectly support every topcoat colour and make it perform better.  The undercoat technology gives faster topcoat coverage in few coats.
  For simple stockholding, shade of ValueShade® come ready packaged.  These can be mixed to create the intervening shades.
  
  
  
  In the ValueShade® range, DuPont™ 1052R is off-white (ValueShade® 2); DuPont™ 1056R is dark grey (ValueShade® 6).  Shades 3, 4 & 5 can be obtained by intermixing 1052R & 1056R.
  
  Refinishers can use 1052R and 1056R for a wide range of repair jobs, but the focus is on fast spot and panel repairs. It is very easy to sand, and can be coated with every DuPont Refinish topcoat.  By using different thinning ratios, the product can be applied as either surfacer or maxi filler.
  
  1052R/56R also complies with Europe’s VOC environmental requirements and is available in 3.5 litre cans.
  
  In summary, DuPont Refinish’s 1052R/56R is a highly productive surfacer that is airdry in 1 hour.  What are you waiting for?  Contact your nearest DuPont Refinish distributor today to experience the benefits of 1052R/56R.
  
  
  
  
   

• Deletion of DuPont Refinish lead formulas

  23 February, 2010

  Background

  The Australian Government prohibited the manufacture and import of automotive and industrial paints containing lead on 1/1/2009. This was due to concern about the potential health impact of exposure to lead, particularly for young children. However, the sale and use of existing stocks of such lead-containing paints was still permitted, to enable these stocks to be consumed. Standox has continued to make colour formulas containing lead available since that date, to enable our customers to consume their remaining stocks of lead-containing paint.

  
  Deletion Of Lead-Containing Formulas

  More than 12 months have now passed since manufacture and importing of lead-containing paint was prohibited, and it is quite unlikely that any stocks of lead-containing paint are still held by our distributors or end-users. We will therefore delete all lead-containing colour formulas from our colour tools such as CDs and websites, as these are updated in coming months. Removing colour formulas containing what are now long-obsolete tinters will also avoid possible customer confusion.
  
  If a distributor or end-user does have any residual stock of lead-containing paint, and wants to continue to have access to lead-containing colour formulas, we recommend they just retain their current colour formula CD.

   

  For more information about the deletion of DuPont Refinish lead formulas, complete our online enquiry form or speak to your DuPont Refinish Distributor.
  
  

• DuPont Refinish Product Feature: Powder Pearls

  23 February, 2010

  DuPont Refinish is introducing powder pearls to the DuPont Refinish tint system.

  In recent years there has been a trend towards new automotive colour styling's created by the use of new varieties of pearl pigments, especially for leading Japanese OEMs such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Use of the correct pearl pigment to repair these colours is essential, or an accurate colour match cannot be achieved, even if only a few grams of pearl powder are required in the colour formula. Due to the large number of new pearl pigments being used in modern automotive colours, these new pigments are being introduced as powders, to minimise the number of wet tints customers need to keep on a mixing machine.
  
  As you can see from the picture on the right, all powder pearls will be labelled DPC.
  
  
  Powder Pearl Colour Information

  PP204, PP401, PP402, PP501

  Through the interplay of transparency, light refraction, interference and multiple reflection, these pigments create unique colour effects. These interference pigments create pearl lustre effects as well as metallic lustre effects. The iridescent effect enables angle-dependent colour design. Depending on the pearl, the effect varies from silky matte to glittery.

  PP202, PP301, PP502

  These pigments demonstrate a very strong glitter effect with a distinct shimmer behaviour and are typically used in strong and very pure colours. Their effect is increased by sunlight.

  PP201, PP203, PP901, PP503

  These pigments create very pure, brilliant interference colours with chromatic properties, the so called “Colour Travel" effect.

  PP601, PP701

  Copper & Gold coloured pearl lustre pigments with a deep tone.

   

  Formula retrieval - Important steps
  
  1. These new formulas can only be found on DuPont Refinish Asia Colour Website www.acn.asiacolornet.com (you will need to register to view these formulas).
  
  2. Select your language.
  
  3. If you have registered - login, if not please sign up.
  
  4. Once you have logged in select global search and find your formula.
  
  5. Click on 'get' to retrieve your formula.
  
  6. Select 'Japan' from 'Location' drop down box (or "Australia" for locally built vehicles)
  
  7. Select 'quality' from drop down box.
  
  8. Choose formula with 2009 date and click 'get'.

   

  For more information about the new powder pearls, complete our online enquiry form or speak to your DuPont Refinish Distributor.
  
  

• Download DuPont Refinish Application Guides

  7 December, 2009

  DuPont Refinish Application Guides have always been a popular tool used by bodyshops, and now we've made this great feature available online.

  Our Application Guides are designed to be printed and used in your bodyshop to make it easy to choose the right products for your specific needs.

  We've already prepared Application Guides for some of our most popular refinish processes, which you can download as you need them.

  Plus we've added the option for you to request an Application Guide designed to suit your own specific needs!

  Print an Application Guide today, or submit your own request.

  For more information about the new DuPont Refinish Application Guides, complete our online enquiry form or speak to your DuPont Refinish Distributor.