"Customer satisfaction is worthless. Customer loyalty is priceless." - Jeffrey Gitomer, American Author |
Looking for a painter? Do you know anyone? Is this the
question I hear every week from a client or industry gender? No matter if it is a big city, like Athens or Thessaloniki, or if it is in the province, like Sifnos island or Kastoria, the lack of dyers is obvious. I have touched on this topic many times, but I think many of us in the automotive refinish industry still don't realize how big the problem is. The truth is that this problem is international. In many countries I went to, I found that the average age of painters is increasing. Although
the magnitude of the problem varies from country to country, it is clear that young people do not want to work in bodyshops. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution and our efforts should be focused on education, better working conditions and more competitive pay. But what should we do now? My advice is if you don't plan on retiring or selling your shop anytime soon, don't wait until the need arises. Search for people now. Invest in young kids who want to learn the art. No business can move
forward without staff. And yes, if any painters are looking for work, let us know… Automotive Clearcoats Research On the occasion of the launch of the new Etalon’s Clearcoats, I would like to share with you the results of the research we conducted some time ago. Alexport had carried out a survey through the LinkedIn platform for two groups of our customers, about what they consider to be the most important characteristics for automotive clearcoats. As LinkedIn allows a choice of 5 answers, I have included the following characteristics or qualities of a quality
clearcoat: - Clarity, non-yellowing
- Degree of gloss
- Ease of application
- Resistance to scratches
- Price
As a start I would like to mention some things about the above characteristics of a clearcoat. - Clarity, not yellowing, is considered one of the most important properties of a clearcoat. Really, who wants their freshly painted car to start turning yellow? Or who would be happy when instead of having a nice metallic color reflecting in the sun it has a milky dull layer of clear? Why do we call it “clear” anyway? Although these questions are rhetorical, yet too many clearcoats on the market today are far from being considered
"transparent".
- Gloss is another appearance characteristic that has to do with car paint. Normally, a clear coat should have a gloss score above 90 units (with a maximum of 100).
- Ease of application has a broad meaning. In other words, if we follow all the technical instructions of the manufacturer to the letter, how does the application of the clearcoat feel? Does it "run" easily?
- Scratch resistance simply means how hard the surface will become after curing, and what mechanical
resistance it will eventually achieve.
- Price simply means cost. High price - high cost, which is bad. Low price - low cost, which is good. At least that's how we're used to thinking.
The numerical data were as follows: - Clarity, non yellowing – 46%
- Degree of gloss – 21%
- Ease of application – 12%
- Scratch resistance – 21%
- Price – 0%
New ETALON Paint Finishing Abrasive Discs High quality micro-abrasive discs that provide uniform mat finish on clearcoat as preparation for blending or prior to polishing jobs. Very high productivity and
flexibility. ETALON Marine Engine Paint
Spray Specialized colors for painting and refinishing marine engines. These sprays are exact match of the most widespread brands of inboard and outboard sea engines. Due
to their characteristics, they are resistant to oil, fuels and high temperature. BACK IN STOCK ETALON “TOUCH-UP” Plastic Bottle 2 in 1 A unique “Touch-up” plastic bottle 2 in 1 with a brush, a pen needle and an airtight lid. Easy repair of the smallest scratches. The paint does not dry out in the
bottle. Etalon Wall Calendar 2023
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