To support the need for nickel free color formulas in restricted areas, we are releasing three new nickel containing paint systems in the Delfleet^® Evolution brand topcoats. New nickel containing paint systems FDGH SOL NC, FBCH SOL NC, and FDSU SOL NC are viewable now on ColorMobile^® and will be included in the next PaintManager^® software update

As a reminder, these new NC paint systems will contain only formulas with the nickel toner F3520 in them. Moving forward, the original SOL paint systems will no longer house formulas with nickel. If a user cannot use nickel toners in their area, then only FDGH SOL, FBCH SOL, and FDSU SOL paint systems should be chosen when PaintManager^® software is set up. Users without restrictions can also include the NC versions in their paint system set up.

Offering outstanding performance and value from start to finish … the Omni^® Plus color system elevates the brand’s proven range of refinish products to the next level. A complete, yet compact mixing system, Omni^® Plus extend the basic Omni^® mixing system with:

• High-strength and highly chromatic toners
• Special effect diamond toners, pearls, a full range of metallic flakes
• And an advanced basecoat converter

The system was designed to deliver impressive color matching accuracy, high hiding, fast dry and overall excellent performance, with exceptional value in mind. As a complete refinish system for today’s vehicles, including those with tricoat finishes, the Omni® Plus line includes the latest 2K primers and sealers, and an excellent choice of clearcoats, from speed clears for production to Euro-quality, multi-panel clears offering exceptional gloss at an affordable price.

In a nutshell, the Omni^® Plus system offers everything required for achieving a quality repair with impressive process performance, and with the availability of a complete set of compliant toners, primers and clears, collision shops in low-VOC regulated regions can also benefit from the proven color matching performance of the Omni^® Plus system.

For ease of use, mix ratios are kept simple, with common hardeners. And technicians will find the Omni^® Plus system easy to apply, spraying with just a few coats. Industry-recognized for its superior color match over competing brands, Omni^® Plus basecoat leverages PPG’s unrivaled color technology innovation and leadership. This means instant access to PPG’s global color network and color matches for the latest OEM finishes … as well as classic colors used on restoration projects.

Users of the Omni^® Plus platform also enjoy access to PPG’s industry-leading family of color tool solutions. This includes the Omni^® color deck, which contains over 2,100 sprayed chips. Updated annually, these large chips are chromatically arranged for quick access to the right color match for your job.

The all-new RapidMatch^® XI Spectrophotometer accurately reads vehicle color and texture information and connects seamlessly with PPG’s renowned PaintManager^® XI software program and the new TouchMix^® XI computer to streamline the paint mixing process and ensure an accurate color match – getting it right, the first time.

Customers have instant access to PPG’s world-class distribution network, along with best-in-class service, training and support resources to maximize your product experience. Offering the best color match in its segment – with peace of mind performance – in a compact, viable solution delivered at an affordable price.

Learn more about the OMNI Plus refinish system

PPG today announced the 2018 appearance schedule of its popular show truck. The bold red, white and blue PPG tractor-trailer rig — a rolling exhibit of premium PPG products — will kick off its coast-to-coast excursion on March 9 at the 8th annual Goodguys Spring Lone Star Nationals at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The truck will make a total of 18 appearances, concluding its tour season Nov. 16 at WestWorld of Scottsdale in Arizona. Tour stops include the top national and regional car, truck and hot rod events sponsored by the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association and other major auto groups.

The colorful show truck serves as a mobile PPG exhibit designed to give custom car builders and painters — professionals and hobbyists alike — a chance to learn about PPG’s innovative products, hottest colors and dazzling special effects to create show-stopping finishes. At each location, PPG representatives will be on hand to present the truck’s large pop-up display, welcome the public and answer any questions visitors have about any of PPG’s brands including Deltron^®, the Vibrance Collection^®, Global Refinish System^®, Envirobase^® High Performance and Aquabase^® Plus.

“We’re very proud of our show truck,” said Cristina Murray, PPG director, customer engagement and communications. “With our truck at the shows and visiting our distributor locations, we’re trying to make sure everyone involved in automotive refinish and commercial markets can learn more about our PPG products. The truck displays a number of cool items painted with PPG — from motorcycle half tanks and helmets to baseball bats and more. Just as PPG has something for everyone, our booth also has something for everyone, even a coloring contest for the kids and a collectible coloring book illustrated by artist Tony Squindo.”

The truck’s complete tour schedule follows. Truck and car fans are invited to visit the show truck at any of the scheduled stops.
 

2018 racing sponsorship announced

PPG is enhancing its long-standing support of Team Penske for the 2018 racing season. The company is assuming primary sponsorship of the team’s No. 12 Ford Fusion driven by Ryan Blaney — one of NASCAR’s up-and-coming young stars — for six of this year’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) races. The announcement was made by John Outcalt, PPG vice president, global automotive refinish.

PPG will also serve as an associate sponsor of the car and Blaney in all other 2018 MENCS races. In addition, PPG will continue as an associate sponsor for all Team Penske cars competing in the Verizon IndyCar Series and the two DJR Team Penske entries racing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.

“Penske and PPG have always had a winning tradition,” said Outcalt. “Together we’ve shown we’re a force to be reckoned with on any track, and sponsoring a Team Penske car driven by Ryan Blaney is going to make for a thrilling season. We’re very excited to be a Team Penske sponsor; this is a clear affirmation of the strength of the PPG and Team Penske connection.”

The 2018 MENCS regular season opens with the 60th anniversary running of the Great American Race, the Daytona 500, on February 18, in Florida. PPG’s first race as primary sponsor will be the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, on Sunday, March 18. The additional five MENCS races in which PPG is the No. 12 car’s primary sponsor include:

• Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina, Sunday, May 27;
• Toyota/Save Mart 350, Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California, Sunday, June 24;
• Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York, Sunday, August 5;
• Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada, Sunday, September 16;
• Can-Am 500, ISM Raceway, Avondale, Arizona, Sunday, November 11.

This will be Team Penske and PPG’s 34th season together. Their relationship was established in 1984 through PPG’s participation in motorsports and sponsorship of the PPG Cup from 1979 to 1999 in the CART Series in which Penske Racing teams competed. The connection between the two companies began with PPG providing paint for Team Penske race cars. The relationship has grown with PPG becoming Penske Corporation’s largest supplier of refinish coatings for its racing, truck leasing and automotive collision repair subsidiaries. The durable partnership illustrates the long-term commitment these companies have to their mutual, ongoing success.

“PPG has been a trusted and valued partner with Team Penske for over 30 years as one of our longest-tenured sponsors,” said Roger Penske, Penske Corporation chairman of the board and CEO. “It has been exciting to see the partnership grow over the last three-plus decades, and we will work together as we continue to build the PPG brand through an increased presence with our team in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.”

For more about Team Penske, visit www.teampenske.com.

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio – January 23, 2018
PPG MVP Business Solutions has released its schedule of training classes for the first quarter of 2018. The classes are offered at various locations across the United States and Canada and present innovative and effective business solutions for owners and managers of collision centers using PPG products. The classes are designed to help shops improve their bottom line through the use of exclusive MVP performance-accelerating processes.

MVP classes are a part of PPG’s overall commitment to the industry and a key component of the strong relationship PPG builds with its customers. MVP provides participants with opportunities to examine their current business processes and practices and, through these classes, work with experts to determine the steps needed to adjust or revamp their approach toward a more successful business model.

A partial list of MVP classes scheduled for January through March 2018 includes Advanced Estimating, Business of Parts Management, Business in the 21st Century, Continuing Education Instructor Development Course and Elevating the Customer Experience. A complete up-to-date schedule of class dates and locations is available at www.ppgmvp.com. All MVP classes can be arranged for specific regions and shops to address particular issues.

“At PPG, we are in the collision industry for the long haul and realize that our success is dependent on our customers’ success,” said Jim Berkey, PPG director, business solutions, Automotive Refinish. “When our customers are competitive and prosperous, we are as well. So it’s important to us to offer the most comprehensive training in the refinish industry — training that keeps our customers in front.”

Customer response has been positive to MVP training.

“We use the results of (MVP) job relations training in our everyday work,” said John Gustafson, Gustafson Brothers Inc., Huntington Beach, California. “It’s made us a better company with better employees . . . . The sooner you get the training, the sooner you’ll get the results you want.” (Hear more from Gustafson.)

Beyond the specific classes offered this quarter, Berkey points out that MVP offerings include

• Fundamental one- and two-day classes including Estimating, Paint Shop Throughput, Parts Management and Professional Sales;
• A comprehensive Lean for Collision system of training and on-site Rapid Improvement Workshops;
• Shop Layout and Design, Precision Marketing and Continuing Education;
• Industry-leading Business Solutions Conferences.

To learn more about PPG MVP training, consulting and resources, including details of seminars and workshops, visit the Explore Our Programs page at www.ppgmvp.com or call (866) 237-8178.

PPG has announced its collision refinish training schedule for the first quarter of 2018. Classes cover a wide variety of subjects and are designed to ensure that PPG paint technicians stay up to date with their refinish certification and knowledge of PPG products, processes and technological advances.

PPG collision refinish training classes are held at PPG Business Development Centers and numerous field locations across the U.S. and Canada and are led by expert PPG trainers. The courses take one to two days and provide extensive classroom instruction along with hands-on work in the spray booth. Technicians are given generous opportunities for informal discussions and Q&A sessions with the trainers.

Collision refinish courses cover PPG premium brands including the Envirobase^® High Performance, Aquabase^® Plus, Deltron^® and Global Refinish System^® lines, with certification and recertification offered for each brand. Programs encompass a comprehensive range of topics from product selection, equipment and color tools to surface preparation and paint application best practices. Color tinting classes are also offered for each brand. Classes are available in Spanish and French in some locations.

PPG refinish technicians must be certified and then recertified every two years to make certain they stay current with ever-evolving industry developments. When PPG paint technicians and their respective collision centers are certified, the centers may offer the PPG Lifetime Limited Paint Performance Guarantee — a valued edge over the competition — to their customers. Technicians must maintain their PPG certification for the collision center to continue participating in the PPG paint guarantee program.

Course descriptions with January, February and March dates, locations, registration instructions, and information about other avaialble training classes can be found here.

If you’re looking for a cost-effective system for refinishing today’s passenger cars, trucks and SUVs - with prime color match ability and process efficiency, choose the Shop-Line^® refinish system from PPG and available exclusively from your PPG Platinum Distributor.

Key to the color matching performance of the Shop-Line^® Plus system is its compact mixing platform featuring high-strength, highly chromatic toners, special-effect diamond toners, an advanced basecoat converter and a mixing clear -- all designed to deliver the color matching accuracy and fast-drying performance demanded of a modern basecoat system.

The system can also be configured to meet North America’s most stringent VOC compliance regulations and is easy-to-use.

Mix ratios are kept simple, common hardeners reduce system complexity, and technicians will find the Shop-Line^® Plus basecoat easy to spray, with coverage achieved in minimal coats.

To meet the needs of any shop, this color platform is supported by a full range of primers, sealers, and clearcoats—including speed, production, and high-gloss Euro-style options for National Rule and low VOC areas.

Recognized industry-wide for its color superiority over competing brands, the Shop-Line^® Plus system leverages PPG’s leadership in color matching tools and expertise. This means access to PPG’s global color network of over 2 and a half million formulas capable of matching the latest OEM finishes. Plus, there’s an unrivaled selection of historic color formulas for restoring classic vehicles.

Users of the Shop-Line^® Plus platform also enjoy access to PPG’s industry-leading family of color tools. Arranged chromatically, the Shop-Line^® Color Deck features over 2,100 sprayed chips - including tri-coats. The new TouchMix^® XI all-in-one computer simplifies the paint mixing process and connects effortlessly with PaintManager^® XI software, our advanced formula retrieval and paint management program, and the all-new RapidMatch^® XI spectrophotometer reads the vehicle’s actual color and texture, to work seamlessly with PaintManager^® software to find a blendable match.

Backing up the Shop-Line^® system is the excellent service and support you can expect from your PPG Platinum Distributor. Since they exclusively carry PPG refinish products, the knowledge and expertise they provide can’t be beat.