Don Davis Auto World goes eco-friendly on car paint
Water-based version costs less, pollutes less
Your car may still slurp up gasoline, but it can be one step closer to “going green” after a trip to a local auto body shop.
Don Davis Auto World in Amherst is one of the first in the state to switch to water-based paints. The body shop switched to the “greener” type of paint three weeks ago. Waterbased paint is expected to pick up in popularity and has already become mainstream in Europe and California.
Cost efficiency and environmental advantages motivated the switch, said Mark Aquino, Don Davis’ body shop manager.
“Managers are hesitant because it’s a change, but I found that change to be totally smooth,” he said.
Solvent-based paints cost Aquino approximately $8,000 per month; the water-based paints save him about $500 to $600 monthly, he said.
The water-based paints also speed up the painting process, Aquino said. With the old system, it took one hour and fifteen minutes to paint a fender. Now, it takes only about 25 minutes. That’s because it takes only one coat of paint rather than two or three, he said.
Water-based paint releases less volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than solvent-based paint when evaporating. VOC emissions contribute to air pollution and global warming. Solvent-based paints are actually deemed “hazardous waste” and require proper disposal.
The closet at the Don Davis shop is complete with paints that are every color of the rainbow, but now the contents are so safe that you could almost dump it down the drain, marketing manager Mark Davis said.
In the 1970s, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency tried to promote water-based paints, said Larry Sitzman, regional air pollution control engineer for Western New York, a branch of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
But the technology simply wasn’t there, Sitzman said. The paint was runny, did not match the color properly and basically was not a workable substitute.
Times, however, have changed. California is requiring all auto body shops to transition to water-based paints by the end of 2008.
In contrast, water-based paints “are not used by more than a half of a percent” of New York State auto body shops, said Ed Kizenberger, executive director of the New York State Automotive Collision Technicians Association.
Paul Ertel, owner of Urban Paint in North Tonawanda, supplies the PPG Envirobase High Performance to Don Davis. He said the paint and collision shop is the first in the region to use only water-based paints.
“[Don] Davis is doing what’s right as a solution to lowering emissions and improving the air quality and environment,” he said.
Ertel said that Canada is probably a year and a half away from making water-based paints mandatory. He and Kizenberger predict that New York State will mandate the paint eventually.
Joe Pendolino of the City of Tonawanda recently got his car retouched at Don Davis after it endured substantial hail damage. He said he didn’t notice any difference in the finish, but thought the use of greener paints would attract customers.
“Everybody is becoming so environmentally conscious now,” he said.
Ertel said the color matching, a key component in customer satisfaction, is superior to solvent-based paints.
“You don’t want to have them paint your car and have the door be another color,” he said.
