The Axalta Color Popularity Report 2013 has confirmed that globally white is the most popular vehicle colour. But the wide range of white shades available in both solid and pearlescent finishes can pose a challenge to refinishers when it comes to paint repairs.

Frank Barduna of Spies Hecker International’s Technical Service said, “Europe and worldwide, white is number one on the car buyers’ popularity chart. It accounts for 29 per cent of all car sales. White has been the absolute bestseller for the last two years. Car owners obviously like what this colour gives them.”

White is of course the colour of choice in Southern European countries with a warmer climate, but is also now gaining ground in Ireland. Barduna commented on the challenge for refinishers of getting whites right in the repair process. He said, “Getting the colour variant right is an art. For solid whites, digital colour measurement tools like the Spies Hecker ColorDialog spectrophotometer and the new ColorDialog Delta-Scan can help to find the correct shade.”

When it comes to matching a pearlescent white for a collision repair, Barduna said, “Refinishers should spray sample panels to achieve the precise colour match. After selecting the colour formula from the database, the basecoat colour is sprayed onto the sample panel. It is followed by one to three further passes of the effect colour. That is the only way in which refinishers can determine the right effect and the number of passes that are required for the repair. Each colour formulation for tri-coat systems contains the necessary information to produce the base colour and the effect colours.”

Barduna also pointed out the benefits of Spies Hecker activator. “The addition of Permayhd Hardener 3080 to the basecoat benefits the entire tri-coat paint structure to produce a perfect result. “When blending-in into the adjacent part it is very important to spray from the edges of the existing OEM paint into the repair zone, In other words from the outside in,” Barduna concludes.