DECEMBER 2015 THE PAINT SPOT NEWSLETTER

Based on responses from last months issue it appears my opinion (s) are shared by a lot more of you than I imagined. Just saying it as I see it folks I’ve received many concerns regarding price increases lately, and more specifically with Matrix products. At the risk of “passing the buck”, I’ll tell you that it was certainly NOT my idea. It is typical that this time of year price increases tend to come our way, however, since the price of oil has dropped to record lows, I really didn’t expect to get an increase this go round. I can tell you that not only do you see an increase in the price you pay for materials, but we see an increase in our cost, and sometimes a “decrease” in the retail (sell) price! You don’t have to be a mathematician to figure out who’s really taking the gas pipe!

I’m going to re price all the effected Matrix products in question and “split” the price increase with you. This is on top of The Paint Spot traditionally passing on “every other” price increase to you. This is my way of saying to you that I don’t think a price increase was warranted, and it’s my way of saying to Matrix…..”you’re only hurting us, the distributors of your products when you choose to ignore the economy by not passing on the savings that I am convinced you are receiving”!

The price increase was approximately 6 -7%, so ya’ll will see the cost reduction of 4% immediately! Furthermore, I’m lowering ALL Matrix products by 4%, which includes items that were not raised by Matrix in this recent price increase.

Now I’m pretty sure I’m not going to hear any complaints from our customers regarding this issue, but I am thinking I’ll hear some BS from the “know it alls” above me. If I do, this newsletter should serve as a reminder that I already have sufficient proof that production costs have “gone down”, and that the price for fuel alone has dropped more than 90%. I also have suppliers that “HAVE” passed these decreases along to us…….so tread cautiously!

This issue will NOT be isolated to just Matrix. I am putting all vendors on notice right here and right now that price increases will not be well received by The Paint Spot, and to whom it may concern: I have gone out of my way to break the “love affair” with brand names. That mentality is at the very core of who we are, and ya’ll know that. If we get what I deem as unjustifiable price increases “I will” source out alternative suppliers and/or manufacturers……PERIOD!

My reasoning behind this decision comes not from “flexing my muscle”, but from the fact that this is Texas, and in Texas the oil industry has been hit extremely hard over the past year. I am well aware of you customers whose businesses have taken a major hit in loss of revenue. So to share some of the pain with you, I consider this a small price to pay. If you vendors, suppliers, and manufacturers have one ounce of compassion, you’ll suck it up and do the same.

Recently I was approached by a friend whose daughter had just been given her first car. Ken Osborn from “Sattler Sign Co”, in Canyon Lake Texas, had purchased a 2004 Ford Mustang for his daughter “Ashley”. This car had pretty low mileage, but since it had belonged to a college student, had also seen its share of neglect. The paint (E4 vermillion red) was not only delaminated, but somewhere along the line, had been painted with some kind of crappy single stage on top of the factory base clear. It was so bad that the car needed to be stripped, or at least the top surfaces anyway. To add to all that, the car had been hit in the front, and the hood (fiberglass / SMC) was broken up inside and out.

Now Ken has always been there for me whenever I needed invoices, signs, banners, tee shirts, our new “Paint Spot” aprons, or stencils, so I was only too happy to reciprocate. It was a family affair. He, his wife “Patsy”, and his daughter all got together with me at Slix over a weekend, and we got busy!

I put Patsy and Ashley on sanding detail using two DA sanders with 150 grit paper. While they were doing that, I was reglassing the under structure of the hood. While that was drying I took care of the body work on the rest of the car. I let the hood set upside down over night and cure up, and the next morning I fixed the outside. The repair on the outside of the hood was extensive, but because I wanted to get paint on it that day (or night) I cheated by using heat lamps. From start to finish using SMC resin, fiberglass cloth, Roberlo “Futura Glass”, RSP 160 primer, blocked, then RSP 160 a second time, and finish sanded, that hood took 3.5 hours! By this time, the hood was 90% raw SMC, with only the body work area primed and blocked with 600.

Now the girls (neither of which had ever sanded a car) completely sanded the top surfaces and bumper covers (most of which was all the way down to the raw substrate) with the 150 on a DA. They used the SIA 500 grit foam pads for all the edges and lower surfaces that were still in decent condition.

The car definitely needed a full coat (or 10) of primer and block sanding to level out all the raw substrate and uneven edges, but for the task at hand, we opted out of that. I decided that since this was a “freebie” I would push the parameters of our materials.

I knew full well that 150 was way too aggressive to paint over without showing sanding scratches through the paint. I also knew that painting over bare metal, fiberglass, and plastic was a big “no no”. I did know that the Matrix MP-210 sealer would stick to all those surfaces, but doubted whether or not it could build enough to do any kind of leveling, let alone fill a 150 scratch. I also knew that the Northstar paint was second to none as far as gloss and longevity, but that was over “properly prepared” surfaces.

I put one full “flow coat” (2 quarts) of catalyzed MP-210 over the entire car, and let it flash for 1 hour. I came back in the booth and mixed the first coat of Northstar 935 Vermillion Red 3:1:1 and put one full coat on the car. I never sanded, scuffed, or even used a tack rag between sealer and paint! I let the first coat flash for 20 minutes, then mixed the second (and final) coat 3:1:2 (one more part of reducer), and sprayed a full wet coat……and walked out of the booth. The total amount of Northstar paint used (which included painting the spoiler the following day) was 1 1/2 quarts……total!

Other that a slight low spot where I had replaced a missing section on the hood with fiberglass, and did it with little or no time for full curing, the car came out TITS!!!

Sprayed properly (just the way I mentioned above) the Northstar single stage paint is undistinguishable from base coat / clear coat, and that’s how this job came out. The Matrix MP-210 was pushed way beyond what any painter would use it for, and it performed beyond my wildest imagination! No “mapping”, no “shrinkage”, no “sanding scratches”, no “die back”, and surprisingly, no dirt! That car came out slick as glass!

So there’s one for the record books guys. I pretty much broke some rules on this deal, but anything I came up with would have been better than what it looked like prior. This was the perfect opportunity to test (abuse) materials, but these weren’t just any materials, they were “MATRIX” and “NORTHSTAR”………what did you expect !

Here’s something that is not only worth all the money in the world, but it is the very reason I do what I do. This just happened to come to me via E-mail right while we were getting ready to upload the newsletter………… Thalia, can we post this on the website and attach it as the response to the car painting story?

I want to start off by saying that I am not a sentimental sort of person and have a hard time expressing my feelings for the most part. I do however want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you did for Ashley. Your generosity is overwhelming, I could have never afforded to get her car done let alone to the showroom quality of a job that you did for us. You are the true meaning of a real family friend. We have considered you a dear friend over the years and have always had the highest level of respect for you but you have taken it over the top with what you did for us. I can only hope that I can in return be as good of a friend to you as you have been to my family and me over the past 10yrs. You make it hard for me to live up to our friendship when you continue to be selfless and so generous. I want you to know that you can count on us to be there for you no matter what. Rick your one of kind and we fell blessed to be able to call you a friend.

Ok, I apologize for the distraction of last months newsletter, but “shit happens”!

Clear coats are the final subject in our Q & A quest, and should be summed up as “last, but certainly not least”. Although the clear coat is last in the paint sequence, it is the “first” line of defense for how long that paint job lasts! With that said, the obvious question to your customer should be:

Based on your customers answer, you could suggest the clear that best suits his needs.

To be able to accurately accommodate the customer, you need to know some basic information. The following is “my interpretation” of the Matrix clears. It is “NOT” what the ‘P’ sheets necessarily say, nor is it what the company or a rep might say. This information is based on actual usage of each one of these clears, by me, over lots of years, in a small town, where I virtually “always” see the results. Furthermore, since inception, SLIX has always put a “lifetime” warranty on our work regardless of who’s clear we used or what grade of clear. Over the last twenty years we have had to repaint 11 vehicles due to clear issues. When this happens we “always” repaint using MS-42 clear, for FREE, regardless of what was used originally. I have kept track of all these issues and can tell you that the clears in question were: Rubber Seal, Sherwin Williams, PPG, House of Kolor, Dupont, and……Matrix. I can also tell you that other than 5 occasions (4 with PPG 2002, and 1 with HOK), the failure was totally expected!

I will now speak in Matrix terms, as I feel it is far superior to ANY other clears on the global market. The rest of the brands I mentioned above are collectively not worth their weight in dog shit, and you have to expect failure when you use substandard materials!

There is a correlation between cost and longevity, so we’re starting with the cheapest first.

RSC-220: I used (and sold) this clear for several years. It’s usage should be on cheap work, such as rental cars, used car lot work, etc. I have seen it last for 5 -7 years. It comes with no warranty (Slix offers lifetime).

We replaced RSC-220 with this when it was discovered that the 220 had “fogging” issues due to not slow enough hardener in hot weather. The 310 should be used in the same areas as the 220, and the longevity is the same. No warranty (Slix- lifetime)

: To be used where the 220 and 310 are used, and collision work. This clear has many advantages as it’s cost per sprayable qt is so reasonable. It also carries a full warranty. Problem: DO NOT use it in temperatures above 90 degrees! Matrix has known for years that the MH-78S (their slowest hardener) is NOT slow enough, and they refuse to make an “extra slow” version. As a rule, we will not use it or sell it from June through September. Longevity: I’ve been using it for years and have never seen it fail (as long as the weather comment is paid attention to), 10-15 years : This clear used to be one of my favorites, until the chemistry was changed (Matrix denies doing so). In hot weather it is a little fast, and doesn’t “flow” as long as it used to. The problem is correctable somewhat, if you decrease your air pressure when spraying it. It can be used on the cheap work, but you’ll be wasting the product and money in doing so. Ideally, this clear is best suited for high grade collision work. This clear carries a full warranty. Longevity: 10-20 years.

: This clear is hands down the best clear in the world! It can be used anywhere, but can be cost prohibitive on cheap work or collision…….it’s too good! I use the MS-42 on ALL custom and restoration work that I want to last 20-30 years!

All Slix customers are told not to wax their vehicle for 30 days. After that they should apply a decent “paste” wax twice per year. (No body ever does, and the look on their face is priceless when they show up for a warranty that we have every right to refuse, but don’t).

The amount of years that I’ve gone out a limb and stated are my best guess based on my personal experience with these products. If you cut and buff your clear, you are eliminating product which means you are eliminating longevity. If you routinely cut and buff your clear, you are not putting it on properly! You also should bare in mind that because of this, you should put more coats on to compensate for what you are removing. When doing so, you’re probably going to find that you would have been money ahead to purchase a higher solid (more expensive) clear coat.

My application technique: Using an Iwata LPH-400 with a 1.3 fluid tip and 19 – 21 lbs at the Iwata “AK1R-2″ regulator, I spray the first coat as a full wet coat with a 75% overlap. Let flash GOOD, then come back with a full wet coat and a 100% overlap. That’s it! I never apply a third coat on any of the Matrix clears!

Other Matrix clears: I don’t care for any of the many other clears. They are either redundant in performance, priced inappropriately, or don’t work. The “AG-40″ is a good example of this……that clear is absolutely miserable, and (in my opinion) should be eliminated from the product line.

No No’s: Die back, solvent pop, etc. are a direct result from putting too much on too soon!

NEVER add reducer to any Matrix clear! If you do you will lose gloss, which will lead to mandatory cutting and buffing.

What you didn’t know: Matrix clears are “recoatable”! I have personally rebased and cleared over clear that was only on the car 15 minutes, with no problems what so ever! They are also extremely easy to cut and buff, even though you shouldn’t have to!

To all who read this, and the two preceding issues on this subject, I hope I have brought something to your table that proves fruitful. Matrix is not “just another paint”. You have so many advantages over the so called competition, and knowing what these advantages are can and will set you apart from the rest. I’ve shared this information with you, so now go out and do your part……..share it with everyone you know!

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