Demand for prestige and classic cars is a growing lucrative business and with it the market for repairs and restorations says Axalta Coating Systems. This is a key area of competence for Standox providing technical expertise in the art of refinishing classic cars. The range provides comprehensive repair solutions, including highly advanced traditional and digital tools and colour documentation that helps refinishers restore classic cars to their former glory.
The market for classic and modern classic cars has been growing continuously for many years. Owners have a strong emotional tie to their cars and they spend a lot of money on maintaining their gems. According to a study by the world classic car organisation FIVA (Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens), the average cost for restoring, maintaining, repairing and buying accessories for a classic car is around 6,500 euros (approximately $10,000 Australian dollars) each year.
For many classic car owners, a flawless body is the visual calling card of their vehicle. However, the bodywork, particularly on old vehicles, is especially susceptible to rust or ageing effects, such as colour fading. Even the smallest of scratches or dents can affect the car’s appearance. This is where you need the advice of a professional who understands the best ways to achieve an impeccable finish. The Classic Color Partner programme has been developed by Standox to help bodyshops committed to the repair, overhaul and servicing of old and new classic cars meet this need.
Standox’s Classic Color Partner programme supports refinishers to provide the best product result for their discerning customers. Standox consultants offer bodyshops expert assistance from how to correctly estimate the amount of work required, how to prepare, repair and protect historic cars to colour matching using the latest in traditional and digital colour tools, colour retrieval software and colour documentation.
The programme promotes the importance of firstly establishing what kind of paint has been used on the classic car. It is generally the case that the older the paintwork of a vehicle, the simpler its structure. Original classic car paintwork usually consisted of one single coat of nitrocellulose paint. Today, these paintwork materials are a thing of the past. In the 60s they were replaced by extremely smooth, solventborne, acrylic-based paints, which have since largely been replaced by state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly water-based systems. Upon determining the material used, colour becomes the next priority.
For more than a century, thousands of automotive colours have been developed to reflect the fashion and technology of the times. This can make finding out what the car’s original colour and finish was a daunting task. So where do you begin if you want to see your classic car in its original finish? The answer, the Classic Colour Documentation from Standox.
The Classic Colour Documentation not only allows enthusiasts to get a virtual impression of how their favourite classic vehicles must have looked in their original paintwork colour, but also, an insight to what other colours were available at the time. Containing over 40 historic car brand colours - anything from Auto Union to Volvo to non-European cars like Daihatsu and Lada - the corresponding historical Standox colour library formulations are also available for easy reference. The Classic Colour Documentation is available in PDF format and is free to download at www.standox.com.au/ClassicColourDocumentation.
The Classic Colour Documentation begins the colour journey for your classic car, but it doesn’t matter whether the car has been repainted or still bears the original paint, you still need to consider factors such as weather damage and manufacturing differences altering each vehicle´s colour that can make an exact portrayal of the car’s finish difficult. A precise match can be found, however, using digital colour matching tools such as the Acquire Spectrophotometer.
The Acquire establishes the correct colour by measuring the colour directly on the vehicle and forwarding the data to the colour search software, Standowin iQ. The formulations can be retrieved via the online colour search at www.standox.com.au, with the Standowin colour search software or via the Standox Colour Service hotline. The Acquire allows specialists to mix up the precise colour formula for each car at any time – the prerequisite for flawless repair paintwork.
Traditional and digitals colours tools are only one aspect of Standox’s competency in refinishing of classic cars, providing technical advice on the best way to refinish a classic car led to the development of a series of technical journals called Standotheks. Standotheks include invaluable know-how regarding all aspect of refinishing and includes “Prestige and Classic Cars”. This journal gives owners and lovers of classic vehicles the chance to obtain detailed information on everything you need to know about the painting of classic vehicles from work estimates, substrate preparation when painting over old paintwork, colour matching plus winning and dealing with classic car owners. The journal can be found at www.standox.com.au/Standothek.
Interested bodyshops can obtain further information on Standox Classic Color Partner that includes a step-by-step video on how to paint a classic car at www.standox.com.au/ClassicColorPartner.