Bringing the art of colour to the bodyshop

Precise colour matching is such an important part of the art of refinishing that Standox organises a colour training course for refinishers who want to learn how to get the very best results.

Jodie Henly, Standox brand specialist, explains, “Over the years skills such as colour matching tend to have been lost in the bodyshop, with refinishers often relying on outside help, such as from distributors, to do it for them. However, colour matching is one of the criteria needed for ATA accreditation. Without that, bodyshops can’t get their PAS 125 Kitemark, so we we’re happy to say we’ve seen a resurgence in the popularity of this course.”

The two-day colourist course is aimed at experienced paint technicians who have an interest in colour, as well as sprayers who mix and match their own formulations.

Henly says, “Approximately 25% of the course is theory, taking up the morning of the first day. The rest is practical, with participants having hands-on training in the mixing rooms. At the end of the course they will be able to identify shades, find formulations, mix colours and develop individual variant shades.”

The course covers how colours are created, how to approach matching a colour and the correct process to follow when changing a formulation – for solids, metallics, pearls and xirallic colours.

Application techniques are covered with demonstrations of how changing an application can alter the colour. Participants then work with wet samples and are shown how to colour match by eye. These colours are then applied to spray-out cards so the delegates can see how they dry.

“Participants mix paints on normal scales as well as smart scales which are linked to a computer. They are shown how to save their formulations to the custom formula database. Various colour matching tools are used on the course, like the Standox Color Box, tinting chart posters and Standowin software,” Henly says.

“All aspects of health and safety are covered and participants leave the course with a full knowledge of colours.”

The courses take place at the Refinish Training Academy in Stevenage. Anyone interested in attending a course should contact their local distributor or visit www.standox.co.uk, where details of this and other Standox courses are available.