Create design and restore with Standox
Whether refinishers needs to restore a vintage car to its former glory, customise a business vehicle, or create a unique vehicle design that stands out from the crowd, Standox has the paint, training and know-how to help them achieve it.
“Refinishing isn’t just about repairing chips and dents,” explains Jodie Henly, Standox brand specialist, “it’s an art. While the majority of work that most bodyshops deal with can be quite mundane, from time to time a vehicle owner will offer a challenge to the paint shop. This is a real opportunity for refinishers to make the most of their passion, experience and creativity, and Standox is there to help them, every step of the way.”
When it comes to restoring prestige and vintage cars, Standox bodyshops have the right coating systems, state-of-the-art colour tools for accurate colour matching and even marketing concepts to attract the classic car owner. The latest addition to these tools is the online colour documentation – eight digital volumes which include comprehensive information on vehicles and colours from a wide range of manufacturers over the decades. It covers the colours of European car brands, sorted by make, from Auto Union to Volvo, as they were offered by the OEM manufacturers at the time. This colour documentation can be accessed at www.standox.co.uk/classic. A Standothek guide entitled Prestige and classic cars is also available on the website, and covers all aspects of vehicle restoration from protecting historic vehicle bodies to using old paintwork as a substrate.
Whether the vehicle is old or new, owners may decide they want to customise it and will either bring it in to the bodyshop with a clear idea of what they want, or seek advice and guidance from the refinisher.
From start to finish, this process will take time, as ideas and feasibility are discussed, sketches drawn up and alternatives considered.
An understanding of colour is essential, and the more the refinisher knows about the significance of this, the better the effect can be judged. For many years, Standox has been developing and producing individual colours for dedicated individualists and the Exclusive Line XL range of special effects paints is an increasingly popular choice for customising vehicles and accessories.
“Vehicle customisation is a wonderful opportunity for a refinisher to experiment with various techniques such as water and paint, film, flow, airbrushing and creative mixtures,” adds Henly. “However, creative design work is so varied that hardly any bodyshop can afford to be equipped for all eventualities and it would be uneconomical to buy tools and materials “just in case”. But for a refinisher who is looking to attract or to specialise in this kind of work, it’s worth taking some time to study the tools and materials available and to find out in advance where they can be acquired quickly and easily.”
As well as offering specialist training courses, Standox has produced a Standothek guide entitled Design and paint which looks at vehicle customisation in great detail from concept to completion.
For more information on Standox, training courses and to download any of the Standothek guides, visit www.standox.co.uk.