Sikkens launches Autoclear 2.0

AkzoNobel Automotive and Aerospace Coatings (A&AC) has expanded its advanced Sikkens vehicle refinishes system with Sikkens Autoclear 2.0, a new clearcoat that takes advantage of a patented binder technology to deliver a perfect finish, outstanding drying performance, superior through hardening, and unprecedented flexibility on the shop floor. Autoclear 2.0 is the latest addition to the Sikkens system, which includes Autowave MM 2.0 and Autosurfacer UV, introduced in 2013 and 2012, representing a quantum leap forward, reflecting the Sikkens commitment to continuous improvement.

Specifically, Sikkens Autoclear 2.0 is designed to bring greater efficiency and flexibility to bodyshop processes by factoring in workload, job size and different workstreams. It reduces process time with superb through hardening, allowing immediate handling, polishing, and reassembly after drying. With Autoclear 2.0, bodyshop operators have additional scheduling flexibility – and the possibility to save on energy costs – because it can be dried at either 40˚C or 60˚C, and drying speed can be further adjusted by choosing either Reducer Slow or Reducer Fast, with no need to adjust the hardeners or even different clearcoats.

Bodyshops will benefit from these features on all types of repairs from spot repairs to total resprays. With Autoclear 2.0 application is fast and easy, with no compromise on results: with its excellent flow and leveling characteristics, painters can be confident that even at lower baking temperatures or with Reducer Fast, they’ll achieve the outstanding appearance and gloss that customers have come to expect from Sikkens.

Autoclear 2.0 is one of the most environmentally friendly clearcoats on the market: its fast-drying and low-temperature drying characteristics reduce energy consumption and the overall carbon footprint; it has been formulated with 13.5 percent renewable ingredients; and with a potlife of 1.5 to 2 hours, there’s less mixing and less waste. It’s all part of our commitment to do more with less.

“Our continuous improvement program is paying off with tremendous performance and tremendous value for our customers,” says A&AC sBU Vehicle Refinishes Director Simon Parker. “We understand that different bodyshops may have different requirements, and that even in a single bodyshop, the requirements may vary from job to job and day to day. So we’ve built enormous flexibility into Sikkens Autoclear 2.0. Whether it’s speed or flow, 40°C or 60°C, with Autoclear 2.0, you can be certain you’ll get the job done and deliver brilliant results to your customer.”

Autoclear 2.0 is the latest Sikkens product to be featured in The Painters campaign, a part of Sikkens’ global Creating Together promotional campaign. The campaign was launched to put the spotlight on how Sikkens products deliver value to repair professionals, and how Sikkens works with professionals to develop the highest quality, most user-friendly, most sustainable vehicle repair systems available.

Sikkens also gets valuable input on requirements for high performance coatings from its partners on the McLaren Formula One racing team. In a partnership that dates back to 2008, Sikkens and McLaren have worked together to continuously refine the Sikkens coatings systems by reducing weight, cutting drying time, and minimizing the environmental footprint.

To mark the launch of Sikkens Autoclear 2.0 in Europe, Sikkens is putting a new twist on “VIP” promotions with a competition that will award the winner with two grandstand tickets to a Formula One race. In this case, “VIP” means “Very Important Painter”. Autoclear 2.0 users are invited to share their experiences online, telling the Sikkens community why they like the new clearcoat, and to upload their pictures to sikkensvr.com. The best submission will be selected for the grand prize, and the first two hundred participants in the competition will win a t-shirt bearing their product experience along with a photo of McLaren’s 2014 F1 car.

For more information about Autoclear 2.0 and to find out what The Painters have to say about the performance of the newest member of the Sikkens VR system, please visit sikkensvr.com.