Sikkens launches Autowave 2.0

AkzoNobel Automotive and Aerospace Coatings (A&AC) has released Sikkens Autowave 2.0 setting a new standard in waterborne basecoat performance with major advances in binder and pigment technology.

With incredible ease of use, first time right reliability, and reduced process time, Sikkens now offers a “turbocharged” refinish system consisting of Autowave 2.0, Autosurfacer UV, and Autoclear LV Superior.

“No metallic paint on the market can touch the new Autowave 2.0. This upgrade takes a giant step forward with an outstanding performance in terms of ease of application and color accuracy, to go with the brilliance of the color and finish,” says A&AC Marketing Director Kerstin Stranimaier. The upgraded Autowave will be launched gradually in EMEA and introductions in the Americas and Asia Pacific will follow in 2014. “I’m very excited about the prospects with Autowave 2.0,” adds Stranimaier. “In this upgrade Sikkens has drawn on its experience working as a partner with the McLaren F1 racing team, where it is focused on giving the McLaren team an edge on the competition with super-efficient, high-performance, ultra-light coatings. We’ve taken what we learned in that partnership to deliver superior performance to vehicle repair professionals.”

Autowave 2.0 is the latest product to be featured in The Painters Campaign, a part of the Creating Together promotional campaign. The campaign was launched last year to put the spotlight on how Sikkens products deliver value to repair professionals. On the Sikkens website and in promotional materials, paint technicians at the McLaren Technology Center enthusiastically endorse Autowave 2.0.

As part of the launch campaign, A&AC is also challenging visitors to the website to “Play&Spray” by first painting and then getting behind the wheel of a virtual Grand Prix car and playing one of the hottest games on the Internet, the Mobil 1 Racing Academy game. The winner of the competition will have the opportunity to travel to the McLaren Technology Center in Woking, England and join the McLaren paint crew working to prepare a McLaren MP4-28 for an F1 race.

Autowave 2.0 not only delivers great performance, notes Stranimaier, but it also boosts efficiency in the shop.

“Autowave 2.0 is a shining example of what the Creating Together campaign is all about. With its shorter flash-off time and our first time right reliability repair professionals get increased throughput which translated into lower costs and higher bodyshop profitability.”