AkzoNobel updates basecoat blending practices in technical bulletin
AkzoNobel has released an updated technical service bulletin that significantly expands on the area needed to perform an effective color blend.
“A lot of times we are challenged with helping customers have a way to explain or provide information to an insurer or a customer or anybody else about the blend operation and how much room it takes to blend,” Greg Askew, AkzoNobel North America technical services specialist, automotive and speciality coatings vehicle refinishes, told Repairer Driven News (RDN).
Ultimately, Askew said technicians consider multiple factors and use their judgment on each repair.
“We are laying out what those considerations and factors are that determine how much space it may take to blend a color and if it’s going to fall into an adjacent panel,” Askew said about the bulletin.
The bulletin says that the goal is to achieve an undetectable color blend while keeping the overall repair area as small as practical. It adds that maintaining the color blend within the repaired panel may be suitable and is the preferred method for economy and efficiency when sufficient space is available.
“However, when planning the area needed for blending, it is important to consider the completed repair rather than just the original dent or scratch,” the bulletin states.
Preparation includes a sanded feather-edge for a smooth transition through the existing coating layers into the OEM clearcoat. This transition extends a few inches beyond the original damage and becomes part of the area where primer surfacer is applied, according to the bulletin.
Sanding the applied primer surfacer also requires a smooth transition into the surrounding finish, the bulletin adds. This sanding extends a few inches beyond the primer surfacer application area and further increases the size of the completed repair.
Sealer may be applied over the sanded primer surfacer, depending on the specifics of the repair and the technician’s judgement, the bulletin notes. This would extend the repair area beyond the sanded edge of the primer surfacer.
“The area needed to achieve a seamless color blend is influenced by several factors,” the bulletin states. “These include the type and extent of damage, additional sanding and filling, color application characteristics, and the location and geometry of the panel. Style lines and changes in panel angle can influence how effectively the available area can be used for blending. Translucent colors may require a ground coat or additional basecoat application, while some colors or specific paint technology may require a wet bed. These factors should be considered when determining the overall space needed for the repair.”
According to the bulletin, the available blend area must also allow for the clearcoat application. At the edge of the blend panel, AkzoNobel recommends only one coat of clearcoat to limit a perceived color shift caused by differing clearcoat depth.
However, all applied basecoat, including any wet bed, requires two coats of clearcoat to provide the necessary UV protection for the basecoat binder and pigments, the bulletin states. Basecoat and wet bed must therefore remain within the area receiving the two coats of clearcoat.
AkzoNobel adds that a clearcoat-only area extending two to four inches inward from the blend-panel edge is a reasonable planning allowance. The technician’s judgment and application technique should determine the actual extent.
“Based on AkzoNobel technical team field experience and training practice, the following groups provide general guidance for planning the blend area across basecoat systems,” the bulletin states. “Blend distances are measured outward from the final repair area edge, including any extension resulting from sealer application. The distances are general planning guidelines rather than specific requirements. Detailed application methods remain subject to the applicable TDS and any color-specific instructions. “
Askew said the document doesn’t cover every specific scenario but tries to encompass the most common repair considerations.
“We try to be as neutral as possible because all of it’s still a judgment and there’s so many variables,” Askew said.
The bulletin was expanded to assist repairers in communicating some of these variables, he said.
“Somebody that’s not familiar with the repair process and blending thinks, ‘Well, here’s the dent and so you’ve got plenty of room to blend,’” Askew said. “But once the dent is repaired, it grows. The damage to the paint is expanded. Once you fix that edge, that edge is extended even further. Then you have to apply primer, which extends the edge a little bit further. Then, when you sand that primar edge, it extends it a little bit further. Then if you put sealer on it, which is a choice, it is going to grow that edge even more.”
AkzoNobel and Axalta Coating Systems also recently announced that the combined company will use the name Axanzo after their intended merger is complete.
“We’re excited to announce the new name for our combined company,” said Greg Poux-Guillaume, AkzoNobel CEO, in a news release. “Axanzo signals a bold new start for a company which will be stronger in every way. It’s a launchpad for going further and faster than we ever could alone, embodying the pace and power to innovate, the strength to deliver and the excellence to succeed.”
Poux-Guillaume will be the company’s new CEO.
Chris Villavarayan, CEO of Axalta, who will be deputy CEO of the combined company, adds: “Axanzo will continuously reset the standard of what coatings can do. The new name perfectly captures our shared ambition to push boundaries, honoring our heritage and offering an exciting glimpse of what’s to come.”
Both companies will continue to operate independently until closing, expected in early 2027.
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Photo courtesy of AkzoNobel