WELWYN GARDEN CITY, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, the reigning World Constructors’ Champions based
in Brackley, England, is passionate about the Spies Hecker paint used on
its race cars and team trucks. Spies Hecker is one of the three global
premium brands of Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE: AXTA), a leading global
manufacturer of liquid and powder coatings.
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A few members of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Paint and Graphics Team. (Photo: Axalta)
“It’s important that the race cars look great on the track and that our
sponsors’ logos are displayed clearly. But what is exceptionally
critical for us are the weight of the paint, the speed of its
application and the ability of the entire paint system to be used over
and over again, all season, season after season, with the same great
results. Spies Hecker delivers that for us,” says Andrew Moody, Head of
Paint and Graphics, MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team.
This season – which sees 21 Grands Prix over eight months - the W07 car,
in addition to new external body parts and wings, is sporting a new
design in the instantly-recognisable colours from 2015. The 2016 race
car has eight colours, none of which are commercially available: three
shades of green and five shades of the main colour, called Stirling
Silver, after Stirling Moss who drove for Mercedes in 1955.
Thousands of hours and thousands of parts
With such an intricate livery on the car, Moody and his team face tough
challenges. “It takes about 150 hours to paint a race car, with the nose
and rear wing each taking about 12 hours,” says Moody.
Over the course of this season, they will paint literally thousands of
panels and components, sometimes as many as 150 in one week. “The speed
of application and reliability is essential; we don't have time to
accept anything less than perfect,” he says.
Work to smooth
Each part, particularly the aerodynamically-sensitive parts, requires a
huge amount of attention to detail. The substrates of the race car vary
depending on whether they are of a structural or of a cosmetic nature,
and this impacts how the part is painted and its bake cycle. But
regardless of the part or of the substrate, two things always hold true.
“For us everything is about weight and aerodynamics. Carbon fibre, for
example, can be tricky, as it can be porous. So we have to get a lovely
finish with the minimum weight of paint. The acceptable tolerances for
an aerodynamic part might be 0.3mm, which would be miniscule for most
refinishers. That can be hard to determine visually in the spray booth,
so we have a “work to smooth” rule,” explains Moody.
The team in Paint and Graphics use a variety of Spies Hecker products on
the race cars, which can all be used by bodyshops in their everyday
work. The team often start with Priomat® Wash Primer 4075.
Permasolid® HS Vario Primer Surfacer 5340, or Permasolid®
HS Performance Surfacer 5320 are then used before the application of
Permahyd® Hi-TEC Base Coat 480.
Moody says, “we finish the components off with one of two Spies Hecker
clearcoats. Permasolid® HS Optimum Plus Clear Coat 8650 is a
hugely reliable clearcoat and we use it on many parts. But for parts we
need to get done and dried quickly, we trust the new Permasolid®
HS Speed Clear Coat 8800. It’s a fantastic High Solids clearcoat that’s
very, very fast.”
To ensure the race cars remain as aerodynamically sound as possible, 80
per cent of the sponsors’ logos are airbrushed onto the paint, including
the iconic Mercedes-Benz star on the front of the nose.
“Airbrushing the star is a fantastically creative skill, but we need
repeatability, consistency and accuracy. The star takes nearly an hour
to complete, and there are 30 different stages in the process, but only
four colours: blue, brown, white and black.”
Work doesn't stop after the race
After every race, the Build Department strips the cars and then the
individual parts are sent to Moody’s team in the paint shop. The parts
are checked carefully and then usually repainted.
It may seem rather excessive to refinish the entire car after every
race, but as Moody explains, there are valid reasons for it. “Consider
qualifying or racing somewhere like Abu Dhabi or Bahrain, where there is
a lot of sand in the air. Given the speeds at which the cars go, the
paint can almost look sandblasted after a while on track. Or, if a piece
of gravel hits our car, it can take a piece out of the body, or can
cause craters and nicks in the paint, which certainly will interfere
with our aerodynamics. It goes back to how aerodynamically important it
is to “work to smooth”, even after a race.”
Not just race cars
Spies Hecker paint isn’t reserved just for the race cars though. There
are eight team trucks that are painted with Spies Hecker about every two
years. And Moody’s team paints hundreds, if not thousands, of garage and
hospitality boards, as well as everything from grid trollies and water
bottles, to the engineer’s station on the pit wall.
Joachim Hinz, Spies Hecker Brand Manager for Europe, Middle East and
Africa, says, “we have a long-standing relationship with Andrew Moody
and his team so we understand the pressure they are under and, in turn,
the requirement that our products must meet, day after day, season after
season. We’re very proud that we can deliver the results they need so
that the team can deliver on the track.”
For further information on Axalta worldwide, please visit www.axaltacs.com
About Axalta Coating Systems – Celebrating 150 Years in the Coatings
Industry
Axalta is a leading global company focused solely on coatings and
providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful and sustainable
solutions. From light OEM vehicles, commercial vehicles and refinish
applications to electric motors, buildings and pipelines, our coatings
are designed to prevent corrosion, increase productivity and enable the
materials we coat to last longer. With 150 years of experience in the
coatings industry, the 12,800 people of Axalta continue to find ways to
better serve our more than 100,000 customers in 130 countries every day
with the finest coatings, application systems and technology. For more
information visit axaltacoatingsystems.com
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Source: Axalta Coating Systems