New Water-Based Vehicle Paint Better For Environment

Painting or re-painting vehicles is nothing new for workers at Rudolph Body and Paint in El Paso.

What’s new is the type of paint that the shop is now using. The new paint, by Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Corporation, is a water-based paint that is more eco-friendly.

Tommy Emler, supervisor of Rudolph Body and Paint, says that the new paint “means less emissions into the air” as well as “less overspray.”

In addition, less of the paint is wasted, compared to the old solvent-based system.

Tommy says that since the old paint involves thinner, there is more to discharge and so there is “more stuff to get rid of, you know, so you run the problem of hazardous waste.”

With the new paint comes an added benefit. It contains a coagulant that hardens the excess paint, which can be thrown in the dumpster, while the water from the paint can be re-used, in this case to clean the paint guns, says Emler.

While the method of applying the new paint is different from the old one, the shop says it’s still easy to manage and is also more cost-friendly.

Tommy adds that the new paint dries more quickly and can be dry sanded in as little as two minutes.

Rudolph Body and Paint believes it’s the only shop in town at the moment that is using this new paint, but thinks others will soon follow.