The right lighting conditions in bodyshopsare essential at every stage of the paintrepair process. At Cromax we support you inall areas of your business – not just the tin ofpaint – so we’ve launched ChromaLamp. It’sour hand-held LED light source that’s amust-have for bodyshops that want toachieve the best possible results.

ChromaLamp is designed for usethroughout the refinish process, fromidentifying pre-paint defects like pinholesand sand scratches, to comparing coloursamples, checking colour matches andidentifying flake coarseness. And it can alsohelp you to spot post-repair issues like swirlmarks.

Thanks to its smart arrangement of LEDbulbs, ChromaLamp mimics different lightconditions with two settings: one torepresent bright daylight and one to simulatelight around sunset. These options areimportant when checking colour accuracy, inparticular metamerism.

Its three different light intensity settingsmean that you can use it to check even thepalest silvers that standard daylight lampsmight over-light. It also has a much longer

01NOVEMBER 2015

CHROMALAMP LIGHTS THE WAYDear Readers

We are into thefinal quarter of2015 and what ayear it has been.We launched ourcomprehensiveglobal colourmanagementsoftware,ChromaWeb,

which includes formulas for new OEMtrends and we sprayed the Punch OneSolar Car which competed in the 2015World Solar Car Challenge. But mostimportantly we continue to deliver to youtangible productivity benefits at every stageof the repair process to help you reapbusiness rewards on your bottom line,saving time, energy and materials. That’s ourcommitment to you. Happy reading!

Dries Van den BerghCromax Brand ManagerEurope, Middle East & Africa

AN AXALTA COATING SYSTEMS BRAND

NEWSROUND

battery life than other daylight lamps, a realbonus for busy bodyshops. And its cordlessoperation means it’s easy to handle, safer touse and convenient for virtually any workarea. With its battery, it weighs less than500g, so it’s light too.

To find out more about ChromaLamp, or toorder one, please contact your local Cromaxrepresentative.

ChromaLamp - your indispensible bodyshoptool.

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Each year OEMs create new colours andeffects for their latest models. The popularityof different colours, and their shades andvariations, change every year, andincreasingly OEMs are turning to unusualeffect flakes – like glass flake pigments – tocreate a deep, saturated finish withexceptional sparkle. These two factors –colour and effect - pose challenges ourcolour labs embrace wholeheartedly.

At Cromax, we’re prepared for the changingtrends rolling off production lines. Thatmeans we stay informed about new trends,colours and variants, and we quickly provideaccurate colour matching formulas to ourbodyshops.

TrendsElke Dirks, OEM Colour Designer Europe,Middle East and Africa for Axalta, works withOEMs to develop colours that will appear onnew production models. She says, “we’ll seemore intense car colours in future but trendstake a few years to reach the market.”

And of the ever-popular white, Dirks says,“the elaborate and often difficult-to-repairmulti-coated pearlescent white effectcolours have competition from new whiteshades with a ceramic appearance thatpresent a modern, progressive lifestyleimage.”

The link to CromaxBut what does that mean for Cromax? Toaddress all the OEM trends, we createabout 25,000 new colour formulas in ourcolour labs, globally, every year.

Ann De Clerck, Colour Service Manager forAxalta in EMEA, based in the colour lab inMechelen, Belgium, says, “we collect theOEMs’ colour standards for new colours. Inaddition to this, we look at colours that areapplied at different OEM production sites,which may vary from the official colourstandard. Then we look at vehicles that havebeen on the road several years and we evencollect parts from scrapped vehicles in orderto get a full colour variant picture.”

From there, special proprietary softwarecalculates and produces an initial colourformula. This colour is then mixed andsprayed.

“We usually have to carry out additionalchanges using the software, and byadjusting the pigments and volumes, thecolour formula is revised. Then, because lightcan have a significant impact on colour, wecheck the resulting colour under varyingconditions. Once the colour is fully approvedin the lab, the colour formula is finalised,”De Clerck says.

From the lab to the bodyshopWhen the colour formula has beendeveloped, the next challenge is ensuringyou have fast access to it. Thanks to ourlatest innovation – ChromaWeb - thesenewest formulas are just a mouse click away.

Designed to optimise bodyshops’productivity, ChromaWeb is a completelynew and comprehensive cloud-based colourmanagement system.

Gunnar Nopens, Colour AutomationSpecialist for Axalta in EMEA ColourMarketing, explains, “the new password-protected system has a user-friendlyinterface. But what makes ChromaWeb avery powerful tool is that it’s accessible fromalmost any internet-enabled device -updates are available once you are onlineand connected. Thanks to its cloud-basedconnectivity, large bodyshops and networksof bodyshops can benefit from the datasharing possibilities that ChromaWeb offers,no matter where they are located.”

02COLOURS – THE TRENDS AND HOW WE MEET THEM

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ChromaHybrid Very Fine Blue PearlWH1019 creates very pure blue shadesor those that require very fine sparkle,like Ford Europe Shadow Black.

Its mica flakes create a smoothappearance, providing excellentcoverage and an unusual satin finish.Both are supplied in 250ml cans, whichonly need a gentle shake before use.

The refinish formulas that includethese colours are already available viaChromaWeb.

Cromax introduces a new umbrella productgrouping especially for special effect tints -ChromaHybrid.

CROMAX INTRODUCES CHROMAHYBRIDSPECIAL EFFECT TINTS

The tints under this banner can be used withCromax Basecoat and with Cromax ProBasecoat.

ChromaHybrid WH1795 Shining Silver EFGwas the first tint to be launched.

It’s a colourless glass flake tint that has beendeveloped to address a particular andincreasingly popular OEM trend for unusualeffect-flake colours, including JaguarFarallon Black, Audi Ara Blue and MercedesOnyx Black.

ChromaHybrid WH1795 Shining Silver EFGwill help our refinishers colour-match theseOEM colours.

When added to colour formulas,ChromaHybrid WH1795 Shining Silver EFGachieves a wonderfully complex sparkleeffect – a sparkle that can only be achievedby glass flakes. And because it is colourless,it won’t impact the colour itself.

The new mixing formulas containingChromaHybrid WH1795 Shining Silver EFGare already available to ourrefinishers on ChromaWeb.

ChromaHybrid WH1795 Shining Silver EFGis supplied in 250ml cans because it is aspecialist product with limited consumption.For added convenience, the cans only needa gentle shake before use.

NEW BLUE MIXING TINTS

Cromax adds two new special-effecttints to its ChromaHybrid range, bothof which can be used with CromaxBasecoat and Cromax Pro Basecoat.

ChromaHybrid Turquoise Pearl WH1018is a high-chroma effect tint with anunusual mica-based, blue-greeninterference pearl that offers a brilliant,metallic, visual effect.

It gives a pure greenish-blue colourwith a transparent flop, as seen in FordEurope Kona Blue.

03

Taking on WTCCCromax is an Official Partner to the HondaRacing team Sweden for the FIA WorldTouring Car Championships (WTCC) 2015

and 2016 seasons. Our logo is on theWTCC Honda Civic TC1 race car, driverRickard Rydell’s overalls and team clothing.

Van den Bergh says, “We are so pleasedwe’re working with Honda Racing teamSweden as an Official Partner for two years.We believe that Cromax fits well with theethos of Honda Racing team Sweden andof course with the global nature of theWTCC. And despite the punishing racecalendar, we know that the team will give ittheir all, on and off the track.”

Honda Racing team Sweden is Sweden’sonly world championship-level motor racingteam. Launched in 2014, the team has cometo fruition thanks to the efforts of HondaSweden and specialist motorsport squadNIKA Racing, who competed in the WTCCin 2013.

For more information, visitwww.hondaracingteamsweden.se

CROMAX CONTINUESMOTORSPORT PEDIGREEFrom Formula OneTM to NASCAR, ourcoatings have been involved in motorsportsfor decades. Continuing this tradition,Cromax adds two partnerships to its richracing heritage.

Power of the sunCromax signed an agreement with PunchPowertrain Solar Team in Belgium to becomeone of the team’s Bronze Partners. We havesupplied the paint for Punch One, the carthat the team of 16 talented studentsstudying electrical engineering and electro-mechanics at the University of Leuven,Belgium, designed and built. We workedclosely with the team leaders to createbespoke, eye-catching colours for the car.

Punch One was painted at the CromaxTraining Centre in Mechelen, Belgium, ourEurope, Middle East and Africa trainingheadquarters, in May and June 2015.

Our Belgian technicians used our mostproductive and technologically-advancedwaterborne basecoat, Cromax Pro Basecoat,followed by Ultra Performance Energy ClearCC6700.

It is our most productive clear and it driesextremely fast at relatively low temperatures,which can help to save energy – the perfectclear for a solar car. The car’s livery, whichincludes the Cromax logo, was unveiled toPhilippe, King of Belgium, at a pressconference on 2 July 2015, and the car wasrevealed to the general public on 9 August2015. Punch One competed in the 2015World Solar Challenge - regarded as theworld championship for solar vehicles - inOctober in Australia, finishing in fifth placeahead of 25 other teams. The race coveredover 3,000kms between Darwin andAdelaide.

Dries Van den Bergh, Cromax BrandManager Europe, Middle East and Africa,says, “thanks to the exceptionally durablemirror-like finish Ultra Performance EnergyClear CC6700 produces, Punch One stilllooked fantastic at the finish line, despitethe gruelling race conditions.Congratulations to the whole team.”

Follow the Punch Powertrain Solar Teamon Twitter @solarteam_be or visitwww.solarteam.be.

Cromax®Antoon Spinoystraat 6B2800 MechelenBelgium

Editorial office:DA Public Relations Ltd78 York StreetLondon W1H 1DPUK

www.cromax.com/eu axaltacoatingsystems.com

Graphic design:KandesignRaapstraat 142000 AntwerpenBelgium

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