Page 21 - Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Jan-Feb 21

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CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE PAGE: The Golf GTI boasts a new aluminium subframe; Structural Blue paintwork on Lexus LC Convertible contains 300 billion nano-structure pigment flakes; BMW 4 Series Coupé has a hybrid steel and aluminium construction.
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alongside the highly complex Porsche Tay- can EV, which is a composite of aluminium, steel and cast aluminium.
A mixed-materials design can also be compromised if a repairer pulls the vehicle without locking down multiple points, as the weaker material would give way first and potentially damage another area of the body.
This results in the need for an approved realignment system to make repairs safely and avoid leaving the car looking like a crushed Coke can.
Then there are the dangers arising from welding with a mix of steel and aluminium present. The aluminium’s lower melting temperature puts it at risk of accidental damage, especially if it’s in close proximity to steel. Such challenges result in the need for a variety of joining techniques that vary from vehicle to vehicle, including MIG braz-
ing, plug welding, a continuous weld seam and spot welding.
Jason Trewin, the Director of OEM & In- dustry Relations at I-Car Australia, says dif- ferent repairers have varying levels of knowledge when it comes to these concerns.
“What we see with mixed-material re- pairs in terms of difficulties are the top- end shops, the OEM badge shops, are be- ing continually exposed to new technology but it still comes as a surprise to them and they are playing catch-up like the rest of the industry,” Trewin explains.
“As new models come out, people need to be trained to understand these materials but they also need to under- stand new tooling. The intricacies of joining these materials and the equip- ment is really becoming a problem.”
It’s obviously an issue that stretches
beyond OEM shops, Trewin adds, as those repairers one level below will be asked to repair those cars without full access to the technical information.
“We have an industry where people want to keep every job that comes in the door, yet we see more and more people say the technology is too much and we can’t do it, and they’re happy for it to go to another body shop,” he says.
“But then others might have a job from a big brand come in and they want to work on it for the prestige but then don’t have any fundamental idea on how to fix it.
“The worry is that repairs don’t al- ways go to the right shop.”
A COLOURFUL CHALLENGE
If you were to ask the average car owner how their vehicle was painted, they’d probably describe a cross between a ro- botic arm and a spray can capable of de- livering a quick coat with minimal effort.
They don’t have any idea of what chal- lenges a paint technician faces daily - es- pecially when you take a colour that may have been developed for a concept car and then attempt to apply it to a mass-produced vehicle.
Case in point: The first luxury SUV from Genesis, the GV80, comes in a vari- ety of vivid colours named after cities from around the world (Matterhorn White and Lima Red sounding a tad more exotic than the Melbourne Grey and Gold Coast Silver), all applied via new painting techniques.