Saw a trend at a local body shop meetup that got me thinking

I went to a small gathering of body guys over in Harrisburg last Saturday, and I noticed almost everyone was talking about waterborne paint systems now. Out of 12 guys there, 8 had already switched over from solvent-based in the past year. One guy said his paint booth temp didn't even need to be as stable with waterborne, which surprised me. Has anyone else seen this shift happening faster in your area?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_susan2mo ago

Well I guess if the paint booth doesn't need to be as picky, that saves some headache. Still, eight out of twelve switching in one year seems like everyone's jumping on the bandwagon all at once. Guess we'll see if it's the real deal or just a trend.

stellachen2mo ago

Half the shops I know switched over like it was some kind of loyalty test and the other half are sitting there rolling their eyes. It's like everyone decided to upgrade at the same garage sale and now they're all wondering if they overpaid for the hype. I get the appeal if the booth is easier to maintain, but jumping ship that fast just screams "follow the leader" to me. Watch, in a year someone's gonna find a cheaper alternative and the cycle starts all over again. Isn't that how these things always go?

riley_miller252mo agoMost Upvoted

@the_susan nailed it honestly. Bandwagon jumping at its finest.

richard_anderson2mo ago

Solvent gave me trouble for years until I switched last spring. Night and day difference.

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