• Put small parts together on a rack (as opposed to individual prior to coating) to increase the transfer efficiency when the coating is applied.
  
• Use hot spray method.  Heat decreases the viscosity of the coating, producing similar results to adding a solvent thinner, thus reducing the need for thinners.
  
• Use two-component systems to allow the mixing of the paint and catalyst at the gun tip, eliminating the need for pre-mixing excess quantities to ensure adequate supply.  Also reduces frequency of equipment cleaning and waste.
  
• Minimize the number of color changes.  Schedule painting such that the painting system does not have to be flushed with solvent to accommodate multiple color changes.  This will reduce the total amount of solvent used for cleaning.
  
• Paint light colors before dark colors.  Less cleaning is necessary when switching from light to dark colors.
  
• Use leftover paints as an undercoat or primer.  The quality of the undercoat or primer is not as important as the finish coat.

Surface Preparation - Process Changes

• Change from solvent-based cleaners to water, semi-water, citrus, or biological solvent- based cleaners.  Eliminating or minimizing the use of solvents will help you meet federal and state regulations, cut hazardous waste disposal, reduce liability/insurance, and cut costs.
  
• Change from solvent-based cleaning to cleaning processes such as supercritical carbon dioxide or vacuum deoiling.  Eliminating or minimizing the use of solvents will help cut costs.
  
• If you must use solvents, then optimize the current preparation process to minimize evaporation.  There are many options, such as: consolidate multiple steps into one step, reduce contamination of parts prior to cleaning, extend solvent “changeout” schedule with vendor, locate cleaning tanks away from heat sources, use less toxic solvent, keep tanks closed and well sealed, when practical layer with water or wax to reduce evaporation, drain cleaned parts to return solvent to tank, turn off exhaust when not in use.

Cleaning Operation - Process Changes

• Designate a gun for paint and a gun for primer.  Use virgin solvent to clean the paint gun, then use the waste virgin solvent from the paint gun to clean the primer gun.  This will reduce the total amount of solvent used for cleaning.
  
• Recycle or distill waste solvent.  Collect waste solvent and use it for operations where virgin solvent is not necessary or run it through a still to recover more usable solvent to reduce the total amount of solvent used for cleaning.
  
• Clean equipment immediately.  Cleaning the spray equipment immediately reduces the problem of waste paint build-up and hardening in the lines and guns.  This will reduce the total amount of solvent used for cleaning.
  
• Clean equipment first with dirty solvent before final cleaning with virgin solvent.  For initial cleaning, the quality of the solvent does not need to be as high.  Then, for the problem spots, use a higher quality virgin solvent.  This will reduce the total amount of solvent used for cleaning.
  
• Use gun cleaning equipment that uses pressurized pulses of solvent and compressed air.  This new technology will reduce the total amount of solvent needed for cleaning.

Coating Alternatives

• Work with your vendor(s) to supply cleaner alternatives, such as alternative coatings, less volatile gun cleaning solvent/paint thinner.
  
• Paint alternatives to solvent-based coatings include: high-solids coatings, water-borne coatings, power coatings, UV curable coatings, electrodeposition, autodeposition, catalyzed coatings.
  
• Calculate the theoretical cost savings of switching to an alternative coating.  To make a more informed decision, the true cost, including capital costs, operating costs, and the cost of the coating (on a solids basis) per part must be calculated.
• Use the Design for the Enviornments calculator to figure out emissions reductions and cost savings.

Auto Body Best Practices

Since 1997, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and their Design for the Environment (DfE) program has been working with the automotive refinishing industry to identify and promote safer, cleaner, more efficient practices and technologies. 

DfE along with CCAR developed a virtual, interactive auto body shop, to showcase best practices.  They have also developed best practices checklists and information sheets to assist auto body shops in reducing air emissions and hazardous wastes. The comprehensive checklists cover a variety of topics; sanding, solvent wipe down, paint mixing, spray painting, health and safety management, and hazardous waste management.  The DfE information sheets include: gloves, hvlp paint guns, paint mixing room, respirators, spray booth filters, vacuum sanders, water based paints, and worker health.

The program also provides a free emissions calculator to assit businesses with their emissions reductins efforts.

There are two virtual reality surface coater training systems available. For more information, visit the Pollution Prevention Resource Council website. 

Take a tour through a virtual auto body shop and discover the primary air, water, hazardous waste, safety & fire rules for compliance. This multi-agency tool features training & recordkeeping, safety equipment & practices, fire protection essentials, and EPA's new "6-H Rule". Note: this tool was developed in western WA.

Local Efforts:
American Way Collision, switched to water-based paints, reducing their emissions.

Haakon Industries, a custom HVAC manufacturer in Cheney switched  from 100% solvent-based paints to 85% water-based. They would like to go to 100% water based paints, but due to the customization of orders, some require specific coatings, that are not water based. Using water-based paint is more expensive, but Haakon employees are no longer breathing in the harmful vapors from solvent-based paint. The switch reduced the air quality permit requirements, lowered their fees and their environmental impact on the community.

Huntwood Industries is a large cabinet manufacturing facility in Liberty Lake . In 2006, Huntwood  moved their operations to a new 560,000 square foot facility in Liberty Lake . The facility is the largest cabinet manufacturing plant in the western US and among the 20 largest in the country. When designing and constructing their new facility, Huntwood made a large investment in the purchase and installation of two Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers. These oxidizers control VOCs and toxic air pollutants from 17 paint booths and associated ovens at the facility. The oxidizers destroy over 99% of the emissions produced by the coating process. This translates to a reduction of over 250 tons of pollutants from being emitted into our airshed, which is significant.

Links: EPA Region X Local Collision Repair Efforts, PPRC, Paints & Coatings Resource Center, EPA Autobody, EPA Paint & Coating, Spray On Truck Bed Liners - WA L&I, Collision Repair - WA L&I, Health & Safety in Collison Repair, California Air Resources Board Autobody Guidebook, California Air Resources Board Surface Coating Guidebook