A Huntsville business is putting an environmental twist to a long-time automotive service.

The New Bickley Ford has announced that its Car Star collision centre will now use only water-borne paint instead of chemically-based ones. The company is the first in Muskoka to offer this service, which officially became part of its product line on March 21.

“People think of body shops of being full of fumes and solvents that pollute the air,” said Doug Sullivan, general manager of the New Bickley Ford. “Ours will be environmentally friendly. Car Star technicians all received upgraded training in the new process.”   

The product, known as Glasurit 90-Line, is billed as the most advanced water-borne coating available, allowing body shops to cut their paint-related emissions by 90 per cent over conventional solvent-based refinishing.

The paint has been in use for nearly 20 years. It is the original paint choice of many of the top automobile manufacturers in the world, including Rolls-Royce, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

The move by The New Bickley Ford is a way to get a jump not only on its competition but also a proposed government edict that will force auto body shops to become environmentally-friendly.

The government of Canada is bringing forward a regulation requiring the auto repair industry to reduce its annual volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by 40 per cent. The current proposal is that the regulation will come into force in the beginning of January 2009.

Denis Gaegon of the BASF Canada office in Sudbury was on hand to introduce the service at the body shop last Thursday. BASF is the world’s leading chemical company with a portfolio that includes oil, gas, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals. They are the official distributror of the 90-Line for the region.

Gaegon said that he currently has seven customers in Northern Ontario using the water-borne paint, including the New Bickley Ford. There are another eight customers to come online in the next few months, he said.

“There are a few shops that are holding off because it is change. The ones who are on board just love it,” he said.

Gaegon said that California legislated the change to the water-borne paint a few years ago while Europe instituted the process quite a while back.

He added that while the proposed legislation is set to come into effect for early 2009, there is no guarantee that the law will be passed in time for the deadline.

“It is a great step to take. As a paint company we want to see it full bore head. The sooner the better.”

He said that the paint will not wash off and that once the water has evaporated out of the paint, it is basically the same product as before.

“When people are hearing water-borne, they are thinking house paint on their cars. Basically it is a solvent-borne paint that we are adding water to because we cannot lower the VOCs without adding water. It’s the only way we can do it.”

Gaegon said the new water-borne paint makes for a simpler clean up and less hazardous disposal. “It has the same hazards as the regular paint, but the hazards are much lower. We are not telling painters not to worry about masks, and that they can eat it. It’s not good for you, but it is certainly better than the alternative we use now.”

He said that he thinks the use of this product will eventually make the auto body industry think more seriously about protecting the environment.

“You are going to see the industry move toward using less paper and being responsible. I have to hand it to the insurance companies. They are pushing this thing forward and I have to hand it to them. It is great for everyone.”

Sullivan said the new service could eventually mean expanding the auto body business in terms of staff and the shop itself.