Southfield, MI (4/15/98) -- The Glasurit brand has released new statistics which reveal that major productivity gains and reductions in applied cost are now possible to achieve by using its 22 Line and 55 Line systems. "22 and 55 Lines now provide the lowest sprayable costs in their market segments," said Darlene Eilenberger, Glasurit brand manager for BASF Automotive Refinish, "and we feel strongly that these products put Glasurit back on top as the refinish industry´s technology and productivity leader."

The new Glasurit^® 22 Line high-solids, low-VOC single-stage and 55 Line polyester basecoat systems employ advanced technology and redesigned chemistry to cut painting time, increase shop productivity, and reduce per-job costs. Key factors in achieving these substantial gains have been 22 and 55 Lines´ dramatically increased hiding capability, reduced drying times, and the use of the COLOR-MAX^TM color matching tool.

With new 55 Line, color match takes as little as 9 minutes using COLOR-MAX. Then, only two coats are required for complete hiding, cutting painter labor time to 20 minutes and material usage to 2.5 quarts. Tape time is reduced to 10 minutes of labor time.

In total, a job with 55 Line costs 40% less in labor and material than the same job used to cost with 54 Line. 22 Line provides similar savings (37% less) on single-stage jobs.

The figures were drawn from results of an independent study conducted in Europe in 1997 by the Kraftfahrzeugtechnisches Institute and Thatcham Motor Insurance Repair Research Center.

These reductions allow Glasurit 22 and 55 Lines to deliver the lowest sprayable costs in their market segments, an advantage which has yielded increased profitability for the shops using the product. According to Eilenberger, the Glasurit COLOR-MAX alone delivers a 60-70% savings in labor time compared to other systems on the market today.

Among other chemical features, the nature and amount of pigment in the new products are key to enhanced performance. 22 and 55 Line contain new, state-of-the-art pigments for precise color match to newer OEM colors; many other paint systems on the market have outdated pigments in their bases, making it very difficult to match newer car colors perfectly.

In addition, the new Glasurit products contain a much higher amount of pigment; 20% more, for example, in 22 Line compared to 21 Line. This is a key factor in the products´ vastly increased hiding capabilities, reducing the number of coats required -- and thus labor and material needed -- to achieve 100% hiding on each job. On an average over a range of substrate and topcoat colors, Glasurit 55 Line achieves 100% hiding with just 1.7 mils (2 coats) of basecoat material.

Some other national "high-end" brands require an average of almost 50 percent more material than Glasurit (2.5 mils vs. 1.7 mils) to achieve 100% hiding over the same range of substrate and topcoat colors. "That hiding capability adds up to tremendous cost savings when using Glasurit, compared to competitive brands," Eilenberger points out.

"We describe the new 22 and 55 Line systems as ´smart, simple, and superior,´" Eilenberger said. "´Smart´ refers to the dramatic cost savings and productivity increases that 22 and 55 Lines provide. By ´simple,´ we´re indicating that the systems have been streamlined; fewer products are required. That reduces inventory costs and makes it easier to use the right product. And by ´superior,´ we mean that these cost reductions and productivity improvements have been made without any sacrifice to Glasurit´s acknowledged excellence in gloss, durability, and overall performance," Eilenberger explained.

The new Glasurit^® 22 Line single-stage and 55 Line basecoat systems are produced by BASF Automotive Refinish and are available through Glasurit distributors across North America.