If your truck is damaged and needs repairs, you want the work done right. You want everything brought back to pre-damage condition. This includes making sure your truck looks right with a top-quality paint job. If your truck’s appearance represents your business or if you’ve had it painted a special custom color exclusive to your business, the refinish might be even more critical.
Chances are good that you’ll take your truck to a qualified collision center with a team of experts who’ll make it look like new. But have you ever considered how those experts do their jobs so well? Here’s the answer: They’ve gone through a rugged and extensive training program that ensures that they stay on top of their game.
Every major paint company has an ongoing training program so that painters can keep up with advances in the refinish industry. At PPG, for example, the PPG Technician Certification Training Program is a highly successful continuing education initiative and a key part of PPG’s efforts to keep painters informed about new products, evolving application procedures, and advanced equipment as well as environmental, health, and safety issues. Painters who successfully complete the program are certified in the use of PPG products.
THE CERTIFIED DIFFERENCE
To achieve PPG certification, technicians must successfully complete certification training specific to the PPG premium paint system used in their facility. But with new technologies and techniques constantly being developed, painters have to keep up with those changes. So in order to maintain their PPG certification and advance through the industry, technicians must complete a recertification training course every two years.
In addition to individual certification, there is another key benefit of training: When the course is satisfactorily completed and the technician is certified, the collision center where the painter is employed is qualified to offer the PPG Commercial Vehicle Paint Performance Warranty that supports the truck’s finish. With a warranty of this kind, truck owners can be confident in knowing that their vehicle’s finish will meet optimal standards of durability, appearance, and protection. Think about that when it’s time to refinish your truck.
“These courses keep PPG technicians at the forefront of refinish knowledge and skills,” says Jamie Redd, PPG training center manager. “PPG’s commitment to training may be the most significant in the industry. Our objective is to provide technicians with the information required to work successfully in the 21st century. We teach techniques, introduce new products, and demonstrate new tools—all the things an expert technician has to know and do well to ensure that customers are satisfied with the work. And we’re always reviewing, refining, and improving our courses to make sure they’re relevant and valuable to our techs.”
In fact, PPG has the largest training program in the refinish industry with more than 10,000 technicians participating in certification training classes annually. Almost 500,000 refinish professionals have taken classes since PPG began its programs in 1980.
MEETING EXPECTATIONS
Redd points out that training is exceptionally important now because of consumer expectations. Customers are better educated and won’t settle for anything less than a quality repair. Offering the industry’s most comprehensive training program for commercial refinishing systems and collision repair management, PPG’s wide range of hands-on training courses covers technical and product training and latest industry thinking and tools for achieving continuous improvement of the collision repair process. More than 60 courses are offered covering the entire spectrum of refinish subjects. Commercial refinishing—making trucks look great—is a critical part of the training.
PPG training is available to painters and distributors using the company’s Delfleet One™, Delfleet® Evolution, Delfleet Essential®, and Commercial Performance Coatings brand products. Distributors also receive learning opportunities with classes designed to educate vendors to provide the technical support painters may require. Training sessions comprise classroom and practical hands-on work and run one to two days with class size from 16 to 20 people. The classes are offered across North America at PPG Business Development Centers and various field locations including vocational schools and PPG distributors’ facilities. All classes are led by full-time PPG trainers. With careers spanning five decades, they have mixed and sprayed almost as much paint as PPG has manufactured. They are versed on every aspect of painting techniques, equipment, and common industry challenges.
A sampler of classes offered to painters and/or distributors includes
- Delfleet One™ , Delfleet® Evolution, and Delfleet Essential® Certification
- Product Technologies
- Advanced Commercial Coatings Spray Application Equipment
- Advanced Technical Skills Certification
- Delfleet® Evolution—Spot Repair and Color Tinting
- Refinish Preparation Specialist
Redd notes that automotive color trends are edging into commercial truck finishes. Paint colors are becoming more exotic and complex creating a growing demand for classes to address these changes. This reality underscores the importance of continuing education as classes on color matching, blending, and working with distinctive colors are introduced to the truck world to make sure that technicians keep up with these new finishes.
ONGOING TRAINING
There’s more. Beyond the classroom, dedicated painters can find tech tips, best practices, and SOP videos on PPG’s YouTube channel. There’s even an online learning academy with resources that include technical and product training along with professional development courses and videos. The training is continuous; there’s always something to learn, whether it be a new product or process.
In the end, if your truck is damaged, take it to a shop supported by a major paint company and staffed by certified technicians who understand their products and want to satisfy their customers. The results are well worth it.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Find out more about PPG’s technician training courses, visit www.ppgrefinish.com/training. Eli Greenbaum is an automotive writer based in Metro Detroit. Reach him at eli@group-ex.com.
