If you could eliminate several mitigating factors that prevent quality paint jobs in your shop—complicated (yet repeatable) paint mixing, accurate color matching, extended cycle times—would you?
That was the goal Axalta had in mind with the Cromax® EZ paint waterborne system.
“Mission accomplished,” says Steffen Apollo, Brand Manager for Cromax parent company Axalta.
“Cromax EZ is a superior paint product in every aspect of efficiency and ease-of-use,” he says.
“The paint happens to be California-VOC compliant, but you’re able to use it elsewhere in the country. The colormatch, ease-of-use and efficiency (and associated profitability) is simply better than most solvent-borne products.”
Cromax EZ paint isn’t just a shop tool; it’s an investment in the future.
Easy to Mix
"Early in its development we set a goal to eliminate agitation—with the Cromax EZ system, there’s no need for a mixing bank. When mixing a Cromax EZ color formula, it’s just a simple shake of the hand—15 seconds instead of 15 minutes. Most topcoat lines require multiple hardeners and reducers, depending on climatic conditions, as well.
“The decision tree is significant to the conditions,” Apollo says. “Cromax EZ has been formulated to make it as simple to use as possible; it has just one reducer and is mixed one way. There’s never any guesswork. It’s so simple, you can’t mess it up,” Apollo adds.
Easy to Match
“The OEM color position tends to drift over time from the original color standard,” Apollo says.
“As coating suppliers, we have color retrieval systems and a given color has variations of that code. Cromax EZ features a color fan deck based on real paint and real spray chips. It’s not made from ink and a drawdown. The color chips that support Cromax EZ are very accurate and truly represent that formula.”
Apollo also mentions an industry-leading, five-angle spectrophotometer—the Acquire™ Quantum EFX—to further reduce paint-matching frustration.
“It’s easy to find the formula if you want to chip-match it, but the Acquire can also offer the best match,” he says.
Easy to Apply
Removing variability is the key to maintaining high efficiency. Some offerings in the marketplace cover in one coat and some in five—there’s not much of a standard.
“Another goal with Cromax EZ was to achieve one standard of coverage,” Apollo says, “and we did it.”
“Cromax EZ has minimal variation; 85–90% of all offered colors achieve coverage in two coats. The technician will know most of the time exactly how much to mix, and that goes a long way toward mixing the right amount, doing the job once and minimizing waste.”
Working with metallics and other flake applications is also easier. Some paints require a dropcoat for the flake to distribute correctly; others require extended paint-and-dry times to achieve the right look. Cromax EZ, however, is as robust as it is simple—there’s no need to apply metallic flake any differently. Just select your color, shake to mix, and get to work.
“Simply do two medium-wet coats and you’re on your way,” Apollo says.
Apollo also touches on an aspect of refinish too often ignored when selecting paint—how to handle comebacks and errors.
“We can train technicians to be as talented as possible, but occasionally an error happens,” he says. “Repaints happen. With many coatings, you can’t do that because you’re in the gel phase; and if you go back too soon, two things will happen: the sandpaper will get stuck in the coating, or the re-repair with the liquid paint will hit the gel stage and bubble or blow up on you."
“One of the features of Cromax EZ that makes it superior is that when those mistakes happen, there’s no sensitivity to the paint—you can go in and fix it now. You can gently and easily sand the scratch or area in question and immediately re-apply some basecoat, and you’re back in business. You haven’t lost significant time.”
Premium Quality for Profitable Paint Operations
Designed for the busy shop and the efficient painter in mind, the Cromax EZ system is a powerful tool to have at your disposal. Eliminate the mixing station, colormatch correctly the first time and achieve superior coverage with an eye toward repairability and efficiency with each and every coat.
To learn how the Cromax EZ paint system from Axalta can help you increase car count and reduce paint shop problems, click here.
