Hood Master — a competition celebrating the artistry of the automotive painter — launched in 2020 to recognize the true artistry in the collision repair industry. Throughout the years, Hood Master has transformed into an even bigger beast. While still encouraging an emphasis on artistry, it has also become a platform for hosting a painting competition for students called PiN Master. This serves as a fundraiser for the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) and an industry community event.
“CREF does so much to give back to the industry and pump that talent back in,” said Megan Gummer, VP of Specialty Sales, National Accounts & MSOs for LKQ. “There's a large technician shortage right now, so it’s important to bring everyone together at Hood Master to focus on that incoming talent. Supporting CREF and our community through Hood Master is a meaningful cause for everybody.”
This year, Hood Master is celebrating its fifth anniversary on August 29th at the Bell Tower in Nashville, Tennessee. The event is free and open to the public and will be run by LKQ Refinish, and CREF.
“We are excited to shift the venue from Indianapolis to Nashville where LKQ North America is headquartered,” Gummer said. “This is an awesome opportunity to continue to increase the energy around the event and leverage the larger LKQ resource base to benefit Hood Master.”
Showcasing Talent
At the event, Hood Master attendees will be able to peruse custom-painted art submitted by professional painters and collision repair students for the Hood Master Challenge and PiN Master Challenge.
“Hood Master allows painters to showcase their talent by creating works of art on miniature hoods,” Gummer said. “PiN Master will also be at the event, allowing collision repair students to display their work on bowling pins. This is always a crowd favorite because the students get so creative with transforming the pins!”
AkzoNobel, this year’s title sponsor, will bring a returning industry-celebrity judge for the Hood Master and PiN Master challenges: Dave Kindig from Kindig-It Design Inc. For challengers who needed supplies, Blake Stanton of Backyard Boogey Flakes — and current Hood Master challenger — was happy to donate metal flakes to anyone who needed them.
The winners of the Hood Master and PiN Master challenges will be announced at the event and receive cash prizes, and tools and equipment provided by Hood Master sponsor partners.
Communicating with Collision Repair
In addition to viewing the art, attendees will have the opportunity to network with professionals from the collision repair industry.
“Hood Master brings the key players of our industry together,” Gummer said. “From rising talent to legacy leaders. I think that's probably the coolest part about the event. It’s a chance to bring everybody together and celebrate that this industry keeps everybody moving. It's a great opportunity for collision repair shops to network with their paint manufacturers and suppliers.”
Supporting CREF
To collect donations for CREF, the Hood Master and CREF teams will host an online silent auction during the event.
“We're still actively seeking donations and sponsorships,” Gummer said. “CREF has done a great job automating and elevating the auction. They have a website that will go live, and every item at the event will have a QR code attached to it. So, it's very streamlined.”
Silent auction prizes include Hood Master sponsor donations, custom-painted pieces from industry artists, hoods and pins from current and previous challenges, sporting event tickets, promotional items from local organizations, and more.
The Hood Master team is grateful for the continued support from all Hood Master sponsor partners:
- Title: AkzoNobel
- Diamond: 3M , U-POL
- Rudy: Norton, DeVilbiss, SATA
- Sapphire; SMART, TYG Products
- Emerald: Accudraft, Club Colors, Dynabrade, Rupes, SEM, Transtar
- Additional Sponsors: American Tape, Back Yard Boogey Flakes, Diamond Standard Safety, Mercantile Development Inc. , Mirka
To learn more about Hood Master and what you can do to support the future of collision repair, visit https://www.lkqcorp.com/hood-master-challenge/
