SCRS announced Tuesday PPG would teach a first-ever free OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit course during the Repairer Driven Education SEMA series.

The trade group also honored the paint manufacturer for seven consecutive years of supporting the Repairer Driven Education series at SEMA at the highest level.

“These programs have become a significant contributor to SCRS’ mission to bring information to the collision repair industry, and the sustained growth that we have seen wouldn’t have been possible without the continual support from PPG,” SCRS Chairman Kye Yeung said in a statement. “We spend a great deal of time each year developing curriculum that we believe has the potential to greatly impact the industry by answering questions, needs and challenges faced by repairers in the marketplace. Having companies like PPG that show unwavering support at the highest level is a key part in developing and delivering successful experiences to our attendees.”

PPG representatives have taught Repairer Driven Education courses and free Collision Repair & Refinish Stage sessions dating back to the first show, held in 2010.

This year, they’ll also teach painters and other collision and restoration professionals about clearcoat from the stage of SCRS’ headliner OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit event on Thursday, Nov. 2.

“Helping to promote education in the collision repair community is core to what we do at the automotive refinish business unit at PPG,” PPG industry relations senior manager Domenic Brusco said in a statement. “Education and industry support are both key areas of importance to our company, and we believe programs like RDE and the OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit are once-a-year compliments to the ongoing technical tips, training and resources we bring to our customers throughout the year. It is absolutely in sync with the value-added services we want to prioritize for our customer base.”

“Choosing a Clearcoat is not so Clear: Helping You Understand Your Choices” will run 1-2 p.m. Nov. 2 in Room N241 and feature PPG USCA Collision Segment Director of Marketing Jennifer Boros, USCA application support specialist Darin Poston and coatings chemist Jack Dickens.

“The right clear coat for your work is critical to both the process and the finished product,” SCRS described the course, which it said would appeal to production collision repairers and custom restorers. “This session will help distinguish the differences between options and ensure you choose the right one for the job. Clearcoat serves and integral role in the refinish process and understanding how to produce a final job that will meet the consumer’s expectation and qualify for a lifetime refinish warranty is critical.

“The session will include conversation on how chemistry affects the physical properties of a clearcoat; what glamour, speed, and general purpose mean in the context of the job; and why film-build is is critical to the long term performance of clearcoat longevity.”

The session is a chance for in-the-trenches paint staff to learn from and ask questions of two chemistry experts who probably worked on coatings you’ve shot and a product tester whose background includes time in a body shop paint department.

Boros, a trained chemist, is a 20-year veteran of PPG Automotive Refinish who spent the first 10 years in product development before switching to marketing in 2018. Dickens, also a trained chemist, has worked on clearcoats for the past three years and “contributed in the development of many top selling PPG clearcoats currently in the market,” according to a Bio.

Poston started as a body shop painter and manager and worked as a jobber before becoming a PPG refinishing trainer in 2011. This year, he switched to the marketing team but focuses on competitive analysis and product testing.

Register for the free session here. And while you’re at it, consider registering for the three $75 primary OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit courses, which examine new automotive technology, the new repair procedures it generates, and the kind of legal trouble you can get into for failing to follow those procedures.

Or consider buying the $375 series pass — the early-bird rate is available through Friday — which gets you into unlimited regular or OEM Tech Summit courses between Oct. 30 and Nov. 3 as well as the hot SCRS-PPG Sky Villa After Party Nov. 2. (The party alone is $85.)

Classes run Monday, Oct. 30, through Friday, Nov. 3. Early registration runs through Friday, Oct. 13, and is $75 for individual courses or $375 for a series pass package deal which includes the entire week of classes, all three parts of the OEM Summit and the Nov. 2 Sky Villa afterparty. After the deadline, the prices rise to $85 and $400, respectively.

PPG and SCRS teamed up last year on the party, which is held in Elvis Presley’s former Vegas home and SCRS calls “the premiere collision industry networking event during SEMA Week.”

“Aside from education, we recognize that networking is one of the key benefits our customers get from attending events such as the SEMA Show,” Brusco said in a statement. “It’s been a pleasure to be a part of an evening event that provides not only a special experience that so many look forward to each year, but that aims at building relationships and connections. The networking event has become a night-time destination for so many high-profile folks within the collision repair and custom communities from across the globe.”

Details: www.scrs.com/rde and 866-229-3687; www.semashow.com and www.semashow.com/register.

More information:

“SCRS’ Repairer Driven Education Highlights Ongoing Commitment to Education and Information from PPG”

Society of Collision Repair Specialists, Oct. 10, 2017

SCRS Repairer Driven Education website

Images:

Society of Collision Repair Specialists Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg, left, talks to PPG automotive refinish marketing director John Parran during SEMA 2015. (Screenshot from Collision Hub-SCRS video)

Clockwise from top left: The Society of Collision Repair Specialists, PPG and Capital One logos are carved out of ice during the 2016 Sky Villa After Party. (John Huetter/Repairer Driven News)