I was dead wrong about 'smart' paint mixing systems

I spent 15 years mixing everything by hand because I figured those $8,000 machines were just a gimmick for rich shops. Then I helped a buddy in Columbus for a week and watched him bang out 3 color-matched jobs in the time it took me to do 1. Has anyone else switched from manual to a digital system and actually seen a real time savings?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_thomas18d ago

Your buddy probably had his machine dialed in for months. I went in on a $5,000 system with my partner three years ago and it sits in the corner half the time. When the temp drops or humidity changes suddenly it gives us readings that are way off. We still fall back on our old stock mixing formulas for about half our jobs because chasing those errors wastes more time than just doing it by feel. Plus the calibration routine eats up twenty minutes every morning if you want it to be accurate. For a shop that does nothing but collision work day in and day out maybe it pays off but for a custom shop mixing a dozen different colors a week it creates more problems than it solves.

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caleb_thomas9317d ago

Hang on, I've gotta push back on this one. I think your machine might just need some love or a warmer spot in the shop because the ones I've seen at other custom places save way more time than they waste. Once you get past that initial setup and get a good routine down, the calibration takes five minutes tops if you're not messing around. Plus for mixing a dozen colors a week it's even better because you're not wasting product guessing and remixing when a customer changes their mind. Sounds like maybe your partner and you just got a bad unit or didn't spend enough time learning its quirks.