It is an uncomfortable truth that—for many members of the general public—the go-to way of measuring how well an auto repair facility repaired has nothing to do with a vehicles post-repair crashworthiness, or how close to pre-accident condition it is. In most cases, a collision facility is judged for how convincing a job its painter blended the site of the repairs into the rest of the vehicle. 

While it seems ridiculous, it is easy to understand why a fresh coat of paint can make all the difference. While most customers know nothing about auto repair, they can see when two colours don’t match. 

Understanding this quirk of customer psychology is an integral part of making any major decisions about which paint companies your business should partner with. While the decision to partner with one major chemical firm or another may—at first—appear like a distinction without a difference, a closer look at the facts makes it clear that, beyond paint and paint related products, different companies offer very different things to their clients. 

When it comes to the major players in auto paint, many go to exceptional lengths to add value to their offerings. Some provide partner businesses management suites and customizable scheduling software—which, they believe, will allow partnering businesses to both increase the number of vehicles they can service, and the amount of paint that gets used. Others offer access to proprietary colour matching technology. 

At the end of the day, though, auto painting comes down to five things: the quality of the pigments available, the ease-of-use of the thinning and binding agents, the exactness of the colour matching, and the skill of the automotive painter. It isn’t that nothing else matters—it is just that, push comes to shove—a procurement specialist can’t afford to get distracted by the bells and whistles. 

To ensure you’re matched-up with the latest know-hows in automotive painting, take a minute to brush up on the hottest painting products the industry has to offer in 2021.