Problems We've Solved

One of CARCOLORS long time customers came to us with a very unique challenge. Craig was having a 1969 Mustang Fastback that was a special build for him by American restoration company Mustangs to Fear. The challenge was to come up with a colour that was not only what Craig desired but one that Mustangs to Fear were able to source as they are located in Indiana, USA. This was during the start of the covid pandemic so Craig could not just hop on a plane and visit the car builder to sort his colour. Craig’s task for CARCOLORS was to come up with a one off colour but also to provide a system that could be used in the USA for a winning finish. This was not a problem for us as our PPG system is used globally and we could ensure the colour we came up with here would be the same as what the car was to be painted in. Since arriving in NZ Craig’s Mustang as won many awards including the coveted “Best Custom or Restored Vehicle” at AmeriCARna.

Renowned artist Michael Parekōwhai was commissioned by Te Papa in 2018 to show works within Te Papa’s newly created art exhibition space. Michael created “Forest Etiquette” an enormous construction of scaffolding wrapped in plastic trees. The framework he created was to house works from several other artists these include Marcel Duchamp, Colin McCahon and Frances Hodgkin. Alongside these greats of the art world Michael also included several of his own works, this included a full-scale Elephant that sits on the trees above the ground. Michael approached CARCOLORS with a colour scheme he had envisioned. Our challenge was to take what Michael had in his head and turn that into a colour. Some of Michael’s specific details included a colour that changed under different light angles but must display certain tones, utilised metallic but with no metallic sparkle and was a high gloss finish. Michael was so pleased with the result he has partnered with CARCOLORS on a number of other projects since including, The Lighthouse: Tū Whenua-a-Kura.

Steve and Sue keys were recommended to talk to CARCOLORS by mutual classic car friend Ian Neary. Steve and Sue were building a 1938 Diamond T streamlined Texaco tank truck. After much research it was discovered by Steve and Sue that this truck is the only complete Diamond T streamlined tanker known to exist. Knowing we were dealing with a very special project, CARCOLORS teamed up with Steve and Sue as well as the technicians working on the truck to achieve a stunning result. We came up with a bullet proof product specification from the initial epoxy primer through to the final red topcoat. Colour data was limited but from the research that Steve and Sue produced and our own research we were able to come up with a colour that was as true to the original as possible. We were even able to produce a red primer, that dried to an almost gloss finish, that helped emphasise the flawless topcoat red.

One of NZ’s major tertiary institutions had a coating failure on one of its newly built buildings. Through one of CARCOLORS commercial refinishers we were able to come up with a specification that involved removing the existing coating and applying a new coating that would stand the test of time. The final result of the building being refinished with products supplied by CARCOLORS is an even satin silver finish matching the original coating. The client, the builder, the architect and refinisher were all more than pleased with the completed project.

New Zealand’s foremost Spar manufacture approached CARCOLORS about a satin and matt clearcoat finish for use over carbon fibre. The Spars they make are all custom built and are used in competitive racing and high-end super yachts. The product they were using from an opposition paint brand was inconsistent in its gloss level and difficult in its application. The PPG satin/matt clear that CARCOLORS tested with them was easy to apply, especially when painting a 60 metre long mast, even consistency in gloss level and was mar resistant for the harsh sea environment the Spars live in.

CARCOLORS was given the challenge by New Zealand’s leading insulated garage door supplier of finding and installing a paint stirring bank for their standard colours. This was no small challenge as all their colours come in 10ltr drums, supplied by CARCOLORS. A standard paint stirring bank is designed to mix paint in sizes no greater than 5ltrs. Did CARCOLORS walk away from this challenge of course not. Several calls were made to manufacturers all located overseas. After some language barriers were overcome a manufacturer based in France was willing to work with us on what we required for our customer. Two stirring banks were custom designed to specifications CARCOLORS required and were sent on their way to NZ. The banks had to be robust enough and easily adjustable to change for the future need of using 20ltr drums, have an easy pour function as having a clean pour from a full 10ltr is quite a challenge. The banks arrived some months later and were installed within a day. Needless to say the customer was over the moon and the technicians delighted at having made their job so much easier.

Auckland’s transport service provider mandated all the bus companies operating within the Auckland area to be uniformal in the AT colour scheme. CARCOLORS took on the task of project managing the 1400 buses that were to be repainted in the required colour scheme within the timeframe specified. This involved liaising with all the bus companies, the repairers and the stock management to ensure all buses were finished in the specified colour scheme, acceptable quality and of course on time. This project was so successful that CARCOLORS has been called upon to manage other bus refurbishment programs outside of the Auckland area.