May June 2012 The Paint Spot Newsletter

Forgive me for not writing a newsletter last month. There was too much going on, specifically the Customer appreciation day celebration held here May 2, 2012. Not only was that an event that takes a lot of preparation to put together, but around the same time Slix decided to compete against folks like Jesse James from Austin speed shop, by building a car for the Lone Star Roundup . We built a 1955 Chevy 2 dr hdtp just for that event. The car hadn t been down a road under its own power in 40 years, and we weren t interested in doing anything that could be considered stock . The car got a whopping 4.2 miles per gallon going to Austin! The debut of Candy Liner was also happening at that time, and just made it for the show. It was hectic, but it was a HUGE success! Last year I left the store at 1:30 am, and this year I didn't get out of here till 3:15 a.m. I'm not sure who had more fun, the customers, the vendors, or me! I can tell you that my ass was draggin come 8:00 a.m. the next morning, and there was no mercy .the orders just kept coming. Special thanks to: Chris Cieszinski T.O.L.A. Enterprises (Iwata, RTI), Jesse Juarez P.B.E. warehouse (SEM, House of Kolor, Advantage), Bill Brook

Refinish Specialists Inc. (Norton, SEM, Devilbiss, SAS, Motor Guard, Hutchins, CPS), Danny Wright ( Refinish Specialists ), Mario Hernandez ( TranStar ), Dean Adams ( Lizard Skin , POR 15), Allen Fuller ARD , Ashley Stancil ( Magnet Paint , Chassis Saver , Monstaliner ) Dennis Shoff Master Sales & Marketing (Indasa, SATA, Malco), Travis Truesdale Lusid Technology (North Star, Gen Star, Gen 2o), Mike Aguirre Matrix (welcome aboard Mike, I hear you're another custom paint guy), Brian Lynch Matrix (Custom painter from hell, and a smart S.O.B. to boot!) A very special thank you to all of our customers for your patronage and participation. The show is our way of giving you all something back in appreciation for your loyalty to The Paint Spot. For a photo slide show of the event go to www.thepaintspot.biz Newsletter News: The Paint Spot Newsletter is available both electronic and regular mail. If you would like to be added to our mailing list let us know by calling the store at: (830) 899-2845, E-mail me at . I am amazed at just how far our little newsletter has reached. We are in several other countries as well as across the United States, I kid you not! I actually got a call from a guy in Illinois today that googled Matrix vs. another paint line (Brand name I won't mention) and it brought up my name and a specific newsletter that I had written some time ago in which apparently I had unknowingly written the most extensive comparison between the two paint brands! I am almost computer inept HOW IN THE HELL COULD THIS HAPPEN? Here s the kicker, he has a very similar background to me, believes in practicing business the same way we do, has started his own paint store with . Matrix (is there anything else), and is surrounded by long established paint stores that operate like some that I know (not good), and the last thing I said to him was I will do whatever I can to help you with ANYTHING YOU NEED! This if for you George

YOU WILL BE SUCCESFUL WITH MATRIX! Speaking of Matrix: If you have not yet used the MP-1000 you need to! This product is phenomenal as well as the most versatile product we have ever used. We have been using (abusing) it at Slix now for eight months. I have personally put it through the most rigorous testing imaginable. I have put it over Titanium, Plastic (even without adhesion promoter), unsanded E-Coated panels, under bed liner, I have tinted it, used it in place of both self etch and epoxy primer, done body work over the top of it, and have used it as a sealer, and a surfacer. Our customers are using it with all of our paint lines, not just Matrix. For those of you who saw the custom painted fenders that Brian Lynch did at the show, are you aware that those aftermarket fenders (straight from Keystone) were wiped off with MXW-9001 (waterborne grease and wax remover, yeah I said waterborne. Not all the H2o stuff is cost prohibitive ) shot with the Matrix MP-1000 (mixed as a sealer) and then painted. I swear to you, sand paper never got within 20 feet of them! All that wood grain effect and the colors had plenty of taping to it. All of it was done without waiting the standard tape time , and I have the finished product on my store wall as proof, there s not one speck of tearing or lifting anywhere! It also was stepped out to show there is no scuff marks between the MP-1000 and the original E-Coat. NorthStar News: I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but total sales nation wide last year of Metallic Binder was 18 gallons. So little, that the company was going to discontinue it. Upon checking to see where and who bought the 18 gallons, it turned out to be us. I asked our rep to reconsider the discontinuing of it because we had figured out the problems with applying it, which was why no one wanted to use it (actually Brian Lynch from Matrix did most of that). I wrote about the application of Polyurethane Single Stage Metallics in one of the newsletters, and year to date (2012) we are approaching 700 gallons (and this is only May). I do have to acknowledge Jessica Loredo (A.K.A. the golden child ) as having a lot to do with that! She is a super star in the sales world, and she s working on Platinum status! The waterborne thing! Interestingly enough, there are now just as many people (shops) changing back to solvent based paint as there are switching to waterborne. This news comes to me by way of the reps who sell paint (including their own waterborne lines). They have all developed lower VOC solvent lines that shops are using to replace waterborne with. Furthermore, I read an article in this months addition of Body shop business written by: Greg Benckart (Vise President PPG automotive Refinish). In this article he talks about an over capacity in the market, and a smaller pie , and how tough the economy is due to a decreasing repair pool , drivers who are keeping the insurance checks to pay for necessities and not repairs , less miles driven due to high fuel prices , etc.

Now when you read an article like this and you know how tough the economy is (he mentions it all through the article), and then you couple that with the fact that this guy is a high ranking executive with a big PAINT company (who s definitely got an agenda), it's no surprise that you will also read how great everything will be when you INCREASE your cost of doing business, INVEST in environmentally friendly technology ( those who embrace environmentally friendly business practices and utilize WATERBORNE PAINT, the same paint that is on vehicles rolling out of OEM factories today ) will be the winners. He forgot to mention that our illustrious government BOUGHT most of the OEM factories! He also says nothing about the environmentally friendly option low v.o.c. solvent base paint , which proves my point

Waterborne paint is more expensive, so when you spend more you make less, that's not only common sense, but it's basic math. So where does the winner come in? I ll tell you where, It s the company that sold you the waterborne!

Now realize that by his own admission, you will be doing this while you have less money to spend because of a shrinking market, bad economy, people not wanting to repair their car because they d rather have food or a roof over their head, fewer miles driven due to high fuel prices, bla, bla, bla!

Where are you gonna get the money? Who are these new found customers that are gonna bust down your door because you were stupid enough to change your base coat and spend more money doing so? If you read this article (and I hope to hell you do) you will soon realize that what you are reading is total Bull Shit and the only winners here are PPG and the bozo that conned you into spending money you don't have on technology they are in a hurry to make a profit on . .THAT S THE POINT! PROFIT , it's an awesome concept, but that's exactly what you loose when you SPEND! The concept of waterborne is great, but it is also PREMATURE , HALF ASSED , and NOT COST EFFECTIVE , not to mention TOTALLY UN-NECESSARY ! Premature: It is being pushed on us by polished salesman that are told to do so to recoup money spent on development, and the timing is totally bad! Half Assed: The only thing green is the base coat! If things were really that important in the environmentally friendly world of all the big businesses, don't you think that the primers and clears would be waterborne? Not Cost Effective: That s a no brainer ..IT RAISES YOUR COST!!!!!!!!!!!! UN-NECESSARY: You ve got LOW V.O.C. options, plenty, including MATRIX LV , which is exactly what you're used to spraying! The article goes on to recite a lot of statistics and one sided B.S.. No shortage of solutions that your buddies at PPG just so happen to provide via the know all/ tell all pros that they ve hired just for the occasion. This brings up another question: How much of you're material bill goes to all this CORPORATE WASTE ?

. Who will win ? Probably not those pining for the good old days . Now I'm definitely not what you would consider a GOOD ROBOT . I don't just sit there and get spoon fed a mouthful of crap and then do as I'm directed. I question and verify. I always try to separate fact from fiction. So with that said, I have to ask: WHAT GOOD OLD DAYS IS THIS GUY REFERING TO? The days that the market wasn't as week as it is now? The days that we actually had the money to invest in REAL technology? The days when insurance companies gave you a decent material rate ? The days when materials weren t so expensive that it meant the difference between profit & loss? The days when you actually had to know what you were doing to be considered good? The days when you put blood sweat, and tears into building your shop, and it actually paid off? The days when you made an investment once and never had to buy it again? The days when a hand shake was a deal? The days before terrorism? The days before corporate greed was the norm ? The days that our credit rating was number one? The days that social security was supposed to be our money? The days before kids went to elementary schools and shot their friends? The days when America was honest and lead by example? The days that are still to come when maybe waterborne will be cheap because it's been perfected, refined, and there s plenty of competition to keep the honest people honest ? I could go on and on about the good old days, but here s the bottom line

TODAY! I get accused of thinking too much a lot ( if people around me would do a little more, maybe I wouldn't have to) however, at times like this, I wonder what others would think when they read this marketing bullshit? I think (here I go again) that if you're smart enough to be in this business, and know the difference between profit and loss. Know how hard it was to get where you're at. Know that what you're used to using works. And know that if you change, it will come at a price ..YOU D HAVE TO BE DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND TO BUY INTO IT, ESPECIALLY NOW ! Let the economy recover (if that's even possible) and don't offer yourself up as being part of the problem, hold out, let the dust settle, and be part of the solution, your companys future may depend on it!

READ THE ARTICLE , AND CONSIDER WHO WROTE IT! I'm tired of thinking LOL! I ll see ya next month. Rick Ciotti