Below is an article written by Justin Jimmo of Refinish Network, in which he shares his experience converting over to a waterborne paint system.  In the comment section, share your thoughts or experiences with a waterborne paint system.  

Waterbone Conversion / Changeover
By Justin Jimmo

We had been putting it off for several months but now at crunch time with the Canadian legislation forcing a 3.5 voc basecoat compliancy, we couldn't drag it out any longer... The water is here, and the results are spectacular!

With so many paint systems available and so many different spraying conditions, problems are inevitable at some shops. There is a bit of a learning curve with spraying but with a good set-up I can't see why anyone would object to bringing this in. We choose to stay with BASF's RM brand of paint, Onyx HD. We migrated from RM Diamont and the reason for Onxy over Glasurit 90 line was because the crystal bases (shown below) work with both RM systems, we were happy to give Onyx a go and save the expense of changing our crystals.

You will notice the Glasurit M-5 blending clear, which works similarly to an orientation coat in our RM mix. The BASF reps recommend this product over the RM version and inform us there would be no compatibility issues so we decided to use this product in it's place.

I've got to say both our jobber (co-auto) and BASF provided us with outstanding service and support with the changeover. They were able to help us out with equipment and ensured we had two support reps for the entire week to make sure of a smooth transition. Co-Auto actually employs several reps whom are dedicated for this and paint troubleshooting (exclusively to Co-Auto customers).

So back to the system... The Onyx toners are surprisingly small, the entire system fits in two small boxes. The first thought is you'll be ordering cans of paint like a mad man but seeing what you mix up, you'd be amazed at how far a little bit of paint goes. The toners are extremely concentrated, you'd mix up a fraction of what you'd mix up with diamont and the bulk of your formula is a water reducer. Our rep claims that we will be surprised at how long the toners last. Some challenges the toners will present is tinting abilities, with the concentration levels now a tiny drop will change your color much, much more compared to a solvent paint. The same is true for over-pouring, a little over-pour can end up destroying your formula.

All of the gallon cans below are either primers or from my Diamont solvent line. Here are the other products used with the paint line (get the product ready for use):

The gun we are currently using to apply is a Devilbiss CVI with a 1.3 tip. The recommendations are to use a larger tip with this paint and we may switch up as time goes on but for now it's getting the job done:

The digital gauge is pretty sweet if I don't say so:

We are going to be purchasing a gun washer but for now we are just hand-cleaning the gun. We use a waterborne cleaner similar to what you may use as a final wash. This paint seems to be stickier and a bit more difficult to clean. We are using the PPS mixing system by 3M to make cleaning much easier, also the plastic liners are necessary for storing any waterborne paint.

We have also been given the blowers. They work by spiraling the air, the air movement helps speed up drying times of the water basecoat. We have two on an adjustable stand and one hand held for smaller jobs. The air flow in our booth is pretty good and the base actually seems to dry without the blowers on at a decent speed anyhow.

Before I get to the paint I should note we had to make a few changes to our preparation. Waterborne paint as most know is more susceptible to fish-eye and will not forgive any silicone / contaminants on the surface. Every effort has to be made to remove every contaminant from the panel. The masking paper must be a waterborne friendly masking paper or it will basically melt and stick to the panel it is protecting. We are using the carborundum masking paper:

We were surprised to learn the the brand of final wipe rags we used were found to cause problems with fish-eyes in the paint as well. We switched at the advice of our reps. (the ones on the left are the replacements to the roll on the right)

Other changes we had to make included eliminating aerosol primers for breakthroughs. We are told they will bleed through (for reasons unknown) when Onyx is applied directly over it. We've converted to a 1 part waterborne direct to metal primer for burn throughs to replace the aerosols (waterborne primer on the left, UV on the right):

We've stayed with the same finishing systems, 600 grit on metallics, 400 on solids and 1200 or finer and/or a grey scuff pad with RM 851 sanding paste. So now we are on to the paint, the first thing I noticed was the basecoat layed flatter then it would with Diamont. It was less prone to mottle and it blended out with very little effort.

We would typically spray 1 mist coat followed by one wet coat and then put the blowers on and allow it to flash off. Once it went dull we would apply the blending clear over the blend panel (door) and while wet then give the job another coat of base and bring the color into the blend panel. On tricker colors we can apply a drop coat afterwards to orient the metallics a bit nicer too if need be. From here its another flash off and clear like any other base/clear job.

Some other precautions we've been warned about would include humidity and the use of the Onyx basecoat hardener. Apparently the hardener will cause issues with the base staying gummy and practically impossible to tack. They normally advise you avoid tacking this stuff when possible and if you do make sure it's we'll dried. We've been mostly just tacking the blend panels before clear and once at the start of the job, if it's required we wait a bit longer then nomal. We haven't had a reason to sand it yet but are informed to only dry sand or else you'll end up with a big mess (wetsanding). The humidiy is going to slow down drying times, more water in the air will reduce the airflow's ability to extract the water from the panel. They've also cautioned us on tri-coats, make sure we give good flash time. If we clear too early and trap water it will result in nearly instant delamination of the clear, usually during the wash stages.

I must say that so far I am quite pleased with what I am seeing from Onyx and find the finish to be superb. Overall I do find it a bit slower compared to a solvent, but not by much. I don't anticipate many problems but time will tell. It certainly wasn't as big deal, i think most will find when your set up well this paint is quite simple to spray. Lifting, mottling and fighting with blends could very well be a thing of the past.

What have your experiences been with waterborne paint?  Share your thoughts with us...the good, the bad, the ugly.