UNDERSTANDING AND CONTROL OF AUTOMOTIVE EFFECT COLORS

A Short Course Offered by the Detroit Colour Council

The DCC offers a unique 2-day course in a hands-on format, UNDERSTANDING AND CONTROL OF AUTOMOTIVE EFFECT COLORS, at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan Tues-Wed October 4-5, 2023.

The course objective is to help students obtain a good understanding of the nature of effect colors and how to measure and control them.  It includes a presentation and demonstration of the entire range of effect pigments used in automotive effect colors and a thorough explanation of how application variables and processing impact the resultant color.  It features proper visual effect-color panel evaluation techniques using the AccuAngle™ color protractor and emphasizes the use of correct visual evaluation terminology consistent with industry standards.  It includes presentations by several instrument manufacturers on state-of-the-art color measurement of effect colors with multi-angle spectrophotometers to meet the SAE J1545 recommended practice and an in-depth look at various tolerancing methods in use today for automotive effect colors. Correlation of visual to measured data is studied in student projects with effect color samples and parts, using portable lighting, multi-angle spectrophotometer measurements, and the effect-pigment-based SeeRIGHT™ II device.  The class will include a good mixture of presentation by industry experts and active, hands-on participation.

Class starts each day at 8:30 am and concludes at 4:30 pm. Schoolcraft College is a convenient drive from Detroit Metro airport. Nearby overnight accommodations are available.

Students are presumed to have some training in color technology and the fundamentals of colorimetry, for example through prior attendance of the Eastern Michigan University Color Technology course or equivalent experience, but we will review these fundamentals at the beginning of this course.

The course fee is $995 which includes course book, continental breakfast, lunch and snacks each day, and all class supplies.  Class is limited to 24 students.

This is a DETROIT COLOUR COUNCIL course, not associated with any university.

Course co-administrators are Jim Hall formerly of General Motors, Christie Navarre of the Thierry Corporation and Frank Pizzo of BASF. Lead instructors are Adriana Martinez of BASF and Dominic Tasson of Axalta Coating Systems. Also instructing are noted specialists in essential aspects of metallic coloring, Samantha Gilbert-Eyres and Don Beaudoin of Axalta.  Color measurement assistance is provided by Rae Roby and Bob Santine of BYK Gardner USA and Scott Reininger representing X-Rite.