LVTI auto body program charges ahead of industry

LYNN – With regulations in the industry set to change dramatically in the coming years, students in the Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute auto body program are gaining a leg up on their peers from other schools – and even potential future employers – with some big changes to the shop this year.Along with enrolling students in a new certification program that is tops in the industry, the shop is also in the process of making the complicated switch from solvent-based to water-based paints, four years ahead of schedule.Over the next four years, all auto body shops in Massachusetts will be mandated to switch from the mostly petroleum solvent-based paints to the water-base coats – a move aimed primarily at saving the environment that will bring with it some welcome improvements to automotive finishes.The switch will eventually take place across the country and some states, like California, have already put the regulations in place.”Because emissions are so high with solvent-based paints they have made the change,” said LVTI auto body teacher Rick Starbard. “With the solvent paint you have a lot of volatile organic compound going up into the ozone. There is less than 5 percent solvent with water because it evaporates, compared to 50 percent with the solvent paints.”While the change will benefit everyone environmentally and provide a more vibrant finish that requires fewer coats, the transition to a water-based shop is not an easy one.As opposed to solvent-based paints that heat dry, water dries with air movement, requiring the addition of a new drying area equipped with blowers and fans. The application and drying process also takes longer with the new paint.For a shop like the one at LVTI, where they mix their own paint, students must also begin the training process for mixing and applying the new coats to vehicles – something that does not come easy, but will become second nature with practice.Starbard says he has been in contact with the school’s paint vendor, Standox – a German-based company used by Mercedes-Benz – and expects to begin getting new paints soon. He hopes all of the upgrades to the shop will be completed in time to switch entirely to water-base paint at the start of the next school year in September.While students will have an early grasp on new technology in the industry upon graduation, they will also have an opportunity to boast the industry-standard in certification, I-CAR.I-CAR is the same certification used by professional auto body shops for their workers and typically costs $100 per test, but Starbard was able to secure a $10,000 donation from Allstate Insurance to cover the certification of all students in the shop.LVTI is the first school in the state to offer the training and new curriculum that will have students on the cutting-edge of the auto body industry and ready to compete for jobs right out of school.”It is a pretty intense curriculum, it is what technicians send their own employees to get,” said Starbard. “We are trying to set this shop apart from other programs. These kids finish up and they compete right away with kids from Northeast Regional and North Shore Tech, and those regional schools have a lot more money than we do.”Starbard, who also runs his own auto body shop in Revere, says the quality of work at the LVTI shop is a hidden gem in the city, and he is hoping to reverse the stigma that customers taking their cars to a vocational auto body shop will produce poor results.”Basically this whole shop is state of the art. I follow the same steps that I do in my own shop,” he said. “It may take a little bit longer but you will save a lot of money and the quality of work is very high compared to other schools.”