Award WinningPublication
MOTO AWARD, IAMC SILVERMEDALLION OF EXCELLENCE &
IAMA BRONZE
“GREEN” AUTOMOTIVECLEAR COAT
TECHNOLOGY
First Water-borne Clear Coatthat Beats EPA StandardsTwo Kansas companies, Premier
Paint 2000, Inc. & C3 Technology,LLC. along with Tech LineCoatings, Inc. in California areproud to introduce the first water-borne clear coat on the automo-tive paint market. This technologybreakthrough is years ahead of thecompetition and exceeds EPAstandards.
California and Canada’s newenvironmental policies havepushed companies to createproducts that match or exceednew regulations. In both, Californiaand Canada, auto shops are fac-ing strict changes to VOC (volatileorganic compounds) emissionrules by the end of this year. SouthCoast California Air Quality District(AQMD) now requires that multi-stage clear coats have a 250g/L(2.1 lb./gal.) VOC emissions ratingor better. AQMD, Rule 1151 wentinto effect July 01, 2008, with com-plete conversion expected byDecember 31, 2008. Canada’snew regulation matchesCalifornia’s, but won’t be required
Mark Monks was 18years old and standing inthe unemployment linewhen the employmentcounselor sent him outon a job as a techni-cian’s apprentice. If itsounds like somethingout of a Charles Dickensnovel, it is rather! But notall Dickens novels end asbadly as they start and infact, most of them endwith the unfortunate vic-tim duly vindicated.Mark spent 4 years ofhands-on training withhis employer and even ifthe rumors were he ategruel and stale bread fordinner, he wouldn’ttrade it now for all thesteak and potatoes onearth! “That’s where Ilearned my trade. Youare going to make mis-takes when you first startout,” he says, “When youwork and learn undersomeone else, they fixyour mistakes whileteaching you how to fixyour own. People pay$175 per day for traininghere in England andthere is no way you canlearn all you need toknow in one day or even2 weeks. It takes years ofexperience and you stillface new challengesevery day.”
In April 2006, Mark went solo withhis own mobile unit as LancashireDent Solutions, servicing the city ofPreston in Lancashire. Preston islocated 60 miles north ofManchester in northwest UK along
the coast of the Irish Sea. His busi-ness concentration is on automotivebody shops and independentlyowned used car dealerships,although he has found some suc-cess in the retail sector as well. “Theaverage consumer in the UK does-n’t know much about paintless dent
repair (PDR), but all theshops do.” Mark explains,“When a retail customerrealizes we can fix a denton the spot, they think wedo it with magnets and ionsin some kind of magicalprocess. Always wowedwhen they see the resultand the quickness involved,I think more people need toknow about PDR.”
That is how Mark got hisreputation… knowing thePDR business. One of hisbody shop customersreceived a Jaguar with ahuge, nasty dent that wentfrom the bodyline at thedoor handle all the way tothe bottom of the door. Itwas no small door ding.One of the body shop tech-nicians took one look at itand instead of running itthrough the reconstructiveprocess of the body shop,commented to anothertechnician, ‘Just call Mark –he can fix that’.
“I nearly made a big mis-take last year and investedin a unit – a store front shop,but thank goodness withthe downturn in the econo-my, I did not take on thatadded overhead rightnow,” Mark says. He agreesthat in spite of the econo-my, there is still a lot of workout there. The automotivecrunch and credit issues arejust as prominent across thepond as they are here in thestates, but Mark sees anunseen benefit where oth-
ers see a dark cloud. In fact, peoplewho are not buying new cars arekeeping their older cars longer - andthe longer they keep a car, themore they need a PDR specialist. It isperfectly logical. “The work is still out
MOBILE-TECH NEWS&A Bi-Monthly Publication Serving the Shop On Wheels
VOLUME XIV • ISSUE 1 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 $4.95
MARK continued on page 7
GREEN continued on page 8
Prevent Data Breaches.......................3Recession and Hot Dogs ....................3Most Popular Color............................10Interior Restoration.............................16Paint Restoration................................18
NAPDRT ...............................................20PDR Page............................................21Sunroof Restyling................................27SEMA Awards .....................................29Mobile Tech Expo ..............................30
News From Across The Pond ............32Windshield/Windscreen ...................39Industry Briefs ......................................40Classifieds, Ad Index
& Up & Coming ..............................42
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Just Call Mark, He Can Fix It
Want to see your newproduct displayed hereon the front cover, call
727-531-7885
there, but the main differencebetween how it is now and howit has been in the past is, nowyou have to ‘look and find’ thework as opposed to the workfinding you.”
Mark will be attending the2009 Mobile Tech Expo and hasvery high expectations thiscoming year for entering somecompetitions. Last year’s showwas his first, but due to jet lagand a virus bug, he spent mostof his visit sick and unable toparticipate. The trip however,was not a complete bust – as amatter of fact, it turned out tobe a song. “I am indebted toKevin Halewood and all thepeople I met at the Expo,” heexplains, “I left there havingmet people who kept me busyall summer as a hail chaser.”Mark explains that it never hailsin the UK. He had no experi-
ence in hail dent work anddecided the money was good,the travel would be fun, and hecould expand his trade intoanother arena. He spent theentire month of June 2008 inGermany fixing hail dents, andmost of the rest of the summerin Holland where he perfectedhis techniques chasing hail-storms. He admits the work washard and it was stressful!“Repairing hail dents is entirelydifferent from door dings andkey scratches,” he explains, “Ahailstorm can cause hundredsof small dents on the roof andbonnet of the car. It is long andtedious work, but in parts of theworld where hail is an annualevent, it makes for plenty ofwork!” He also discovered doordings and common dents aremuch easier to repair than haildents. “Hail dents take much
longer to repair because thereare so many of them. Wherethere is one hail dent, you willfind 300-400 more.”
One of the best parts of theExpo for Mark is meeting themany people with whom heshares ideas and techniquesthrough online forums. Hisfavorite, www.doording.comhas helped him discover newways and techniques forattacking a dent. According toMark, not all dents are createdequal. “Every dent is different.You don’t approach every dentthe same way. You don’t nec-essarily use the same tools nordo you use the same tech-niques.”
Next year, Mark intends toparticipate in the events andcontests at the Expo. “Last yearI just observed, but this year Iam going to get in there and
compete.” With new activitiesadded every year, rumor isthere will be a glue and bond-ing competition debuting atthe show in 2009. Mark intendsto enter.
Lancashire Dent Solutionsalso performs windscreenrepair as a sideline. Mark sees afull automotive repair facility inhis future. “SMART shops arevery popular here in the UK andI believe Lancashire wouldbenefit from my expanding ourofferings.” But right now, MarkMonks is just glad to hear thosemagic words, “Just call Mark –he can fix it!”
Contact Mark Monks atLancashire Dent Solutions, 9Graham St., Lancaster,Lanchashire, Emgland LA1 4UE;telephone 07733 320687.
