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Bus body repair and painting company produces OEM-quality work while reducing labor time, material costs and VOC emissions.

Imagine a 56-foot rolling billboard that travels an average of 150 miles per day throughout the New York metropolitan area. It’s no surprise that a vehicle of this nature garners plenty of attention. For Coach USA, one of the largest transportation organizations in North America, this is the level of exposure generated by each of the hundreds of motorcoaches in its New York fleet—and it’s the reason the company strives to ensure every coach looks showroom beautiful on a daily basis.

“Coach USA understands the positive impact a great looking fleet of vehicles can have on a company’s image,” explained Bernie Obry, general manager of Perfect Body, a New Jersey-based subsidiary of Coach USA that specializes in bus body repair and painting. “They want their passengers to feel good about boarding their buses. And that’s where we come in. We provide exceptional refinish work on everything from small spot repairs to complete motor coach repainting.”

Located in the mass transit vehicle mecca that is North Bergen, New Jersey, Perfect Body has proudly served the bus industry for over 70 years. From a state-of-the-art, 45,000 square-foot facility that includes two massive, 58-foot high paint booths, the refinisher completes an average of 400 repairs per year. According to Obry, Perfect Body’s secret for success is the PPG DELFLEET ONE® paint system.

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“The system is by far the best paint line I’ve ever used,” said Obry. “The look it delivers is really next generation. The metallics and pearls are really bold and ‘pop’ to provide the visual appeal you want on a large vehicle.”

Beyond its eye-pleasing appearance, the PPG Delfleet One system offers a number of benefits that production-minded commercial collision repair operations will appreciate. A prime example involves the issue of drying times. “One of the things I enjoy most about the Delfleet One system is that you spray it the way you want it to look,” said Obry. “You don't have to worry about the coat being ‘open’ or wet to achieve a high-gloss finish.

“The ability to control dry times allows you to paint large vehicles considerably quicker and more efficiently than traditional paint systems while using less materials. In fact, with the Delfleet One line, we can complete a bus using just two coats, whereas our previous system required three. This has reduced our cycle time for each vehicle by one hour.”

The capacity of a commercial paint system to help users reduce the time and materials needed to complete a job while producing a brilliant, high gloss finish is by itself an impressive accomplishment. But it’s not the main reason Obry spearheaded Perfect Body’s switch to the PPG Delfleet One system.

“When we started looking for a new paint system in 2020, my goal was to find a low VOC paint line that could provide an OE-quality finish,” explained Obry. “It wasn’t long before I found the PPG Delfleet One system.”

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The next generation PPG Delfleet One paint line, which features a full complement of ultra-low (< 2.0 lbs./gal) VOC premium undercoats, topcoats and clearcoats, has been formulated to meet the VOC limits established by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in California—among the most stringent VOC restrictions in North America.

“It’s common knowledge that the refinish industry as a whole is moving toward greener, environmentally-conscious paint products,” said Obry. “And that’s important to me simply because it’s the right thing to do. But there are other factors in play here. Specifically, the measures established by New Jersey to limit VOC emissions.”

The state of New Jersey employs a “stack permit” system designed to restrict VOC output. In short, a commercial paint operation obtains a permit from the state that outlines the maximum amount of VOCs that can be emitted annually. If the business exceeds that limit, penalties may be imposed.

“The bottom line is, spraying an ultra-low VOC product allows me to operate within a lower VOC bracket,” explained Obry. “In fact, I still have plenty of space within this bracket to grow my business. And that’s definitely part of the plan as we expand into the heavy truck and commercial vehicle market.”

When Obry’s plan to expand becomes a reality, commercial vehicle and heavy truck owners throughout the New York metropolitan area will know where to go for top quality collision repair work—New Jersey’s very own Perfect Body.

Read more about the PPG Delfleet One paint system