We went to one paint line (three systems) about 6 years ago. Like Reed says, systems have become very compatable. The amount of waste (75 students most years) with one line is bad enough, but with our old two lines (six systems) it was unbelievable. And our labs run production projects (off the street) that must pay for the products used. The state of ND does not fund our production accounts.
At the price of paint, waste is a big issue. The more lines you have, the more problems and waste. Remember, we're dealing with the typical 18-22 year old (50-75 of them a year) in the learning stage. They come here to learn auto body, but we hope auto body is at least 4th on their priority list. Right after drinking, partying and sex.
Urethanes, being the main paint systems used in most shops, all spray very similar to each other. We try to teach the individual products generically and don't make students memorize product numbers. So when they go out into a shop they know the general products and can adapt to the specific line.
We have Global (premium) bc/cc, Omni (economy) bc/cc, and Omni single stage. These seem to cover all our needs well and the jobber service plays a big part of the mix. Other companies are welcome to come in and demo and explain their product lines. It would be next to impossible to teach all product lines and systems.
As for that specific color, Coach Maroon. I've checked the "color map" to no avail. It is an EXTREMELY dark maroon. Almost black. Had the PPG color lab try for an Omni SS match (to no avail) and even tried custom mixing myself. Like I said, I can do it but only over black and I'm not sure I want to go that way with a single stage.
It's not a big deal, just a passing dip in the road.
