Home on the range in Hamburg

When you work at a body and collision repair shop in the northern German coastal city of Hamburg, visions of Wild West trucks are generally limited to your dreams. For John Bauer, that made refinishing the Truck 'n' Roll edition for Mercedes-Benz a real highlight. John Bauer swears by Glasurit, BASF Coatings' paint brand.

The John Bauer GmbH is a real all-round service provider. Here in the neighborhood of Hamburg-Fischbek, they even repair or refinish heavy damage to frames and bodies or apply design sign-writing. John Bauer offers its services on over 3,000 square meters of space. And the use of this space has been perfectly planned, from A to Z, to make sure that in all areas, processes move smoothly and tap into the full potential of innovative techniques and products. After all, that's the only way to achieve first-class results.

However, John Bauer refinishes more than passenger cars. They also redo less run-of-the-mill items, such as boats and furniture. For the trucking industry in particular, the 18-meter-long truck paint line is an inside tip for keeping waiting times for refinishing jobs short. Transporters and buses emerge from the paint line with shiny new finishes. So it's no coincidence that the most unusual job to date came from the Jumbo commercial vehicle tuning company. The object to be refinished was a Mercedes-Benz Actros semi-trailer truck with a Megaspace cab.

The extravagant job was for a special reason: Mercedes wanted to knock trade-fair visitors off their feet with a spectacularly tuned truck. Their job specification: "Make it the best or don't do it at all." To deliver on this, the refinishers enthusiastically turned the truck into a fairy-tale palace on wheels. The interior resembled a luxury suite in a grand hotel, with genuine leather and a burled wood root look everywhere. As a manufacturer of chrome embellishments, Jumbo had clad the truck in a spectacular coat of stainless steel parts and LED lights.

The artistic design finish was applied in the hall at the John Bauer refinishing company. Airbrush artist Roland Just magically conjured up a prairie scene from the Wild West with buffalos and broncos on the truck. For this part of the job Glasurit was used, too. Several layers of clearcoat lent the work of art additional visual depth, brilliance and permanent protection from environmental impacts. For John Bauer, it was the first project of the kind. Considering the successful cooperation and the proximity to Jumbo, it certainly won't be the last one, even if the core competency of John Bauer GmbH continues to involve repairing damage to the finish of passenger cars.

And whether special-effect, complete or partial refinishing is called for, only 100% quality counts. The Glasurit refinishing system is particularly effective for repairing cosmetic damage, because it pays off for the car owner thanks to its quick application and affordable price.

By the way, the visitors to the trade fair were truly speechless when the Wild West semi made its appearance. Even more excited, however, is driver Tanja Chankova, who has the privilege of sitting at the wheel of the dream truck as she drives across Europe's highways.

Glasurit Automotive Refinish

Under the Glasurit brand, BASF markets a comprehensive range of automotive refinishing paint systems, focusing on eco-efficient waterborne basecoats and high-solids paints. By using these systems all legal solvent-reduction requirements can be complied with anywhere in the world, and with regard to appearance and resistance, the products meet the same quality standards as solvent-borne paints. In this area too, the company offers a wide variety of services to support its customers. Glasurit® Automotive Refinish is approved by most of the leading car manufacturers for after-market repairs and is preferred by the world's most prestigious car companies for its color expertise. Web: www.glasurit.com