The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS F1 team continues to dominate the Grand Prix circuit this year, after taking both the drivers and constructors championship in 2015. A key contributor to the team is paint supplier Spies Hecker which supplies coatings for both the cars and team trucks.

Andrew Moody, Head of Paint and Graphics at MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS says, “It’s important that the race cars look great on the track and that our sponsors logos are displayed clearly. But what is exceptionally critical for us is the weight of the paint, the speed of its application and the ability of the entire paint system to be used consistently with the same great results. Spies Hecker delivers all of that for us.”

This season the W07 car, in addition to new external body parts and wings, is sporting a new design in the instantly recognisable colours from 2015. The 2016 race car has eight colours, none of which are commercially available: three shades of green and five shades of the main colour, called Stirling Silver, named after Stirling Moss who drove for Mercedes in 1955.

With such an intricate livery on the car, Andrew and his team face tough challenges. He says, “It takes about 150 hours to paint a race car, with the nose and rear wing each taking about 12 hours. The speed of application and reliability is essential as we do not have time to accept anything less than perfect.”

Each part, particularly the aerodynamically-sensitive parts, requires a huge amount of attention to detail. The substrates of the race car vary depending on whether they are of a structural or of a cosmetic nature, and this impacts how the part is painted and its bake cycle.

Andrew explains, “For us everything is about weight and aerodynamics. Carbon fibre, for example, can be tricky, as it can be porous. So we have to get a lovely finish with the minimum weight of paint. The acceptable tolerances for an aerodynamic part might be 0.3mm, which would be miniscule for most refinishers. That can be hard to determine visually in the spray booth, so we have a “work to smooth” rule.”

The team in Paint and Graphics use a variety of Spies Hecker products on the race cars, which can all be used by bodyshops in their everyday work. They often start with Priomat ® Wash Primer 4075. Permasolid ® HS Vario Primer Surfacer 5340, or Permasolid ® HS Performance Surfacer 5320 are then used before the application of Permahyd ® Hi-TEC Base Coat 480.

Andrew says, “We finish the components off with one of two Spies Hecker clearcoats. Permasolid ® HS Optimum Plus Clear Coat 8650 is a hugely reliable clearcoat and we use it on many parts.”

To ensure the race cars remain as aerodynamically sound as possible, 80 per cent of the sponsors logos are airbrushed onto the paint, including the iconic Mercedes-Benz star on the front of the nose. Andrew comments, “The star takes nearly an hour to complete, and there are 30 different stages in the process, but only four colours: blue, brown, white and black.”

After every race, the Build Department strips the cars and then the individual parts are sent to Andrew’s team where they are checked carefully and repainted. To some it may seem rather excessive to refinish the entire car after every race, but this is essential to maintain the aerodynamics.

Spies Hecker also supplies paint and expertise for the eight team trucks. These are painted every two years. There are also hundreds of garage and hospitality boards to be painted, as well as everything from grid trollies and water bottles, to the engineer’s station on the pit wall.

Anthony Cashel, Marketing Manager for Axalta Coating Systems says, “We have a long-standing relationship with Andrew Moody and his team so we understand the pressure they are under, and in turn the requirement that our products perform, day after day, season after season. We’re very proud that we can deliver the results they need so that the team can deliver on the track.”