Bob & Jennifer Levee from Car-Knack in Gillette, WY had a  really great idea to take an essential part of their storefront and turn into into a great product display.

The counter top is a staple of almost and sales & service store. Any auto dealer or auto parts store is going to have a parts counter. It’s a well known trick to take the unused space within the counter and use it as a space to showcase featured products.

What’s not so well know, is that the entire counter itself can be a great way to show off what you can do. This entire unit was coated using Vortex and the Granitex Polyphatic Glaze.

This makes a great conversation piece and helps get potential clients thinking of what other “out of the box” applications Vortex and Granitex could be used for.

You can be as creative as you want to show just how far you can take the products.

They did a great job at showing how Granitex Polyphatic Surfaces can be customized with their own Custom logo.

Vortex has always led the way when it comes to making protective coatings portable, and continues to do so.  Once again, Vortex can still go where other companies can not.  The Environmental Protection Agency EPA‘s National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) requires all motor vehicle and mobile equipment surface coatings that contain target Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) must use a spray booth.

Vortex Sprayliners, Inc. is exempt from the requirements for its spray applied coating activities because none of our spray applied coatings contain the target HAP, as defined in Section 63.11180.  This means that Vortex Coatings can still be applied on site without a spray booth, filtration systems, and other heavy equipment.

Since Vortex is exempt from these new EPA regulations, our patented systems and exclusive materials allow you to apply the Vortex & Granitex Polyphatic Coatings pretty much anywhere you want, inside or out.

This Jeep Wrangler interior gets a serious upgrade with a seamless Vortex Liner to help protect the body and dampen noise while adding style thanks to Southern Custom of Alachua, FL.

The project starts out by removing anything that may get in the way of the Vortex so that it will completely cover everything we want coated. After that, all surfaces to be coated are cleaned. Everything that we do not want coated is masked off with plastic or paper, then the surfaces we do wanted coated are sanded to ensure adhesion.

Vortex is then applied to provide the high strength extreme protection from impacts or abrasion. Granitex is then applied over the Vortex to provide long lasting color that matches the other interior components and will keep the Jeep looking great for years to come.

Afterward, the masking is removed and the interior components (seats, seat belts, cup holders, brackets, latches, jack, center console, etc) are replaced. The Jeep is now ready to hit the trail, with it’s new Vortex Interior.

If you would like to learn more about this project. Contact Southern Custom.

Ending the year with a BANG! or at least another Great Feature Article by Truckin’ Magazine.

Once again Vortex’s ability to be both unique and portable attacks one of the largest truck publications to feature the benefits of the Vortex system and materials. In this case, the “Eco-Friendly” system overall

This article is currently on the stands at most major retailers across the nation. It emphasis’s the facts of Vortex having the lowest pressure system in the world that results in less overspray, less waste and smallest carbon footprint on the world.

Also the fact that Vortex is 100% solids and has no solvents to deplete the ozone or pollute the air.

Vortex Continues to grow worldwide and we thank all of the Authorized Dealers that have made it possible and continue to make Vortex the #1 Choice of sprayliner protective coatings.

One of the most unique uses for Vortex & the Granitex Polyphatic Glaze may very will be their use in the sculpture Paradise, by David Phelps, the Vortex & Granitex work was done by Rick Brown of Designer Liners of Oklahoma City.  This five foot tall sculpture is a totem like narrative that combines found objects and fabricated elements.

The wedge of cheese is fabricated steel, and if you have a well trained eye, has the classic texture of Vortex with a Granitex topcoat. The high contrast pattens on the milk really catch your eye. David used a very simple yet creative method to get the spots onto the milk can:

“I used a very low tech method of getting the patterns on the milk can. I Googled images for Holstein cows and then printed out photos on a black & white laser printer. I projected these photos onto the milk can with an old fashioned opaque projector (an ebay purchase) and traced the black spots I liked with a black sharpie. then I wrapped the milk can with heavy clear visqueen plastic and retraced the outlines. I pulled the visqueen off the milk can and cut out the shapes. After Rick sprayed on the white Vortex I rewrapped the milk can with the plastic pattern and retraced the outlines for the black areas with black sharpie. After pulling the pattern once more, Rick and I brushed on the black by hand. Rick felt trying to use a stencil would result in the black running under the stencil.”

The thin slices of cheese on top of the milk can are actually granite, and the lucky mouse on top is cast bronze.

Some of our dealers that made it out to our fall workshop in Vegas may have seen another sculpture installation in the McCarran International Airport called “Desert Wildlife“. David is also working on another commissioned sculpture for the Ralph Ellison Library in Oklahoma City.  You can see a scale model by clicking here.

Shown here is the before subject. Beat up, worn, abraded, dull, scratched and rusting. So how do you save this truck from the elements that have been wearing at it for years? The answer is simple according to Chuck Wise of J&R Diamond Liners, “YOU VORTEX THE THE WHOLE THING”.

Chuck said the owner had quotes up to $7,000 to have this restoration project repainted. Chuck came in with the idea of Vortexing the whold exterior for $2,100. And that is just what he did.

Chuck said he actually SuperSealed the entire surface to lock out any migrating rust and to ensure a super bond to the surface. The whole Suburban was then coated with Red Vortex and then the color was locked in with a red coat of the Polyphatic Glaze. Once cured in his shop, he then taped off the red stripe and coated the rest of the Suburban in black Polyphatic Glaze, including the front grill.

The end result was amazing. His customer couldn’t believe how much money he saved and ended up with a truck that would take the winter and summer beating of Wyoming, plus it looked really cool!

Great job Chuck and thanks for sharing. The look of the Vortex finish really made this one Monster Truck Suburban for sure.

Check out our new facebook page. If you are interested in keeping up to date on what is going on at J&S coatings, become a fan and current projects and upcoming workshops will show up in your news feed.

Vortex Sprayon Liner

This week, we used Vortex to coat the rocker panels of a 1985 Chevrolet 1500. We had the truck in for a liner a few weeks ago. The owner liked the product so much, he brought the truck back to have the rocker panels coated as well.

With a bit of masking and surface prep, we were in business. The finished truck turned out great, the slim edge gives a nice clean look while still offering protection against rocks or other debris. With a little help from Vortex, this truck should be around for many years so come.

We would like to report another great experience at the 2010 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas. This is one of (if not) the largest shows on earth for vehicle accessory manufactures to showcase what they have to offer. We had people from all over stop by the booth, as always there were great questions being asked, but we’re always ready for them.

Vortex has always been tied tightly to the vehicle market because its original application was directly suited to trucks. What’s really neat, is that this just so happens to be a great place to show what we can do for floors. At first, it might seem like a ridiculous idea, but stop and think. What do all hot rods have in common? They all need a garage! What better place to show how you can make the perfect showroom for your show car than at the ultimate car show?

Why is it that certain coatings will cover more square feet at the same thickness, especially if there are no solvents to speak of that would evaporate and leave a thinner coating behind? How can 10 gallons of materiel cover 250 ft² at 1/16″ thickness with one system and another only cover 200 ft² with a different system?

Well, you’re about to find out. (Hint: It has to do with how the material is delivered)
1 cubic foot = 7.48052 US gallons
1 US gallon = 0.13368 cubic feet
that means that if I have a regular kit of Vortex material (10 gallons), times 0.133685 cubic feet per gallon [10gal x 0.133685 ft³/gal = 1.3368 ft³]. Let’s assume that rather than our material sitting in two five gallon buckets, we have one Cuboid (Rectangular Cube) with a volume of 1.3368 ft³, that has dimensions of 1′ x 1′ x 1.3368′.

=

If you then took this 1.3368ft³ Cuboid of material, and cut it into sheets of desired thickness, for our case, we’ll use [1/16" = (0.0625 iches) = (0.0052083 feet)].

[1.3368ft³ / 0.0052083' = 256.6656ft²].

Essentially, this means that if you poured 10 gallons of any material onto a surface at exactly 1/16″ thickness, it would cover 256.6656ft² of that surface. So why does material not really go that far? If you look at most high pressure systems, you will see that the increased pressure over-atomizes the coating material so that it simply floats away. These systems can waste 20-30% of your material. At only a 20% loss (80% efficiency), the impact can be staggering. [256.6656ft² * 80% = 205.3325ft²]. This is why Vortex uses a High Volume, Low Pressure (HVLP) design. This design has only about a 2% loss of material (98% efficiency) so you have more material where you want it. [256.6656ft² * 98% = 251.5323ft²] 251ft² covered compared to 205ft² means Vortex provides a costs savings to you!

This can add up to huge savings very quickly. Think about it, what if every time you bought 5 pails (or drums) of material, you tossed one in the trash? That’s essentially what you’re doing with a high pressure system, except in this case, you’re putting that material in the air around you, making a large mess and potentially a health hazard.