Ben Wanda Tells About His Family Business and How ColorBond Increased Sales
Ben Wanda of The Master’s Touch Interiors, Harvard, IL has been in the automotive interior repair business since he was a child. Ben is a dedicated user of ColorBond Paint and was kind enough to tell us about his family owned business, and how ColorBond is now an important part of that.
“My Dad started the automotive interior repair company in 1975 working together with five or six friends who together maintained the ministry of our church.” Says Ben. “They wanted to be able to maintain the church ministry while supporting themselves with a business that provided the time flexibility they needed for the church. They brought in consultants from California that had developed a new upholstery repair technique, so they could train them on the process. They became the first group in the Chicagoland area to offer that type of repair service. During that time, I was home schooled which allowed me to start going with my dad on his jobs. At first, I observed, and he taught how to do color matching. I did my first paid repair job when I was eight. A car salesman in town came in and needed a cigarette burn hole in his vinyl seat repaired. He didn’t want to pay my dad’s quote of $40, so my dad said I could do it for $10. He agreed and was happy with the job! I enjoyed the problem solving and creative aspects of the work and continued working part time for the family business then went full time right after high school. I purchased the business in 2017 and work with my two brothers and seven employees. Our territory covers the Chicagoland and Milwaukee area west to almost Rockford, IL. We get about 95% of our business doing interior repairs and refurbishing for car dealerships. The other 5% comes from body shops.” Ben continues.
“We came across ColorBond at the Mobile Trim Expo in Florida about seven years ago. At the time we were using a water based interior paint system for about 50% of our jobs, while the balance was performed with aerosol paints. The aerosol paint provider we were using had maybe ten standard colors. So, if the interior happened to be one of those colors, we would use it. Otherwise we would have to custom color match using the water-based system. When we first saw ColorBond LVP Refinisher we were overwhelmed by the number of colors they offered, which at the time was around 60. We thought we would have to carry too many different colors and held off from starting use. About two years later we again saw ColorBond at the Mobile Trim Expo and decided to try it. At first it was a bit challenging determining which color was for which car. But after about six months I could look at a car an know right away what color it was.
We found changing to ColorBond increased our sales significantly. Before ColorBond my average day’s sale was $1K. It went to $2.5K after putting the ColorBond system in place. There were several reasons this. First, we were accustomed to color matching by eye with water-based systems. Which could take 20-30 minutes per job. With ColorBond I can grab the can off the shelf and immediately start painting. When doing several jobs during the day that could save a total of two or three hours. Which means I can do more jobs per day. As well I found that ColorBond bonds extremely well to plastic and is very difficult to scratch. The products we previously used easily scratched, so we avoided jobs that had a lot of hard plastic. We could now take on those additional jobs using ColorBond. Also, we found the aerosol product from our previous provider had weak pigmentation and required seven to eight coats for proper coverage. ColorBond has stronger pigmentation and takes only two or three. One can of ColorBond LVP goes twice as far as their can did. Which saves time and makes me available to do more jobs. We still do have to customize by eye with a water-based system about 10% of the time. It was 50% before ColorBond. We also found performing the majority of work with aerosol is beneficial in our cold winter climate as it dries faster than water-based. Further, water-based is ruined if it freezes. We do not have that issue with ColorBond. Of note, we found our best results are obtained after proper preparation. Preparation is fundamental. Surfaces need to be thoroughly cleaned. We use ColorBond Prep Cleaner. Also, between coats, after the paint has quickly dried, I wipe the surface down with a cloth. The way the ColorBond applies it leaves a trace amount of paint dust. If this is wiped off before the next coat it makes the surface smoother and more durable.
ColorBond has been an excellent company to do business with. The paint quality is very consistent order to order. I’m always able to get someone on the phone and Malcolm and Wendy are great to deal with.” Ben concludes.
As Ben explained, automotive interior repair businesses can increase profits by using ColorBond paints. To learn more about ColorBond’s interior and exterior paint solutions go to https://www.colorbondpaint.com/.
Nissan 300ZX Before
Nissan 300ZX After
Ford Escape Door Panel Before
Ford Escape Door Panel After
Boat Seat Before
Ben’s 10 Year Old Daughter is Starting Early Too!
Great Job!
The Master’s Touch Crew
