Two educational institutions, in conjunction with PPG, have named the winners of their apprentice colour matching competitions. Georgia Freebody claimed the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) award and Tanya Le from Ultimo TAFE secured the TAFE NSW title.
PPG supported the events, with Trevor Duke, PPG NSW Training Manager playing a leading role at both competitions.
“Supporting these state-based TAFE colour matching competitions is something PPG has done for many years, so when the request came in to run the 2023 events, we were very happy to help,” said Duke. “Before each event we did a lot of preparation work, including choosing the colours, a solid clear-over-base and a metallic, and creating the target spray-outs.
“At the events, I gave the students a rundown on the competition format, as well as using SATA RPS cups, the best gun setup, application techniques, and rules and regulations, etc. It was great to see the young apprentices enthusiastically testing out their colour matching skills as they were given one hour to match the solid colour and, after a break, an hour to match the metallic colour. There were some really good results and the winners walked away with a brand new premium SATAjet X 5500 spray gun.
“I would like to congratulate all the apprentices who participated at both colour matching competitions. We have since had terrific feedback from apprentices and TAFE teachers who really enjoyed these events and how well they were organised.”
Duke said that although new PPG technology has emerged to support painters with colour matching, it remains a fundamental skill to master.
“PPG’s DigiMatch spectrophotometer and VisualizID 3D colour visualisation software are brilliant pieces of technology, but there will still be some situations where manual colour matching skills come into play. At PPG, we are passionate about colour and colour matching, which is why we work closely with the TAFE organisations right throughout the year. For example, providing extra training for third year apprentices, as well as specialised sessions for TAFE teachers to keep them up-to-date with the latest technologies and techniques.”