Photo By Keith Hayes | Artisan Jazmine Sauceda, a Barstow resident, applies paint to vehicle components in a...... read more read more
Visitors to the paint shop will see vehicles, parts, and components from virtually every project worked on at the Production Plant Barstow, Marine Depot Maintenance Command, aboard the Yermo Annex of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.
Paint Shop supervisor Paul Clemmons said that is because nearly everything that comes to PPB has to be painted before it is reassembled and shipped out to the customer.
"The first thing our customer sees when they approach a vehicle they’re receiving from the Maintenance Center is the paint job. If a paint job looks good it impresses the customer from the word go,” Clemmons said during a recent interview.
“What that means is first impressions are very important to us and the customer,” he said. “That’s also in keeping with the Maintenance Center Quality Policy, which states ‘cost, schedule, and performance equal customer satisfaction.’”
The Star 4D system is a computer tool used to teach the paint artisans how to apply the chemical agent resistant coating paint used on military vehicles.
“Star 4D was designed by the University of Iowa to help teach the artisans at federal depots the correct use and application of polyurethane CARC paint,” Clemmons said. “It is specifically designed to teach how to lay down a professional coat of CARC paint by measuring transfer efficiency and the thickness of the paint application.”
During a demonstration of the Star 4D painting system, work leader Mike Jackson showed how the computer program projected a notional vehicle “surface” onto a screen. A handheld device similar to a spray paint gun is then used by Jackson to lay down a pattern of paint. The computer program then analyzes whether the paint was applied either too thick, too thin, or just right.
“Paint has two functions. One is corrosion control because all vehicles are subjected to conditions in the field that can lead to corrosion and rust,” Clemmons said. “The second function of paint is to make the vehicle look good! A camouflaged vehicle going out of the shop all painted and fresh, that’s what I love about this job.”
Keeping workers safe and protecting the environment are primary goals at the paint shop, he said.
“Safety is not an option at the Paint Shop. Environmental protection is not an option,” Clemmons said. “We are guided and mandated by state and federal agencies on how the work is to be performed safely.
“Due to the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District and new clean air regulations we put in an upgraded paint bay indoors in a controlled environment,” Clemmons said. “All of the (volatile organic compounds) contained in the paint that are released during the painting process go through an air pollution control system that burns out 95 to 97 percent of the VOCs.”
Clemmons noted that the paint used on military vehicles has certain qualities not found in commercially available paint. “The paint is flat and ‘deadened.’ It’s formulated to block and absorb radar waves unlike regular car paint which reflects radar waves.”
Clemmons explained that all of the work being done by the artisans at the Paint Shop has one goal in mind. “It all boils down to supporting the Marines in the field, make no mistake about it. That is why we are here,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 07.28.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.04.2016 18:28 |
| Story ID: | 206133 |
| Location: | BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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