West Coast Choppers Using Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes’ New Waterborne Basecoat System

Jesse James and his Austin-based shop, West Coast Choppers, brought a 1951 Mercury to SEMA for the Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Booth (No. 10839 in the North Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center).

The custom coupe, from his personal collection and never before seen on the show circuit, is newly refinished in Sherwin-Williams’ waterborne basecoat system – Ultra 9K, which was introduced at SEMA 2018.

When a customer’s project – also a late model Mercury – fell through, James presented his own 1951 coupe as a SEMA build to the team at Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes.

“There was zero hesitation to the idea,” saID Rob Mowson, VP, Marketing, Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Division. “We trust Jesse and his team and knew the car would be unbelievable from every perspective and I’m referring to details that go well beyond the new paint job.”

“We found a few flaws and ended up disassembling it,” James added. “It’s what we do.”

West Coast Choppers’ painters Jesse Flores and Darren Wenzel kept somewhat to the vehicle’s original color only lightening the deep blue a shade or two at James’ direction and updated graphics.

“I’ve always beat the train to the station,” said James, referring to the switch to water years ago from solvent. “I’ve always been like, learn the system now, and honestly, with Ultra 9K there’s no difference. There’s not any kind of transition, we just paint it. It’s just paint now.”

The Ultra 9K system consists of  68 toners and one single reducer.

“We did the research,” said Mowson. “Body shops, even custom garages like West Coast Choppers, want a user-friendly system that gives them everything they need, and we did just that. Ultra 9K has everything from speed primers to concentrated basecoat colors and glamour clears. We delivered a true-gamer changer to the industry and topped it off with premium value-added service and direct access to our branches.”