WS-Primer Development Story

Takuya Matsumoto - Marketing Insights

Anest Iwata has a long history of producing high quality spray guns for the automotive refinishing industry. For many years, the company’s products have helped refinishers achieve smooth and professional results. With roots in Japan and an increasingly strong presence in Europe, Anest Iwata is known for combining technical expertise with a focus on what painters really need.
Takuya Matsumoto, Managing Director of Anest Iwata Strategic Center shares deep insights on the new WS-Primer spray gun series and its development.

Interviewer: Mr. Matsumoto, the idea of a primer-specific spray gun seems quite innovative as there are not many guns like this available on the market. What were the main factors for this concept?

Basically we followed two main directives:
1. User-First: Create something that matters and that helps overcoming pain-points in our users daily lives.
2. Make it technically as advanced as possible and robust while still meeting general market requirements.
But let me elaborate a bit.

The primer application is an essential part of the paint process. In fact, every single paint application process starts by selecting the proper workflow for the job. And literally all of the existing workflows used professionally incorporate some sort of primer. This is either Filler, Wet-on-wet surfacer or UV-cured materials.
As you can see already, the part of the primer application is actually quite specialized compared to other parts such as, let’s say basecoat application. For basecoat it usually is unquestionable which paint is being used. Body shops have their main paint line and that is the material they use.

So how come there are no specific tools for a process like this?


Interviewer: I don’t know... How come that is so?

We believe that this is because of the nature of primer material being quite forgiving and not too sensitive in terms of application.
It is a part of the process which is later on being covered by other materials, so it is not directly visible in the short term. But let me be precise here, it in fact is one of the most important steps for achieving quality - especially long-term quality.
Furthermore, the primer part is usually not a long job. Very often only the damaged areas of single panels get the primer treatment.
All in all, that makes it easy to be tricked into believing the primer application isn’t important both from a quality-concerned standpoint but also from an efficiency-concerned standpoint. The reality however is - like I said initially - that due to the fact of primer being used in any sort of repair, that low-effort job gets multiplied by every single repair being done.

So that means that despite common awareness of the process there is a lot of room for optimisation there.

Interviewer: I think I got your point. You’re basically saying that even a short job becomes important if you have to do it multiple times a day, everyday?

Exactly! And in this instance we are considering both the interest of the spray painter and the interest the business owner.
Which means that on the one hand we tried to create a very practical and reliable spray gun that is easy and convenient to use, but on the other hand we wanted it to perform efficiently and economic.

Interviewer: What exactly are you referring to when you say “efficiently and economic”? Do you mean being offered at an economic price level?

Not only. But of course also this is a topic because as I said earlier, in Europe there barely is a culture of high investments into primer spray guns. Usually painters use cheaper general purpose spray guns or even older basecoat spray guns. So, of course we had to try to keep the WS-Primer at an appealing price level.
But we also found out, that from an economic standpoint a primer spray gun indeed can have quite an impact on the productivity of a body shop. Depending on which version of the WS-Primer we are talking about, they are optimised in a different way trying to address different things.

Interviewer: The WS-Primer spray gun range consists of 2 different versions. A Filler & Wet on Wet version as well as a UV version. In which way are they optimised?

Right. However, I’d rather talk about 3 different versions. Because the Filler amp; Wet on Wet version - as the name implies - comes in 2 variants. From a technical standpoint those 2 versions are mostly similar with the most prominent difference of the blue knob on the Wet on Wet version - which simplifies recognizing it in a busy body shop. Aside of that they of course come with different nozzle size options because the paint these guns apply have different viscosity properties. But in terms of product features, they are exactly the same.
However, this optimised atomization for the 2 application types still brings different benefits for the user and the body shop.
The Filler version allows for quick application, helps save material and has a nice and even laydown with reduced overspray. This helps specifically to reduce material consumption and the post-processing time needed for sanding. In this instance the WS-Primer saves time. And as we all know time equals money in the end.

Interviewer: What about the Wet on Wet version? How is it different?

The main difference comes from the workflow itself. While the Filler workflow needs to be sanded anyway, the Wet-on-Wet material is not, so the workflow itself is highly optimized. However, due to this, the workflow becomes more sensitive to human error. For example if there is excessive surface structure introduced in the Wet-on-Wet layer, this cannot be corrected anymore. It will be carried on and even be built upon by the basecoat and clearcoat layers.
Thanks to its superior atomisation and flat lay down the WS-Primer Wet-on-Wet improves these downsides of the workflow itself making it more reliable. And workflow reliability in this case means it helps avoiding reworks. Needless to say that reworks - even if we are only talking about one or another within a year - are far more expensive than a dedicated spray gun avoiding it.

Interviewer: Aha, so in this case the “same” improved atomisation leads to different improvement and saving opportunities. What about the UV version?
The UV version does the same thing in terms of atomisation but it comes equipped with a set of highly UV-specific features... and a sleek look.
The UV workflow is one of the fastest, delivering high quality. The curing process is super quick and the primer layer can be processed further within minutes. However, the UV paint usually is quite expensive and challenging to handle, because it needs to be protected from the UV rays found in the sunlight.

Because of this the WS-Primer UV is focusing on avoiding overspray and saving material but also allowing for convenient handling of the sensitive UV material. It comes with a specific 200cc cup in black, which helps keeping out sunlight. Additionally, we designed a dedicated cap, which covers the entire air cap when the gun is not in use. This allows the UV material to remain in the pot longer and reduces the need for frequent flushing, saving both time and money.

Interviewer: The WS-Primer series was presented to the public on the Automechanika Frankfurt in 2024. How was the feedback from the users since then?

All in all we received very good feedback on this “new” and sophisticated approach of primer application - which indeed makes us very happy. In all honesty, coming up with an idea like this? We did not know how it would turn out. So, we are very happy to see that our customers recognise the importance of the primer application and appreciate our efforts to improve it.

Interviewer: Thank you for the insights, Mr. Matsumoto.