Entry deadline looms for National Paint Championships

The entry deadline for the National Paint Championships – the automotive refinish competition to be hosted in June by Automechanika Birmingham 2023 – is just over a week away.

If you are a top-class UK-based paint technician and want to showcase your skills to the industry, all you need to enter the competition is to submit a basic one-page document summarising your theme idea and the products and techniques that will be used. The document must be sent by email to [email protected] on or before 3 March.

Full details and entry requirements can be found here.

An esteemed line-up of bodyshop and paint professionals are set to judge the National Paint Championships with the winner to be announced in a live ceremony at Automechanika Birmingham 2023 on 7 June.

On the panel are Rachel Murray, finisher and owner of Paint by Rach; Michael Massey, global paint finishing platform application engineer for the 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division; Simon Wait, head of editorial at Bodyshop magazine; Jordan Salt, managing director of R+R Coatings; Sunny Yip, car body repair technician from Auto Spray Darwen; and Craig Bourke, technical sales support engineer at Walcom Walmec UK.

Murray is excited to judge the show’s first-ever National Paint Championship, commenting: “I’ve participated in a number of competitions myself and it’s nice to be on the other side of it this time round. The team of judges we have are all really good, so it’ll be great to compare ideas and thoughts on an entrant’s work and how they’ve achieved a particular design. Obviously, everyone has their own way of doing things, so it’s really exciting to be able to see it first-hand and being a judge is a real honour.”

Bourke said: “Automechanika Birmingham offers the perfect platform to host the Championships … due to its prime central location, outstanding facilities, and a worldwide audience in attendance. For many painters in their day-to-day jobs, they may not have the opportunity to be as creative and demonstrate the true craftsmanship that goes into these pieces. It also goes to demonstrate the limitless possibilities that this industry can offer to anyone thinking of moving into an area such as this.”

The automotive painters will be tasked with designing the most impressive car bonnet to showcase their paint technique in a bid to be crowned National Paint Champion. The Championships are completely free to enter and each competitor will receive a free Vauxhall Corsa bonnet delivered to their chosen address courtesy of Prasco UK, for the painters to work on.

The designs, which have a theme of Mobility Royale, will be on display during the course of Automechanika Birmingham 2023 from 6-8 June, and in addition to the professional jury deciding on their favourite design live on stage, the general public will be invited to vote for their favourite motif as participants go head-to-head to battle it out for the People’s Choice Award.

Alex Jones, marketing director of Messe Frankfurt UK, organisers of Automechanika Birmingham 2023, said: “We’re thrilled to be hosting what’s set to be a star-studded display of the industry’s very best and talented paint sprayers; what an honour it is to have such a fantastic and renowned line up of judges on board to make what I’m sure will be the very difficult decision of choosing Automechanika Birmingham’s very first National Paint Champion.”

The National Paint Championships winner will also be invited to attend Automechanika Frankfurt 2024, to compete for international acclaim and become world champion.