Metrolinx was seeking a new topcoat solution for their GO Transit bus fleet that would improve upon the performance of their current stone guard solution. Historically, the fleet has been experiencing a series of issues including discolouration, peeling and numerous and deep stone chips.
To resolve the issues, a series of testing with alternative products was performed by Metrolinx engineering, and results were compared in order to find a superior solution. The most current round of testing included Nano-Clear® Industrial Coating (NCI). At the end of April, 2018, our team met with MTB personnel & management to oversee the proper preparation and application of NCI. At the time, an engineer pointed out the higher DFT (6 to 8 mil) level of the factory stone guard versus NCI (2 mil), and the high gloss level to the base coat of the coach which he was very happy to see.
The evaluation was based on a test period of 9 months (May, 2018 to Feb., 2019), during which a select group of buses from the GO Transit Bus fleet were “monitored to see how each product stood up to all the road conditions that are experienced during the different seasons”. The buses coated with NCI were driven an average of ~87,000+ km and then closely inspected to determine the degree, severity and quantity of stone chips. The results were compared against 3 new buses that had just been delivered and entered into service which were coated with the current stone guard product.
Results demonstrated that the “extreme small chipping as seen on other DDS buses was not evident, and … small impact indentations were noticed on each side of the bumper but chipping did not occur. The surface of the bumper was very easy to clean and did not discolour during the trial time as seen on the DDL bus fleet.”
