Doing a 360 on Custom VehiclesBASF Refinish • Spring 2008 Vancouver, British Columbia, has no shortage of shops that repair, refresh and reimagine vehicles. But, if you want something truly “off the dial,” as co-owner Rick Francoeur puts it, you will eventually make your way to 360 Fabrication (www.360fabrication.com). There, the accent is on the unusual and the eye-catching. The customizing business opened in 2006, after brothers Rick and Daryl Francoeur, both experienced fabricators, decided “If we were going to kill ourselves with 18-hour days, it may as well be in our own place.” They built 360 Fabrication from the ground up to meet environmental standards and their own high goals. No school like the old school Indeed, “the bar set here is dramatically higher” than in the typical shop, says Rick. Everything is done old-school: hand blocked, primed twice, wet anded and polished... and the list goes on. Fortunately for the Francoeurs, 360 Fabrication is not a high-volume shop, but the nonstop array of boats, bikes and hot rods can mean pulling some all-nighters. One project getting a lot of staff attention began with a customer on the show circuit whose only request was for something no one had ever seen before. The Francoeurs found a pristine 1963 Lincoln in California. They sent for the car, then “had it acid-dipped and stripped down, completely dismantled,” as Rick relates. “We chopped the windshield down three inches at the bottom.” The Lincoln now sports a custom-size block, a fuel injection system equal to 1,000 horsepower and a handmade dashboard with digital gauges. When it comes to finishing the Lincoln, 360 Fabrication is weighing down a variety of colour and design ideas. But one thing is certain, according to Rick: the paint will be from BASF. Candy colours sweeten the prospects Customizing a never-ending stream of vehicles keeps the 360 crew busy using two BASF brands. “We like R-M® Diamont™ because their clear seems so street-durable,” Rick says. And for the the hardcore attention-seeker, the Francoeurs keep an R-M Carizzma® custom book on hand. “Our customers love the candy shades,” says Rick. “We’re the biggest Carizzma user in western Canada.” For 360’s higher-end jobs, like the Lincoln, Glasurit® is the paint of choice. “It gives these premier hot rods and customs the look that everyone wants,” says Fancoeur. The shop uses 55 Line while their prepper/painter, Greg Bergen, completes BASF waterbourne training to prepare for a transition to Glasurit® 90 Line. At 360 Fabrication, the brothers, their wives and even the kids pitch in to help build the business, while employees are valued “just like family.” The team’s efforts have paid off in customers who come from across Canada and the U.S., driven by word of mouth and the presence of Francoeur projects on the show curcuit. “We’re getting to the pick-and-choose stage,” says Rick. “Everyone wants the 360 logo.” |
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