R-M, BASF’s automotive refinish paint brand, will hold its 13th International R-M Best
Painter Contest Final at the R-M Refinish Competence Center in Clermont-de-l’Oise, France,
June 28–30, 2022. Ten finalists from the national finals around the world will participate on-site in
the competition, which was last held in 2016.
Under this year’s theme “Driving digital competency and eco-effective solutions,” R-M invites talents
to demonstrate their best automotive refinishing skills under rigorous competition guidelines. They
will use R-M’s premium paint solutions, such as ONYX HD waterborne paint line, premium clearcoats
and the state-of the-art digital color matching technologies including the Colortronic 12/6.
Participants will also get to use R-M Refinity, an innovative cloud platform hosting every digital
solution to support painter and bodyshop managers in their daily activities, BASF says.
For the first time, painters will compete for two awards this year: the International R-M
Best Painter Award focusing on technical skills and creativity; and the new Pioneers Award, initiated
to support social and sustainable attributes. The judging panel is composed of the R-M global technical and marketing experts.
“The International Best Painter Contest is R-M’s premium flagship event, designed to
develop and nurture young talents on a global platform to ensure the sustainable future of
skills in the refinish coatings industry,” said Fabien Boschetti, director, global marketing,
Automotive Refinish Coatings Solutions at BASF. “More than ever before, R-M emphasizes the
importance of creativity, digitalization and sustainability to ensure this next generation of
painters is equipped with the right combination of skills to create a pipeline of talent for our
customers and for the industry to thrive.”
National finals were held in the past year, which saw a total of 13 national winners. Due to the
pandemic and travel challenges, ten best painters from Belgium, France, Italy, Poland, Morocco,
Spain, Portugal, Germany, Japan and the USA will travel to France, BASF adds. All the finalists will compete in a series of seven skills-based and digital tasks including color reading, efficient application, smart repair, health & safety and using paint-related products.