Joe Bolick has been training military, automotive and industrial spray paint applicators at the Iowa Waste Reduction Center for four years. He has been a major part of development teams that have produced innovative and valuable training processes including the VirtualPaint training simulator and a standardized painter training course for the United States Air Force. He can be reached at 319.277.4668 or mjbolick@uni.edu.
Proper hands-on training can produce immediate and long-term results in areas such as material conservation, waste and air emission reduction, reduced rework, and better finish quality. However, a significant drawback of traditional hands-on training has been the time and materials required to perform this task properly. A virtual reality training tool can provide paint and powder applicators with the benefits of hands-on training while eliminating the time and material requirements.