At the 2016 SEMA Show, 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division hosted a special 3M Salute to Freedom Showcase sponsored by 3M Accuspray Spray Gun with PPS Paint Preparation System.

The speed shapes, all painted using the Accuspray System, featured custom-designed paint schemes honouring the nation’s military members. Thanks to some of the automotive industry’s top vehicle designers and painters, including Chip Foose, Charley Hutton, Mark Oja, Rich Evans, KandyNChrome, Lugo Customs, Martin Brothers Customs, Coast Airbrush, Xecution Style, House of Kolor and West Coast Customs, the auction raised $3,805 for the Collision Repair Education Foundation.

“3M Automotive Aftermarket Division has been an incredible supporter of high school and college collision school programs through the Collision Repair Education Foundation,” noted Collision Repair Education Foundation Executive Director, Clark Plucinski. “The 3M Hire Our Heroes program has been a great success in assisting military veterans and their family members studying collision repair and the Salute to Freedom Showcase is a new creative way to highlight the program. We would like to thank those who participated in the auction and for 3M’s continued support.”

In 2017, 3M AAD will mark the fifth year of the 3M Hire Our Heroes program, and is continuing an innovative way for shops to get involved: the 2017 3M Hire Our Heroes Calendar.  With a $200 donation to the CREF, shops will not only be giving to a worthy cause, they will also receive the commemorative calendar which contains a total of approximately $1,700 worth of monthly deals on 3M products.  In 2016, the initiative raised $210,000 for scholarships and tool grants.

For more information about making a donation and obtaining a 2017 3M Hire Our Heroes calendar, click here.