I had this guy from the local Chevy dealership come look at a job I was pricing out for a '17 Silverado with a dented bed side. He told me I was over quoting labor because I wasn't accounting for the inner structure bracing behind that panel. He showed me how the reinforcement ribs make pulling from the outside way harder than I thought. After that I started breaking down bed side repairs into two separate line items, one for outer skin and one for any access work needed inside. Has anyone else had an adjuster or estimator point out something that totally changed your write up process?
I was digging through some old receipts last week and added up how long I've been using this $40 HVLP gun from Harbor Freight. Turns out I've had it for about 3 years now and did over 200 jobs with it. But then I borrowed my buddy's $300 gun for a fender repair and I finished the basecoat in half the time. No joke, I was blowing through way more material and doing extra passes because the spray pattern was so uneven. Has anyone else made the switch from cheap guns and actually tracked how much time you saved?
A few months back this older painter named Hank at the Auto Paint Supply in Tulsa told me to stop using wax and grease remover on bare metal before primer. Said it just pushes contaminants around. I ignored him, kept doing it my way, and ended up with fisheyes on a '72 Chevelle fender I was doing. Had to strip it down and start over, cost me an extra 6 hours. Has anyone else had a veteran painter give advice that seemed backwards but turned out spot on?
Is it just me or does that always crack out within 6 months and then you're doing a full strip and redo?
The chain shop fixed it in 2 days for $800, but my buddy says they used filler instead of pulling the metal right. Who's had better luck with independent guys versus the big chains?
I picked up that new pneumatic DA from Harbor Freight last week and went to town on a 2012 Civic fender. The thing started chattering bad after 10 minutes, turns out their backing pad is way softer than it looks, so I had to swap it for a 3M pad. Has anyone else run into the backing plate being the weak link on these?
After 10 years in the shop down in Tampa, I finally ditched 3M's green fine line tape for the orange stuff from Grainger. Last week on a 2022 F-150, the green tape peeled clear coat off the B-pillar trim and I had to re-shoot the whole door. Why does everyone still swear by this stuff when it fails in Florida humidity? Anybody found a tape that actually holds up in heat?
Bought one last week to check a used car before quoting and it caught 3 panels with heavy filler that looked perfect to the naked eye, anyone else trust cheap tools like this or am I just lucky?
I was working on a 2010 Honda Civic door from a hail storm in Phoenix and figured I'd just do the old body filler route like I always have. Well, I borrowed a stud welder from a buddy and pulled out the bigger dents first, and the amount of filler I used dropped by about 75%. Has anyone else ditched straight filler for more pulling on their jobs?
I was at the supply shop last Tuesday picking up some 2k primer and got to talking with this older painter who's been in the game since the 80s. He said he hasn't touched clear coat in 15 years and just shoots single stage on everything including his personal Chevy truck from 72. I laughed at first but then he showed me photos of a 5 year old job that still looked wet. He pointed out that modern clear is great for fixing mistakes but if you lay single stage down right it's tough as nails and way easier to buff out later. Now I'm thinking about trying a single stage job on a beater just to see how it holds up compared to my usual base clear routine. Has anyone here actually gone back to single stage for daily drivers or is this just old timer nostalgia talking?
Had to strip a 90s Ford F-150 hood that had like 6 layers of old paint and primer on it. Started with sanding discs on a DA and went through about 8 of them before I gave up. Switched to a 40 grit flap disc on an angle grinder and had the whole hood stripped in 20 minutes. Flap discs do leave deeper scratches but the time saved is worth it if you're planning to prime and block anyway. Anyone else run into a job where sanding discs just could not keep up?
Stopped by a collision shop near Camelback last week to pick up a bumper. They had the intake filter right next to the exhaust vent. Is that common in older booths or just a hack job?
Had this F-150 come in with a cracked frame rail near the rear spring hanger, so I figured I'd try my new spot welder I got from a swap meet for $200. The thing worked way better than I expected, even on the thicker metal - held like a champ after I dialed in the heat settings. But the real kicker was how clean the inside of the joint stayed, no spatter or burn-through to clean up after. Has anyone else had good luck with cheap welders on frame work, or was this just a fluke?
I've been painting cars for about 8 years and always skipped wet sanding on clear coat, thought it was a waste of time. Last month a guy I sub for in Columbus looked at a door I'd finished and said "this looks like you brushed it on, not sprayed." He was right, the orange peel was bad. He showed me his process with 1500 grit and a block, and the difference after buffing was night and day. Has anyone else had to eat crow on a basic technique they thought they had figured out?
Last month a guy in a Tesla pulled into my shop off I-35 in Austin. He told me the dent on his fender just needed a quick paintless repair. I looked at it and saw the metal was creased bad, not just a simple pop out. I explained it would need body filler and a repaint to look right. He got loud and said I was just trying to jack up the price. I stood my ground and told him PDR would leave a wavy mess. He left mad but came back two days later after three other shops said the same thing. Has anyone else had a customer fight you on the repair method like they know better?
I was fighting orange peel on a 2018 Honda Civic door last week, spending way too long trying different primers and fillers. Then my buddy (works at a shop in Portland) told me to just hit the bare metal with 80 grit on a DA sander before any filler goes on. It grabs like crazy and I haven't had a single adhesion failure since. Has anyone else found that skipping the test panel saves time?
Last month, a customer rolls into our shop in Austin with a massive crease on his rear quarter panel. He swears he watched a YouTube video where a tennis ball and a hammer fix it. I spent 20 minutes explaining why that only works on plastic bumpers, not steel. Anyone else get customers who watch one video and think they know the trade?
Was spraying a 2023 Civic hood at my shop in Portland and the whole center section crinkled up like cheap wrap. Turned out the activator I grabbed from the shelf was 8 months past date, has anyone else had batch issues with old hardeners messing up a fresh job?
Tbh I was talking to this old timer painter named Dave at a shop in Akron last week. He said he runs his downdraft booth at 10% lower CFM than recommended and his finishes come out cleaner. I tried it on a silver Honda Accord yesterday and the difference was real, no more dust nibs. Has anyone else messed with their airflow settings like that?
I have been fighting with this silver pearl for months on customer cars. Last Tuesday at the shop I decided to slow down and really study the factory chip under different lighting before mixing. Turns out I was adding too much blue toner every single time. Man it felt good when the customer walked in, looked at the repair, and just nodded without saying a word. Anybody else have a paint code that gave them fits for way too long?
I spent $750 on a Hypertherm Powermax30 about 14 months ago thinking it would speed up my work on quarter panels. Honestly it's been sitting in the corner gathering dust because I still reach for my old sawzall for most cuts. I just don't see the value unless you're doing heavy frame stuff every day. Anyone else regret a big tool purchase like that?
Did this for years. Always filled it to the brim. Thought I was saving time on refills. Last week my buddy Dave watched me spray a bumper and said "you know that's why you're getting runs, right?" He was right. Half full gives way better control. Has anyone else had a simple habit change fix their paint work?
Some guy at the shop was watching me pull a quarter panel on a 2018 Civic and goes 'why don't you just pop it out from behind?'... I had to bite my tongue for a solid 10 seconds before explaining unibody structure and paint layers to him. How do you handle customers who think body work is as simple as fixing a fridge door?
One trip hauling a bumper across town and I finally got why the cam buckle just locks tighter without fighting the slack, has anyone else made that switch and felt stupid for waiting so long?
I was reading a trade magazine last week, and it said that 40 percent of paint failures on heavy truck panels start from filler shrinkage. That number stopped me cold because I've been using body filler on big dents for years without thinking much about it. On one side, filler is fast and cheap for a $200 job on an old F-150. But the other side says maybe we should be pushing customers toward new panels or metal work more often. How do you decide where to draw that line in your shop?