c/auto-body-repairers

Question about the new clear coat I saw on a job in Boise

I was at a shop in Boise last week checking out a friend's project. He was spraying a new water-based clear coat on a classic truck. The finish looked amazing, but he mentioned it needed a full 24 hours to cure before any wet sanding. That's a lot longer than the stuff I usually use. Has anyone else worked with this type of clear and found a way to speed up the process without messing up the gloss?

Appreciation post: I was wrong about that new clear coat system

Three years ago at the trade show in Chicago, a rep told me it was just overpriced hype. I finally used it on a 2018 Mustang last month and the orange peel correction was effortless. Anyone have a good alternative for older single-stage paints?

Tried the new spray-on panel wipe versus the old rag and bucket method

I mean, I've always just used a bucket of wax and grease remover with a bunch of clean rags, right? Last week I got a sample of that new aerosol panel prep spray, the kind you just spray on and wipe off once. Used it on a quarter panel repair. The rag method left a tiny bit of residue that I only saw after the sealer flashed, which meant re-cleaning. The spray stuff dried totally clear with no streaks in about 90 seconds. It cut the prep time for that step in half, easy. Has anyone else switched to this stuff, or do you still trust the old way more?

TIL a trick for stubborn door dings from a guy in a Tacoma shop three years ago.

He used a heat gun on low and a suction cup from a dent puller, not a hammer. Anyone else have a weird tool they use for something it wasn't made for?

My paint gun decided to become a glitter cannon yesterday

Honestly, I was doing a simple respray on a Honda Civic fender in the booth. Tbh, I had just mixed a fresh batch of metallic silver and loaded up my Devilbiss StartingLine. Ngl, I pulled the trigger and instead of a nice fan, it shot a huge clump of wet paint and then a cloud of dry metallic flake everywhere. I looked like a disco ball for a solid ten minutes. Has anyone else had a gun just totally fail to atomize like that, or did I just get super unlucky?

Why does nobody mention the dust from sanding old primer?

I see guys just blasting away without checking if it's lead-based. I tested a 1982 Chevy truck door last month and it was positive. What's your test method before you start grinding?

Remember when we had to mix all the body filler by hand?

I was cleaning out the back of my shop in Toledo and found my old mixing board from maybe 15 years ago, all crusted over. Back then, you had to guess the ratios and stir it fast before it set up. Now my new guy just grabs the pre-measured tubes and uses the mixing gun, gets a perfect mix every single time in about ten seconds. It's wild how much time that saves on a big job. What's the one old-school task you're glad got easier?

Finally tried that new ceramic clear coat next to our standard stuff on a test panel

The difference in gloss after just one week outside is NIGHT and day, the ceramic held up way better. Anyone else made the switch and have a brand they trust?

Honestly, I always thought aluminum repair was just a pain. Then I saw a stat from a 2023 I-CAR class that said aluminum body parts can be up to 40% lighter than steel. Found it in their course materials on vehicle construction. Makes you think about why manufacturers are pushing it so hard now.

I put a 2018 Ford F-150 bed on a 2022 frame and the body lines were off by half an inch

We had a customer who insisted on keeping his old bed after a rear-end wreck. The new frame looked right, but when we set the bed down, the gap at the cab was way off. Turns out, Ford changed the mounting points slightly in 2020. We had to cut and weld new brackets to make it fit. Anyone else run into this with the newer aluminum body trucks?

Used a heat gun on a plastic bumper and it went from bad to worse

Had a small dent on a 2018 Civic bumper, so I tried using a heat gun on low to soften it up. After about two minutes, the plastic started to warp and get shiny in a weird way. I stopped right away, but now the dent is still there and the finish is messed up. Has anyone fixed a heat gun mistake like this, or should I just tell the customer they need a new part?

TIL a lot of shops in my area are still using the old 2K clearcoat system and calling it better than the new waterborne stuff. My PPG rep showed me the VOC numbers and I switched 2 years ago.

My boss in Cleveland told me to use a heat gun on that plastic bumper before pulling

I was working on a 2018 Civic with a deep crease in the rear bumper cover. He said to get it warm, not hot, for about 90 seconds with the gun set on low. I tried it and the plastic came back so much easier without cracking. Has anyone else found a sweet spot for heat times on different types of bumper material?

I switched from a full sand on every dent to just spot priming and it's been a game changer

Honestly, for years I was taught to sand the whole panel around a small dent to avoid a halo effect, no matter what. About eight months ago, a guy at a trade meet in Phoenix showed me his spot work with a 3-inch DA and a good blocking primer. I tried it on a 2018 F-150 bedside ding, and the repair time dropped from three hours to maybe forty-five minutes. The key is getting the feather edge perfect and using a sealer that really bites. Now I only do a full panel sand for major color changes or deep damage. Anyone else moved away from the 'sand it all' method for minor stuff?

Appreciation post: I picked a 3M sanding block over a cheap sponge for a quarter panel and the finish was way smoother.

I had to choose between a cheap sponge or a 3M sanding block for a 2020 Honda Accord quarter panel, and the block gave me a much smoother finish for the primer coat.

Saw a really clean paint match on a 90s Civic at the Puyallup Fair

It was a factory green that usually fades, but this one looked perfect. The owner said he mixed a bit of clear into the base for the final coat. Anyone have thoughts on that method?

Rant: A customer in Austin brought in a Tesla with a dented rocker panel last week. The quote from their certified shop was over $4,000. We did it for half, but the fight over the radar calibration was a whole new thing.

A customer at my shop in Dayton insisted I use a 3M sanding disc on his '67 Mustang's quarter panel, saying 'anything else is just wasting time'.

Honestly, has anyone else had a client get that specific about a single brand for a specific repair step, and were they right?

Just had to pick between a full quarter panel or a section repair on a 2020 Silverado

The truck had a big dent from a parking lot hit, right at the wheel arch. I could either replace the whole panel for about $1200 in parts plus labor, or cut and weld in a smaller section. I went with the section to save the customer money and keep more factory metal. It took me an extra 3 hours to get the weld lines perfect and the metal straight. Now I'm thinking, was saving that money worth the extra time and risk of a visible seam? When do you guys choose a full panel over a section?

Got schooled on panel gaps by a guy at a car show in Daytona

I was at the big show in Daytona last year, just looking at a really clean '67 Mustang. I made a comment about the fender gap being a bit off, and the owner, this older guy, came over and showed me his whole process. He uses a set of feeler gauges and a digital angle finder for every single panel, even on a full frame-off. He said he spends at least 3 hours just on gap alignment before he even thinks about paint. I've always just gone by eye, but seeing his results up close... it was a different level. How many of you actually use tools for panel gaps, or is eyeballing it still the standard in most shops?

Had to choose between a full quarter panel replacement or a major section on a 2018 F-150 last week.

Went with the section to save the customer about $800, but the weld line took me an extra 3 hours to get perfect. Has anyone else found a good trick for lining up those butt joints on aluminum?

I bought a cheap dent puller from a swap meet and it cost me a whole afternoon

It was one of those slide hammer kits for about 30 bucks. The threads on the pull rod stripped on the third tap trying to get a small dent out of a Civic fender. Had to stop, go get a proper kit, and redo the whole area. Ended up adding like 4 hours to the job. Anyone have a brand they trust for this kind of tool that won't fall apart?

I finally tried a different clear coat on a classic Mustang restoration

For years I stuck with the same brand my old boss in Dayton always used. This 1968 Mustang came in with a full respray, and the owner insisted on a specific two-part clear he'd heard about. The difference after three days of cure time was obvious. The finish had a deeper gloss and felt harder to the touch. Has anyone else switched their go-to clear and been surprised?

Vent: I used to hate blending pearl white until I switched my clear coat method

For a long time, blending pearl white tri-coats was my least favorite job. I would spray the base, then the pearl mid-coat, then clear it all at once like a regular job. The problem was the pearl never looked right where it met the old paint, it always had a weird line or a color shift. About six months ago, I saw a guy at a shop in Phoenix do it different. He sprays the base coat over the repair area and a bit into the blend zone, then he sprays the pearl mid-coat only over the base, and then he sprays a light coat of clear just over the pearl area before he tapes it off and clears the whole panel. I tried it on a Honda Odyssey fender and it worked. The pearl blends smoother under that first clear layer before the final coat goes on. It adds maybe 20 minutes to the job but saves a ton of sanding and respraying later. Has anyone else found a trick for these tricky three-stage paints?

I've been using the same old mixing ratio for clear coat for 8 years, but a run on a black Honda Civic last week made me grab the tech sheet.

The sheet said 4:1:1, not the 4:1 I'd been doing, and adding that extra part of reducer was the difference between a perfect flow and a sag every time.