I dropped $300 on a high-end paint thickness gauge thinking it'd save me from botched jobs, but half the time I just eyeball it anyway and get the same result. On the flip side, a buddy of mine got burned for $400 on a cheap gadget that gave him false readings on a BMW 3-series. So is it worth the splurge or is it all marketing hype? How do you guys decide when to trust the meter over your gut?
Some guy comes in yesterday with a crushed quarter panel and says, 'Can't you just buff this out?' I spent 10 minutes explaining how deep the crease was and why it needs body filler and paint. People really think we're magicians or something. Do you guys get this kind of thing daily or is it just my shop in Portland?
My old frame rack finally gave out and I had about $4,000 to spend. I could grab a used Chief puller from a shop closing down in Phoenix or buy a new lower-end one from the catalog. I went with the used Chief because I heard they hold alignment better than the cheap new models. After three jobs on it so far, the tolerances are spot on but I am stuck waiting on a part that broke during delivery. Has anyone else gambled on used equipment and got burned or came out ahead?
Had a guy last Tuesday at my shop in Akron who insisted on standing right behind me the whole time I was sanding down his quarter panel. Kept asking questions every 30 seconds like I was doing a tutorial. Finished the job fine but it drove me nuts. Other side of it is I got a repeat customer once who said watching me fix his old F-150 made him trust me more. He ended up tipping me $100. So which side you on? Let them hover or send them away?
Been doing collision work for 8 years and always pushed waterborne for being safer to breathe. But I had a 2018 silver F-150 that kept getting fisheye with the water stuff. Switched back to solvent for that one panel and it laid down perfect first try. Anyone else find certain colors or primers work better with old school solvent?
I bought one of those no-name electronic paint scales from some seller on Amazon back in March. Thought it would save me time over my old beam scale. First batch of single stage was way off - like 10% wrong on the hardener ratio. Had to strip and reshoot a whole fender on a silverado. Lost money on materials and the job itself. The scale just drifted after 2 days of use. Anyone else got burned by those cheap digital mixing systems?
I was at a shop in Phoenix helping out and the old timer asked why my fan pattern was trash. He looked at my gun and just laughed. Turns out I had the air cap ring turned the wrong way the whole time. Felt like a total moron. Anyone else have a facepalm moment like that?
Had a 79 Firebird come in last week with like 5 layers of old paint. Grabbed my usual Norton Blaze but it was gumming up after 2 panels. Switched to a 3M Purple Clean Sanding disc at 80 grit and that thing ripped through the rest of the car without loading up once. Cost me an extra $2 per disc but saved me a full afternoon. Anyone else find the 3M holds up better on stubborn jobs?
My old shop foreman swore by skipping primer on small dents and going straight to paint, said it bonds better. But my new guy at Carter's Landscaping convinced me to try filler primer after a rust spot came back on a '99 F-150 I did 6 months ago. Who else has had a primer job bite them either way?
I keep a tally of every hood I repaint in my shop notebook. Last Wednesday I hit number 500. It was just a basic silver 2015 Ford Focus hood that came in for a rock chip repair. Nothing special about the job itself. But looking at that number made me realize how much my technique has changed over the past 9 years. My first 50 hoods I was fighting orange peel and dust nibs constantly. Now I can knock out a full blend in about 45 minutes with maybe one wet sand touch up. The paint supplier I use now is completely different from what I started with too. That 500th hood made me think about how many gallons of clear coat I've burned through. Has anyone else tracked a specific job count like that and noticed a big skill jump at a certain number?
I went with the stud welder because the glue pull kit kept failing on those sharp creases, and now I'm wondering if anyone else has had better luck with glue on big roof panels, or did I just buy a cheap brand?
I swung into a random body shop on 7th Avenue to grab a quote for a minor fender repair, and the guy at the counter straight up told me he'd been painting cars with the same compressor for 20 years without changing the oil once. I mean, the thing had to be coughing rust particles into every panel he sprayed, right? Is it just me, or does anyone else walk into shops like that and immediately want to turn around?
I bid a simple dent repair on a 2018 Civic last Tuesday, figured 4 hours tops. Got the car in and the damage was way worse under the clear coat, had to strip it down and find hidden rust around the wheel well. Took me over 10 hours total by the time I finished blocking and priming. Anyone else get burned by surface damage that looks easy but turns into a full day?
Was reading through some paint tech sheets from Sherwin-Williams and stumbled on this. Always figured a good paint job would last a decade or more if you took care of it. But apparently even the factory stuff starts breaking down after year 5 depending on where you live. I'm in Phoenix so that explains why my 2016 truck's roof is already looking chalky. Has anyone else noticed their clear coat failing way earlier than they expected?
I've been working at this little shop off Route 9 in Jersey for about 3 years now, mostly doing collision work on late model sedans. Last week I had a 2018 Camry that got rear-ended pretty bad, needed a whole new quarter panel. I decided to really slow down and check my settings every single time before tacking. Usually I rush through it and get maybe 20 or 30 good welds before I mess up and burn a hole. This time I kept my gun angle steady at 45 degrees and turned my wire speed down a touch from what I normally use. After about 4 hours of work I counted 100 tacks with zero blowthroughs. Felt like I unlocked some secret level or something. Has anyone else found that just slowing down a tiny bit makes that big of a difference?
Had a customer bring in a 2010 Civic with a crushed rocker panel last Tuesday (rust belt car, go figure). I tried the normal slide hammer and stud welder method, but the metal was too thin and kept tearing through. An old guy at my shop told me to try using a heat gun and a block of wood from the inside to push the dent out slow. Worked way better than I expected, got about 90% of the shape back with almost no thin spots. Now I'm wondering if there's other body lines where this method could save time compared to pulling from the outside. Anyone tried something similar on door jambs or quarter panels?
I used to sand bondo until it was completely dry and dusty, figured that was the way. Then last month at a shop in Denver, an old timer watched me for a minute and said 'you're working way too hard, keep it wet longer.' Turns out I was shrinking the filler by sanding it dry, which caused pinholes and extra work later. Has anyone else had a basic habit that was totally backwards for years?
I was grabbing some hardener at the shop over on River Road and this older guy was telling the counter worker how he adds like 20% flex additive to single stage paint for bumpers and plastic trim. He said it stops the cracking around license plate holes and edges for years. I've always used the flexible primer for plastic parts but never thought to mix additive right into the topcoat. Has anyone else tried this on a repair that gets a lot of vibration like a trunk lid or a door panel? I'm doing a 2005 Civic bumper next week and wondering if it's worth the extra cost of the additive.
I thought I was being smart buying a off-brand paint booth filter kit online for $300 instead of the name brand one for $600. After three jobs the filters were already clogged and letting dust through, ruined a $1500 paint job on a customer's classic Mustang. I had to strip it down and start over, costing me double in time and materials. Anyone else learn the hard way that cutting corners on filtration just ain't worth it?
Honestly, I was between the mid-tier paint from PPG and the budget stuff from a local supplier. I figured hey, it's a 2014 Outback with 150k miles, who's gonna notice? Ngl, after 3 weeks the clear coat started peeling right around the driver's side mirror. Customer came back yesterday and I had to eat the cost to redo it. Has anyone else tried cutting corners on paint and just regretted it?
I was spraying a 2017 Honda Accord in the guy's driveway, doing the final clear coat. The humidity spiked and I didn't catch it on my gauge until the clear started blushing on the passenger door. I had to sand the whole panel back down and respray, which cost me about 4 hours and $90 in materials. Now I always check the weather for dew point before I even mix the paint. What's your best trick for spotting humidity issues before they ruin a job?
Back in 2018 at my shop in Phoenix, I'd just slap filler on any dent and call it a day. Now with these new aluminum panels on trucks like the F-150, you gotta use specific products like 3M's aluminum repair kit. Spent 4 hours on a single door last week because I didn't prep the metal right. Anyone else hate how much extra work these materials add?
I popped off the bumper cover and found the mounting bracket was completely snapped in half from a hit-and-run they didn't even report. When I showed them the damage on the lift, they just shrugged and asked if I could zip-tie it for $20. Has anyone else dealt with folks playing down major damage like that?
I bought this fancy ceramic spray kit last month for about $80 because I thought it would save me from having to wax my truck every few months. Turns out, my hood had a ton of micro scratches I never noticed before the spray highlighted them all. I spent 6 hours trying to buff them out with a cheap pad and ended up burning through the clear coat in a small spot. Now I'm looking at a $400 respray job on that panel just because I got cheap. Has anyone else wrecked their paint chasing a shortcut?
I bought this pricey Iwata spray gun thinking it would finally give me that glass-smooth clear coat finish at 2 AM after a long day. Spent Saturday morning re-shooting a hood for the third time because the result looked exactly like my old $80 gun. Same orange peel, same dust nibs, same everything. Turns out my prep work was the real problem, not the tool. I should have put that cash toward a better respirator or a longer deadline. Anybody else blow money on gear thinking it would fix a skill issue?