I used to just rough up the plastic with sandpaper and call it good. Jake watched me do one and asked if I ever used adhesion promoter. I said what is that. He handed me a can of Bulldog and my repairs stopped peeling after 3 months. Has anyone else had that moment where a pro pointed out something basic you missed?
I always used Bondo for body filler jobs, but last week I tried out Rage Gold on a dented F-150 tailgate. The difference in how easy it was to sand down was night and day. No pin holes and it cured faster too. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed better results on bigger jobs?
I was at a shop in Dayton last week watching a guy take 80 grit to fresh filler on a quarter panel. He was making deep scratches that took forever to feather out. My old mentor always said to start with 36 or 40 grit for the rough shape, then jump to 120 for the final passes. It saves like 20 minutes per panel and you don't end up with those swirl marks that show through paint. Has anyone else seen shops skip the coarse grit and run into issues with pinholes or sand scratches later?
I've always mixed brands in my booth like it was no big deal, PPG primer with Sherwin clear and whatever's on sale midcoat. But last week a PPG rep named Dave came by the shop in Denver and showed me test panels where mixing caused delamination after 6 months. He pulled up photos of a job in Parker that failed the exact same way at year two. I still think brand loyalty is overhyped, but his proof made me wonder if I've been costing myself comebacks. Anyone else ever get proven wrong about mixing, or do you stick to one line start to finish?
Picked up a $40 HVLP gun from some no-name brand just to spray primer with, figured it would clog after one use. After 6 months and about 20 paint jobs, that thing still lays down a smooth coat with almost no orange peel. I finally had to admit my $300 Devilbiss was not that much better for daily production work. The trigger feel is a little rough, but for the money it has saved me a ton of cleanup time on smaller jobs. Has anyone else had luck with those bargain guns for anything besides primer?
Buddy at the shop in Austin said he's been doing single stage for 3 years now on restorations and showed me his '67 Mustang. The depth and gloss he got without a clear coat had me resetting my whole approach to older cars, anyone else tried switching back?
Had a dude roll into my shop in Columbus last month swearing I'd try to upsell him on a real paint job. He pointed at his fender and said 'that's 24 bucks of color right there'. I had to show him the runs just so he'd believe me. Anybody else get folks who think they can spot a pro job from 50 feet away?
I thought he was full of it until I welded up a 97 F-150 in Lansing back in 05 and the crack ran another 3 inches past my patch. Does anyone else still do this or is everyone just using the newer filler methods now?
I had a bumper repair on a 2018 Civic last Tuesday that I thought would take 3 hours tops. It ended up taking me almost 8 hours because the paint match was way off and I had to blend into two adjacent panels. I quoted the customer a half day and they were ticked when I had to keep their car overnight. On one hand, I don't want to lose jobs by giving big estimates, but on the other, surprises like this make everyone mad. How do you guys handle the balance between being honest with time and not scaring people off? Has anyone else had a simple job balloon on them this bad?
For like 10 years I was all about the hammer and dolly method for pulling dents on quarter panels. But last Tuesday on a '97 Civic in Omaha, the metal was so thin it just kept stretching no matter what I did. Grabbed a stud welder I'd been ignoring in the back and pulled the dent out in 20 minutes with way less filler. Anyone else finally give up on traditional bodywork tools for certain jobs?
Been working on this 2015 Honda Civic in my garage for like a month, and yesterday I finally got that rear quarter panel dent to pop out perfect. Took me three tries with a slide hammer and some heat, but it came out cleaner than I expected. How do you guys deal with those stubborn dents that just won't budge on the first attempt?
I was at a shop in Lincoln last month helping on a classic Camaro respray. One of the old guys there showed me how he wipes down with a damp microfiber instead of tack cloth and it left way less residue. Has anyone else tried skipping the tack cloth on final wipe?
I had a 2018 Silverado last week in Phoenix where the rear quarter had a dent I thought I smoothed out perfect. After paint, it sunk right in and I had to redo the whole thing. Anyone else deal with hidden low spots that only show up after primer?
Had a little 2 inch dent on a rear quarter panel of an old Civic last week. Thought I'd knock it out in a morning with my slide hammer and some filler. After 3 days of pulling, shrinking, and re-pulling, I finally gave up and cut out a patch panel from a junker. Took another 2 days to weld it in smooth. Anyone else ever get humbled by a dent that looked simple but just would not cooperate?
He said 'you're leaving 3% of the tension locked in the metal' and showed me his tension gauge readings on a uniside, now I'm wondering how many guys check for residual stress before even hooking up their chains, anyone else ever chase that last millimeter with a torch?
I had been sanding clear coat with 800 grit for years before a job in Phoenix. The sun hit the hood at the right angle and I saw all these micro scratches I never noticed. The old guy next to me said try 1500 grit and step up to 3000 for the final pass. Has anyone else had that moment where the desert light humbled their work?
Been fighting with this truck for three days, every time I thought I had it clean more rust would show up. Cut out a section about 14 inches long behind the rear wheel, fabbed a patch from 18 gauge steel yesterday. Got it welded in and body filler smoothed out this afternoon before the rain hit. Has anyone else dealt with Toyota frames from that era just crumbling on you?
I was at the big car show in Carlisle back in 2010, trying to find a fender for a '78 Trans Am. A guy there showed me his phone, which had a paint code scanner app. It read the code off a sample chip right there in the sun. I bought my own scanner the next week for about $400. Now I can't imagine mixing a batch without one. Does anyone still do the old eye-squint method for classic cars, or is it all digital now?
He pointed at a fender I'd just done and said it looked like the skin of an orange, which made me really look at my spray gun setup. I checked the pressure and found it was way too high, so I dialed it back and started doing more test sprays on scrap metal first. How do you guys check for a smooth finish before it's too late?
Honestly, the factory color was a nightmare metallic, and after three tries with our usual stuff it still looked blotchy, but the new midcoat laid down way smoother and held the flake right.
Three years ago, I was just starting out and messed up a quarter panel on a customer's Camry. My boss, Frank, showed me how to fix it right instead of firing me. Last week, he called out of the blue to offer me a lead spot at his new place. Has anyone else had a mentor who stuck with them like that?
I was working on a 2018 Civic with a dent right on the body line, and my usual hammer and dolly work wasn't getting it. Out of frustration, I applied my heat gun on low to the backside for about 15 seconds, then immediately worked the metal, and it moved way easier without oil canning. Anyone have a different method for sharp body line repairs?
This was about three months ago on a 2018 F-150 with a crunched bedside. I was explaining the sectioning procedure to keep the factory welds intact, and the guy cut me off. He said, 'Look, don't give me the song and dance. You're just a parts replacer. Slap the new panel on and send me the bill.' It happened right in the middle of my shop. I finished the job perfectly, but his comment stuck because it shows how some people see our whole trade. They don't get the skill in making a repair you can't even find. Has anyone else had a customer just totally dismiss the craft like that?
Went to the downtown car show in Springfield last weekend. Spent an hour just looking at the bodywork on a restored '57 Chevy. The gaps on the hood and doors were perfect, like maybe a 1/16th inch all around. Made me think about how much time I spend on my own alignment jobs. Anyone have a go-to trick for getting that kind of consistency on a modern car?
The guy blended it so well you couldn't even feel the seam with your fingernail, and he said he used a Miller 252 with a .023 wire and just took his time.