Switched from impact to hand tools for interior work and I get it now

I always grabbed my impact gun for everything, even putting panels back on inside cars. Last week I was doing a door panel on a 2019 Toyota Camry and stripped two of those little plastic retainer clips before I even got the panel off. My coworker Dave watched me cuss for five minutes then handed me his old ratcheting screwdriver. I felt stupid but I tried it. Man what a difference. The control you get with hand tools on interior stuff is night and day. No more cracked trim or stripped screws. Now I keep a little set of hand drivers in my box just for inside the cabin. Anyone else made the switch and never looked back?

3 comments

3 Comments

sarah5311mo ago

Gotta admit those little plastic clips strip way easier than people think.

grantadams25d ago

Trust me, @sarah531, I learned this the hard way trying to fix a lawnmower cable with one of those things last weekend. My hands are not exactly delicate (I have the grip strength of a gorilla with anger issues) and I stripped the head clean off in about two seconds flat. Ended up having to drill the whole thing out, which took way longer than if I had just used a proper metal bolt in the first place. Now I keep a little stash of real hardware in my truck for whenever a plastic clip shows up. It's a go-to move for me at this point, honestly.

gavinw451mo ago

Plastic clips are a scam honestly. They always break at the worst possible moment.