c/auto-body-repairers

Got a cheap Harbor Freight sander that changed my whole block sanding routine

I was working on a 1998 Ford F-150 last month over in Bakersfield, just a basic respray, and my old DA was giving me fits. The pad was worn out and it kept leaving swirl marks that I had to chase with a block. I grabbed one of those $19.99 palm sanders on a whim, figured if it broke I'd toss it. Man, that little thing smoothed out the high-build primer like nothing else. It vibrated less than my big gun and let me get into tight spots around the tailgate. I finished the whole truck in about three hours less than usual. Has anyone else found a cheap tool that just clicks with the way they work?

Hot take: Clear coat was simpler back in the 90s

I was working on a 95 F-150 last week in my shop near Akron, trying to blend a repair on the hood. That old urethane clear laid down flat with just two passes, no peeling or reaction at all. Then I did a 2018 Honda Civic right after it, and even with the same prep steps, the clear fisheyed on me three times. Has anyone else noticed newer clears just don't behave the same as the old stuff?

Saw a trend at a local body shop meetup that got me thinking

I went to a small gathering of body guys over in Harrisburg last Saturday, and I noticed almost everyone was talking about waterborne paint systems now. Out of 12 guys there, 8 had already switched over from solvent-based in the past year. One guy said his paint booth temp didn't even need to be as stable with waterborne, which surprised me. Has anyone else seen this shift happening faster in your area?

The customer who watched me work for 2 hours straight

I was doing a rear quarter panel replacement on a 2018 Honda Civic in Denver last Tuesday and this older guy just stood in the bay doorway watching me the whole time without saying a word. Finally he said "you missed a spot on the inner wheel arch seam sealer" and he was totally right. How do you deal with customers who hover right over your shoulder while you're trying to work?

Hot take: I think the paint booth bake cycle is way overhyped for collision work

Tbh I had this conversation with a guy named Mark at the NAPA counter last Thursday and he totally changed my thinking. He said he's been doing high-end restorations for 20 years and rarely bakes paint because it can trap solvents and cause micro-checking later. I always thought baking was the only way to get a factory hard finish, but he showed me photos of 5-year-old jobs he did with just proper flash times and hardener ratios. Now I'm questioning if I should ditch the bake cycle on my next insurance job and save the electric bill. Has anyone else cut back on baking and gotten better long-term results?

Spent 2 hours yesterday trying to fix a dent that wasn't there

I was working on a 2018 Ford F-150 hood dent yesterday, sanded it down, started filling, and realized I was working on a reflection from the overhead light. The owner pointed it out and I wanted to crawl under the lift. Has anyone else had a brain fart that cost them a whole afternoon?

The $12 harbor freight dent puller I was dead wrong about

I spent years talking trash about those cheap slide hammer dent pullers from Harbor Freight. Buddy of mine brought one over to fix a door ding on his 2017 F150 and I figured it would snap after one pull. Turns out the thing actually works pretty decent for shallow dents if you drill the hole right and use the right tip. Has anyone else had good luck with cheap tools that you thought would be junk?

Noticed a huge difference after switching to waterborne paint on a silver Accord

I did a silver 2015 Honda Accord about two months ago. Before I always used solvent based paint and I fought with metallic flake orientation every time. This time I tried waterborne basecoat from the same brand. The flake laid down flat in two coats no striping at all. The color match was way closer to the factory finish than my old method. Cut my buffing time by almost half. Has anyone else seen a similar jump in quality with waterborne on tricky colors like silver or pearl?

Watch out for aftermarket quarter panels from this one supplier in Houston

I grabbed a pair from a new distributor last week and they warped after I welded them in. The metal gauge was thinner than OEM by like 0.5mm and I didn't catch it until the filler started bubbling. Had to rip them off and redo the whole job on Saturday which cost me 6 extra hours. Anyone else run into issues with these repop panels lately?

Old timer at the paint supply house told me to stop being so stingy with activator

Guy named Jerry, probably been mixing paint since before I was born, said I was skimping on the slow hardener in my clear. I thought he was just being old school and wasteful. Fast forward to Thursday, did a fender blend his way with a 3:1 mix instead of my usual 4:1. The flow out was way better, less orange peel. Has anyone else gotten a tip from a random old timer that actually fixed something for you?

Spent $45 on a infrared temp gun and regret not buying it sooner

Was fighting with a paint job that kept bubbling on me last week. Finally borrowed my buddy's infrared temp gun and realized my panel was 20 degrees hotter than I thought. For $45 at Harbor Freight it saved me from having to sand and reshoot the whole door. Anyone else use one to check panel temps before laying down paint?

Tried a cheap paint mixing cup that melted on me mid-job

I was in my shop off Route 22 last Tuesday spraying a silver Toyota Camry hood and using one of those off-brand graduated cups I got in a bundle pack. About half through mixing my clear coat, I felt the cup get soft in my hand and it just buckled, dumped clear all over my mixing station and the floor. Cost me about $40 in wasted material and 30 minutes to clean up, then had to remix from scratch. Has anyone else had a bad experience with cheap mixing cups or do you stick to the name brand ones?

Am I the only one who skips the epoxy primer on small bumper repairs?

I see everyone online saying you always need epoxy primer over bare plastic on bumper jobs. But I tried two direct-to-plastic adhesion promoters from Sherman and went straight to urethane primer, saved about 45 minutes per repair. Did three bumpers like this six months ago and none have peeled or cracked yet. Anyone else cut corners like this or am I asking for trouble?

PSA: Hit 500 door dings fixed this month and it made me rethink my whole sanding process

I was going through my invoices this morning and noticed I did 500 door ding repairs this month alone lol. That's way more than I thought. Most of them are the same basic parking lot dents people get from shopping carts or careless neighbors. I used to spend like 20 minutes sanding each one down by hand cause I thought it gave me better control. But after number 400 I started timing myself and realized I was wasting almost 5 minutes per ding doing it that way. So I switched to using a DA sander with 180 grit on a low speed for the rough stuff then finishing by hand. Now I'm averaging 12 minutes per repair instead of 20. That's like 40 hours saved over the month. Has anyone else noticed a huge time difference switching up their sanding method on small dent repairs?

That rocker panel repair that ate my whole Saturday

Found hidden rust inside the inner rocker on a '15 F-150, ended up cutting and fabbing way more than I planned - took 11 hours for what I figured would be a 3 hour job. Anyone else get blindsided by rot that just keeps going?

Old timer's tip about filler shrinkage saved my bumper job today

I've been in the trade about 6 years now but a guy named Dave at the parts counter told me to always use a skim coat and let it shrink before sanding. He said "just trust me, come back in 20 minutes." I did exactly that on a 2018 Honda Fit rear bumper and the finish came out glass smooth. First time I didn't have to redo a repair because of pinholes or low spots... anyone else get advice from the old guys that actually works?

Can we talk about the sign painter at the fairgrounds in Kansas City?

Watched a guy lay down gold leaf on an old truck door without any tape or stencils, just freehand. Has anyone else shifted their mindset on masking after seeing a master work without it?

Stop using Bondo to fill dents on daily drivers with thin metal

I swear half the cars I see rolling through shops around here have bondo jobs that crack after one winter. If the panel has any flex at all like on a Honda Civic from 2008 you are begging for trouble. I had a guy bring in a door last month where the previous guy laid it on a quarter inch thick. I tapped it with a hammer and it fell right off in one chunk. Use a stud welder and a slide hammer to pull the metal back close first. Then feather the filler thin maybe 1/8 inch max. Has anyone else had to redo these hack jobs from other shops or is it just my luck?

Got a thank you note from a customer this morning that made my week

I had this lady bring in her 2015 Civic last month after someone scraped the whole passenger side in a parking lot. She was super upset about it, like almost in tears upset, because she said she saved up for years to buy that car. I just did the work like normal, color matched the paint pretty close I thought, and she picked it up a week ago. Well today I found a handwritten card in my mailbox at the shop. She said she drives by the car every morning now and smiles because it looks better than it did when she bought it. Small things like that keep me going in this trade, you know? Has anyone else ever gotten a note or a call back from a customer that stuck with you?

I finally had a week where every single repair came in under estimate last month

Had 5 cars in a row down in Gainesville that only needed minor stuff like a dent pull and a blend, no hidden rust or frame damage. First time in 5 years I didn't have to call a customer with bad news. Anybody else ever hit a lucky streak like that or am I the only one?

Tried a European body filler vs the regular stuff and wow what a difference

I've been using the same cheap body filler from the auto parts store for like 8 years. Last month my buddy who works at a collision shop in Atlanta talked me into trying a European brand called Rage Gold. Man, it spreads so much smoother and hardly any pinholes. I did a quarter panel on a 2010 Civic and the sanding took me half the time it normally does. The hardener ratio is way more forgiving too, I messed up the mix a little and it still cured fine. Only downside is it costs about $15 more per gallon. Has anyone else tried a higher end filler and noticed a big difference in your daily work?

Forked out $800 on a spray booth heater that barely works

I bought one of those infrared tube heaters for my shop back in November thinking it would keep the booth warm enough for paint to flow right up here in Minnesota. Even at full blast it struggles to get above 60 degrees when it's below freezing outside, so I've had to scrap three jobs already due to fisheye and solvent pop. Has anyone found a budget-friendly heater that actually holds temp in a 20x20 booth?

I stopped using urethane primer on plastic bumpers

Switched to adhesion promoter only on a 2018 Civic rear bumper last week in my shop in Tampa. Bumper paint started peeling within 5 days. Everyone told me I was wrong to skip the primer, but I've done it this way for 10 years and never had issues before. Has anyone else had urethane primer cause adhesion problems on TPO plastic?

Just hit 500 paint jobs on my car today

I kept a log since 2018. That's 500 cars I've painted start to finish. Didn't realize it piled up that fast. Most were small repaints on older cars. But still. 500 feels like a real number. How many jobs do you guys log before you feel like you've really made it?

PSA: A shop in Portland had a fire from a battery they thought was dead, changed how I store them now.