c/auto-body-repairers

Took me 6 years to stop sanding dry and switch to wet sanding on clears

I used to think wet sanding was just extra steps for no reason. Then I had a run-in with a 2005 Mustang two months ago where my dry sanding left visible scratches under the clear. My coworker Dave showed me how wet sanding with 1500 grit knocked down the orange peel without gumming up the paper. Now I wet sand all my final clears. Has anyone else fought the switch this long?

Just burned $200 on a paint mixing system I'll never use again

Bought one of those fancy digital mixing scales from a guy at a swap meet. Turns out the software is discontinued and the company went under in 2019. Has anyone else gotten stuck with outdated shop gear that's basically useless now?

That one customer who watched me sand for 20 minutes

Had a guy last Tuesday named Jerry stand right over my shoulder while I was wet sanding a quarter panel on a 2018 F-150. He kept saying "you missed a spot" every 30 seconds even though I hadn't. After 20 minutes he finally admitted he just wanted to see how the clear coat works because his son was thinking about trade school. Has anyone else had people hover like that and then drop a random reason?

Shoutout to the guy who told me I was "fixing it wrong" in front of my customer

Last Tuesday this dude walks into my bay while I'm doing a bumper blend on a 2018 Camry. He taps the quarter panel and tells the owner that I should have pulled the dent before painting, not after. Customer canceled the job on the spot and I lost $400. Has anyone else had some random "expert" waltz in and mess up your workday?

Unpopular opinion: letting paint cure for a week before buffing is overrated for production work

Rant: My $300 paint gun clogged mid-job on a customer's classic Mustang last Friday

I was spraying the final clear coat on a '69 Mustang in my shop near Akron. Everything was going smooth. Then the gun just started sputtering. Paint came out all pebbly and rough. Had to stop and strip the whole fender back down to bare metal. Lost three hours of work and wasted almost $100 in paint. Turns out the internal passage got clogged with dried hardener from a previous job. I use a cheap aftermarket inline filter now, that would have caught it. But the real issue is I didn't clean the gun thoroughly enough between coats. Has anyone else had this happen with a mid-range HVLP gun?

Pro tip: Stop sanding dry filler with 80 grit right away

I spent 2 years sanding down fresh filler with 80 grit until a guy at a shop in Phoenix asked why my paper was clogging every 15 seconds. He told me to use 36 grit first and it cut my time in half. Anyone else learn basic stuff way later than they should have?

Hit 200 cars repaired this month and had to double check the count

I've been doing body work for 18 years and somehow managed to finish 200 cars this past month between the shop and side jobs. Turns out I'd been working 6 days a week and not paying attention to the calendar. Anyone else lose track of how much work you're pushing through until you see the numbers add up?

Noticed more shops switching to waterborne paint over the last year in my area

Ran into a guy I know from a collision shop in Tampa last week who said they made the switch six months ago and now their clear coat adhesion is way better, has anyone else noticed a difference after making the change?

Update: That paint booth fan I installed last month is already causing issues

Three weeks ago I put in a new exhaust fan for our booth at the shop in Denver. Spent $400 on it thinking it was a solid upgrade. Last Friday I noticed the paint was drying with weird patterns on a Subaru hood. Turned out the fan is pulling too much air and messing with the airflow. I'm starting to think spending more on a variable speed unit would have been smarter. Has anyone else had this problem with oversize fans?

Was dead set against using filler primer for months. Finally caved and tried it.

I work at a small shop in Tulsa and I've been doing body work for about 8 years now. Always thought filler primer was a crutch for guys who couldn't lay down a good first coat of paint without it. Then last month I had a 2010 F-150 with some deep rocker panel chips that just wouldn't smooth out right after sanding. My coworker Jeff handed me a can of his 2K filler primer and told me to try it or shut up. I was pissed but I did one light coat, let it flash, then hit it with 320 grit. Honestly the finish came out way better than anything I'd done before with just regular primer. No weird sand scratches showing through and it filled those tiny pin holes perfectly. Now I'm wondering what else I've been stupid about. Anyone else have a product or technique they swore off for years and then finally tried and it worked?

Just wasted $200 on a cheap paint mixing system

Bought one of those budget paint shakers off Amazon to save money... thing broke after three cars, gears stripped out completely. Took the hit and got a higher end model for $450, but now I'm wondering if anyone else has had luck with a middle ground option around $300?

Tried using an aircraft paint stripper on a classic car hood and it melted the trim

I had a 1972 Mustang hood with some nasty peeling paint, so I grabbed this heavy duty stripper meant for aluminum planes. Figured it would work fast but it also ate through the plastic trim and chrome clips in like 10 minutes. Learned the hard way that aerospace stuff is way too aggressive for old school cars with mixed materials. Anybody else had luck with a specific stripper that won't destroy everything nearby?

That customer who watched me work for 2 hours straight

Had a guy last Tuesday at the shop in Portland who pulled his chair right up to my bay and just stared while I hammered out a dent on his 2012 Ford Focus. He didn't say a word for the first 45 minutes, then asked if I could speed it up because his parking meter was running. Has anyone else had someone hover that long without even offering to grab you a coffee?

Caught myself sanding through primer on a fender yesterday

Ive been doing body work for like 8 years and always just wet sanded primer by feel until it looked smooth. Yesterday I was finishing up a 2017 Honda Civic fender at the shop in Phoenix and grabbed a can of aerosol guide coat on a whim. Sprayed it on and instantly saw I was burning through to metal in spots and leaving thick primer in others. Total facepalm moment. Has anyone else had a guide coat save them from a dumb mistake?

Tried wet sanding with 400 grit on a fresh clear coat and it messed up my whole day

So last Thursday I had this silver Honda Accord in my shop in Phoenix, and I figured I'd speed things up by wet sanding before the clear coat fully hardened. I did a test spot with 400 grit after about 30 minutes, and the paper just gummed up and left these deep scratches that wouldn't buff out. Took me another 2 hours to respray that panel and fix the mess. Has anyone else made that call too early and regretted it?

Had a talk with an old painter that made me rethink wet sanding everything

I was over at Dave's shop in Cleveland last week, helping him block out a 67 Mustang. He told me I was wasting time wet sanding my clear before buffing on solid colors, said he just cuts and buffs right off the gun with 1500 and a wool pad. I always thought you had to wet sand to level it, but his finishes look better than mine. Has anyone else tried skipping the wet sand step on single stage or clear?

TIL a simple credit card trick can save you hours on dent repair

I was working on a late model Toyota Camry with a door ding that was driving me nuts. Standard stuff, about the size of a quarter, right on the crease line. Usually I'd spend 30 minutes with my slide hammer and glue tabs, sometimes more. A guy I know from a body shop in Minneapolis told me to try using an old plastic credit card wrapped in a microfiber cloth as a gentle prying tool behind the panel. You have to pull the inner door panel first and work from the back side. Took me maybe 8 minutes. Has anyone else used something unusual around the shop that just works?

$200 for a spray gun that sucked

Bought a cheap HVLP gun off Amazon. Thought I was saving money. First job with it and the finish was terrible. Orange peel everywhere. Had to sand it all down and respray. Wasted a whole weekend on a single fender. Cost me more in time and materials than if I'd just rented a decent gun. Anyone tried those pricey SATA guns? Worth the hype?

A customer in Phoenix showed me a trick with a heat gun on old paint

I was working on a 1998 Ford F-150 with really stubborn clear coat, and the owner, a guy named Ray, came over to watch. He told me he used to run a shop in Tucson and said, 'Try the heat gun on low, about six inches back, and keep it moving in circles.' I gave it a shot, and the old paint softened up just enough to scrape off clean without damaging the base layer. Anyone else have a go-to method for dealing with baked-on clear coat like that?

Walked past a detail shop in Tacoma and saw something that made me shake my head

Honestly, they had a brand new F-150 in the bay with the whole front end off, and they were spraying basecoat right over factory seam sealer without scuffing it. I stood there for a full five minutes watching. That paint is gonna peel in a year, maybe less. How does a shop with a storefront even let that happen? Anyone else seen a shop cut a corner that bad right out in the open?

PSA: I had to pick between a heat gun and a torch for a stubborn quarter panel dent

It was a 2008 Civic with a deep crease right by the wheel arch. I started with the heat gun, but after 15 minutes the metal just wasn't moving enough. I switched to a small propane torch, moving it in quick circles about 6 inches away, and the metal relaxed so I could work it out with my hammer and dolly. The key was keeping the torch moving to avoid any color change in the paint. Has anyone else found a better way to handle those tough, springy dents without risking the finish?

A customer's comment about my paint match made me rethink my blending process

They said the fender I repaired looked 'like a different color in the afternoon sun.' I started spraying my blend panels out in the open bay light instead of just under the booth lamps. Has anyone else found a better way to check for metamerism before final clear?

Shoutout to my old DA polisher for finally giving up the ghost

The motor on my 8-year-old Harbor Freight unit just locked up solid in the middle of a hood yesterday. I had to finish the job by hand, which took an extra two hours. What's a good mid-range replacement that won't quit on me?

Warning: That $800 paint booth filter system upgrade was a total waste

My boss at the shop in Tacoma insisted we needed the new 'ProFlow' filters to cut down on overspray dust. It took three days to install and the airflow is actually worse now, leaves orange peel on every panel. Anyone else get burned by a big equipment change that sounded good on paper?