Saw a guy on a forum say he uses a specific two part plastic filler for bumper repairs instead of regular body filler, and after trying it on a cracked bumper last week I can see why. The stuff didn't shrink or crack when I flexed the bumper like the regular filler always does. Has anyone else switched to a plastic specific filler for their bumper jobs?
Last week I spent three hours on a 2018 F-150 and finally got the measurements dead on after messing up the first three attempts. Anybody else have that one machine that just fights you every time?
I spent two decades mixing paint by eye, always wondering why my silver metallic repairs never quite matched on the second spray. Last month my new guy checked my scale and found it was 4.2 grams off on the low end, which explained every single callback I had on pearl coats. Anybody else discover a basic tool was wrong and just adjust instead of fixing it?
Had a 2023 Civic come in Thursday for a door panel rattle. Customer said it sounded like loose change in the door. Pulled the panel and three of the white nylon clip retainers just crumbled when I touched them. This is the third new Honda I've seen this month with the same problem. Anyone else seeing these brittle factory clips failing way too early?
Had to borrow the shop down the street's unit at $75 an hour to finish before the customer showed up - has anyone else had a welder die at the worst possible time?
I walked into the booth last Tuesday and noticed my clear coat was taking forever to flash. Checked the filters and they were choked with overspray dust from the last 200 jobs. I swapped them out for a set of Gerson 6140s and now my exhaust is pulling better than when I first got the booth installed back in February. Anyone else let their filters go too long before noticing the difference?
I went with PPG on that job but I still wonder if the Sherwin would have matched the factory flop better, has anyone had better luck with one over the other on late model Japanese paint jobs?
A guy with a classic Mustang told me my paint edge was too sharp where I masked off the trim. I started back-taping about 1/8 inch and softening the edge, and now clear coat adhesion is way better. Has anyone else gotten feedback from a customer that actually improved their work?
I've been painting for 7 years at a shop in Tucson and always figured some orange peel was just part of the deal. Last month I started using a finer tip and taking an extra 10 minutes to wipe down between coats, and today I realized I hit 500 jobs with zero rework. What's your go-to trick for avoiding dust nibs in the clear?
Picked the 3M Cubitron for my last few repair jobs and wow, the sanding time dropped by like 40% on that fender. Anyone else find a brand that just saves you that much time on block sanding?
Customer brought in a 2017 Honda Accord with a scratch down the driver door and I got it sanded, primed, painted, and clearcoated in under four hours with zero runs or drips, and every car after that felt like a punishment from God because I knew I'd already peaked.
I was welding a crack on a Honda Civic bumper yesterday and my cheap plastic welder just gave up halfway through. The heating element stopped working and I had to finish the repair using my soldering iron and some steel mesh. Total pain because the plastic was already hot and started cooling down fast. Anyone else have a backup method for when your plastic welder dies on a job?
Used to do all my dent work the old school way with a hammer and dolly on a 1998 Ford F-150 in my garage. Took me about 6 hours to get a rear quarter panel straight, and my arm felt like it was gonna fall off. Switched to a stud welder and slide hammer about 3 months ago after watching a guy at a shop in Columbus knock out a similar job in 90 minutes. Now I'm doing the same repair in under 2 hours, and the metal doesn't stretch as bad. Only downside is I gotta be careful not to burn through on thin sheet metal, which happened twice on a Toyota Corolla last month. Anyone else find the learning curve worth it or do you still stick with traditional tools?
I was working on a 2010 Ford Focus at my shop in Phoenix, fixing a dent on the rear quarter panel. Usually I break out the body file for metal shaping, but this time I tried a 6-inch DA sander with some 80-grit discs instead. Took me about 45 minutes longer than I figured, but the contour came out way smoother. No high spots or low dips like I get with the file sometimes. The key was keeping the sander flat and moving slow, not letting it dig in on the edges. Has anyone else switched tools mid job and seen better results? I'm thinking of ditching the file for most panel work now.
I was working on a 2022 Civic at my shop in Phoenix, trying to get the driver door gaps perfect after a side swipe repair. Tightened the hinges a bit too much without checking the shims first, and the bottom gap was way off by like 3mm. Had to pull the whole door off again, redo the shim placement, and it took me an extra 2 hours to get it right. Anyone else have a hinge adjustment go sideways that took way longer than expected?
I was using 80 grit on a plastic rear bumper for a 2018 Accord last Thursday and this retired guy walks by my bay and asks why I'm grinding away the texture like a madman. He showed me how 180 grit and a soft block keeps the factory grain intact so you don't have to lay on a gallon of primer. Anyone else get caught using way too coarse paper on plastic?
Got a screaming deal on a used spot welder from a guy in Akron, worked fine for the first three quarter panels then started leaving burn holes, anyone else have luck rebuilding these things or am I out the cash?
I had a 2012 F-150 come in last month from a guy up in Portland. The original red was so faded it looked pink in spots, you know? I sprayed a test panel with new clear coat and the difference was night and day after just 48 hours. The old clear had completely failed from UV exposure over 12 years in the Pacific Northwest sun. What really got me was how the clear brought back the depth and richness without even changing the base color. Has anyone else seen that dramatic a change just from fresh clear over tired paint?
My uncle ran a body shop outside of Detroit for 40 years. He swore up and down that traditional bondo was the only way to go. Said the new epoxy fillers were just a fad. So I listened to him for years. Then last winter I did a job on a 2018 F-150 rocker panel. Used his method. The repair cracked after 3 months. My buddy uses the epoxy filler on everything. His jobs hold up fine. Was my uncle just stuck in his ways or did I mess up the application? Anyone else have strong opinions on filler types?
I used their house brand gray primer on a 2017 Civic fender repair back in March. After 4 months in the Louisiana sun, the whole thing started peeling off in sheets. The paint shop guy in Baton Rouge told me it's because it doesn't have enough UV stabilizer. Anyone else had this issue with that specific primer or found a better budget option?
I work out of a small shop in northern Michigan, and for years I used only solvent-based paints. This winter I tried waterborne on a 2015 Ford F-150 repair job because a supplier pushed it hard. The finish looked fine in the booth, but after three days of below-freezing temps, it started to chip near the edge. I'm still not convinced waterborne can handle real winter conditions like solvent can.
He said Bondo was fine for everything and I was wasting money on the fancy stuff, but after three coats and still having pinholes I had to sand back down and redo it with the Rage Gold, has anyone else found the extra cost actually saves time on tricky panels?
Honestly, I saw this video last week where a guy used a foam roller to blend clear coat on a door repair. Sounded easy enough for this Chevy Silverado in Dallas I was fixing up. Ngl, I gave it a shot on a test panel first and it looked decent. But when I tried it on the actual truck yesterday, the clear coat went on all uneven and left these weird orange peel lines. Took me an extra 3 hours just to wet sand and buff it out. I should have just stuck with my HVLP gun like always. Has anyone else tried those foam roller tricks and had them go sideways?
For years I mixed paint by volume, just eyeballing the ratios in the cup. I thought I was close enough. Then about 8 months ago I started working at a shop in Cleveland where the old head painter insisted on using a scale for everything. I fought him on it at first, seemed like extra hassle. But after I messed up a custom tri-coat pearl job and had to strip it back down, I finally gave in. Now I measure every single component by weight and I swear my color matches come out closer to 95 percent perfect on the first try. The scale cost me like 40 bucks at Harbor Freight and it paid for itself in saved materials within 2 weeks. Has anyone else switched over and noticed a big difference in consistency?