c/auto-body-repairers

18

victorclark•12h ago

My paint started fisheyeing from a wax I didn't think would matter

I was shooting a 2018 Ford F-150 hood near Tampa last week and kept getting fisheyes all over the clearcoat. Finally figured out the owner used a ceramic wax two months ago and I didn't wipe it down with wax remover first. Spent an extra 3 hours sanding and repainting because of that dumb mistake. Has anyone else run into trouble with those new spray ceramic waxes ruining a job?

6

blairf48•2d ago

The day I stopped using a DA sander for everything was a game changer

I was doing a hood repair on a 2015 F-150 down here in Phoenix. Spent 3 hours blocking and sanding. Could not get the high spots to lay flat. My foreman walked over and just watched me for a minute. He grabbed a hard block and a piece of 80 grit. Told me I was fighting the tool. I had been using a DA sander for every single panel for like 6 years straight. The DA hides stuff. It floats over the metal. A hard block shows you exactly where the low spots are. I felt like an idiot. Now I only break out the DA for rough work and finish everything by hand. Anyone else have a moment where you realized you were making your job harder than it needed to be?

8

emma349•2d ago

Took me 3 tries but that old timer from Detroit was right about filler work

Guy named Lenny at a shop I temped at in 2019 kept telling me to stop trying to lay heavy filler and do thin coats. I thought he was just slow. Finally got fed up with sanding extra hours on a 2012 Civic rear quarter and tried it his way. Two thin coats with proper drying time and it took me half the sanding. Has anyone else had to eat crow on some old school advice like that?

9

rowan_hayes•5d ago

Found out my filler was fish-eyeing because of wax on the panel

Spent like 3 hours sanding and redoing a repair on a 2018 F-150 bumper. Then my buddy asked if I wiped it down with wax remover first. Felt pretty dumb but now I always hit it with a grease and wax remover before any filler. Anyone else skip that step starting out?

17

evan_anderson•5d ago

Replaced a whole quarter panel on a 2015 Civic, had to pick between 3M and Fusor panel bond

Went with Fusor because my local supplier had it in stock at $42 a tube, and so far no cracking after six months of daily driver winters, has anyone else noticed 3M getting brittle over time?

23

luna_jackson28•5d ago

Talking to a frame guy at a shop in Pittsburgh changed how I look at rust repair

I was bitching about having to cut out a quarter panel on a 2012 Civic last week and this old timer just said 'you're not fixing the rust, you're just moving it somewhere else.' It hit me that half my jobs are just patching things up instead of actually dealing with the moisture problem underneath. Has anyone else had to completely change their approach after a conversation like that?

2

james_ross•10d ago

Why does nobody talk about how bad aluminum filler is on older Ford vans?

I was working on a 1998 Ford Econoline last Tuesday, the one with the rotted out rear quarter panel. Figured I'd save some time and use aluminum body filler instead of steel patch panels, you know, just fill it up. Man was that a mistake... the stuff just wouldn't bond right to the old galvanized metal, kept popping off in chunks after I sanded it. I spent like 3 hours trying to feather it out and it still looked like a mess. Ended up cutting the whole section out and welding in a new piece anyway, wasted a whole afternoon and like $60 on filler. Has anyone else had a bad experience trying to shortcut with aluminum filler on rusty fleet vans?

10

cora_perez•15d ago

Feels like nobody learns how to weld panels right anymore

Ngl I see so many guys just slapping filler over everything instead of taking the time to actually stitch a patch panel in. Last week I pulled a quarter panel off a 2002 Civic and the previous guy had like half an inch of bondo over rust holes. What happened to just doing the job slow and right the first time?

17

the_brooke•17d ago

Three days straight of PDR work last week actually made me reconsider my whole approach to hail damage

I always thought paintless dent repair was just for small dimples but after pulling 47 dents out of a hood on a Chevy Silverado I finally saw how far you can push it under good lighting. Has anyone else had a job totally flip what they thought a tool or technique could do?

25

rileygonzalez•1mo ago

Debate: Spending $400 on a spot welder for aluminum vs paying a shop to do it

I dropped $400 on a used spot welder to do aluminum panels myself after a shop quoted me $1200 for a small repair. On one hand, it let me do the job same day and I've used it twice since. On the other hand, the learning curve was rough, I burned through three tips, and the welds look okay but not pro-level. If I sent it to a shop, it'd be perfect but cost way more and take a week. What's your take, is buying your own gear worth it for one-off jobs or better to just pay the pros?

2

diana_park•1mo ago

Shoutout to the guy who figured out why my paint kept fisheyeing after 4 hours of frustration

Spent last Tuesday fighting with a hood respray on a 2018 Silverado. Could not get the clear to lay down flat, kept getting fisheyes no matter what I did. After stripping it back twice and wasting about 3 hours, a buddy walked over and pointed at my silicone spray can sitting on the bench 10 feet away from the booth. Turns out I had been spraying panels near where I used that stuff the day before and it drifted into the air. Took 20 minutes to wipe everything down with wax and grease remover and it laid perfect after that. Has anyone else had a tiny contaminant wreck a whole job like that?

1

lee_ward54•1mo ago

Remember when we used to straighten frames with a come-along and a tree?

Pulled into a shop last week to help a buddy with a Crown Vic that got t-boned. Kid working there had the whole frame rack setup with lasers and digital printouts. Took him 45 minutes just to set it up. I told him back in 2003 I'd have had that thing chained to a oak tree and pulled straight in 20 minutes. He just stared at me like I had two heads. Got me thinking about how much the tools changed in 20 years. You guys still see any old timers using the tree method or is that completely dead now?

4

the_wesley•1mo ago

That fender I botched at a shop in Tulsa made me rethink filler vs metal finish

Guy next to me swears by metal finishing everything no filler ever. But on a flat rate job that's impossible. Which way do you lean when the clock's ticking?

7

chen.jade•1mo ago

Unpopular opinion: factory seam sealer is overrated garbage

I stripped a 2018 F-150 cab last week that had that factory seam sealer cracking everywhere after 5 years. I spent 3 hours grinding it all out and replaced it with 3M's brushable seam sealer. That factory stuff never flexes right and traps moisture underneath. Why do shops still defend it when aftermarket stuff holds up way better long term?

13

thea692•1mo ago

That 20-year painter told me I was wasting time sanding between every coat of clear

He said he just wets it out and moves on, and after trying it on a Ford hood last Friday I gotta admit the finish laid down just as flat and I saved myself 45 minutes of dusting, anyone else finding old-school shortcuts still beat the modern steps?

6

adam_thomas•1mo ago

Just hit 500 paint jobs this month and it felt off

I crossed my 500th paint job last Tuesday on a 2018 F-150 in Boulder, and honestly it didn't feel like the big deal everyone says it should be. Most guys in my shop treat hitting numbers like that as a badge of honor, but I think the focus on volume makes us rush and miss details like proper masking or color sanding. Has anyone else felt less satisfied after hitting a milestone and started caring more about quality over quantity?

12

anna_coleman•1mo ago

Found a trick for blending clear coat after a fender repair in Toledo last month

I had a tricky silver metallic fender repair where you could see the blend line clear as day. I switched to a finer tip on my spray gun and backed off the pressure by about 10 PSI which spread the metallic out smoother. Anyone else got a go-to tip for making metallic paint blends less obvious?

7

the_hugo•1mo ago

Burned $150 on a cheap paint booth filter setup at my garage in Phoenix

Picked up a budget booth filter kit off Amazon thinking I was saving money. First job with it painted a Mazda hood and the overshot landed everywhere. Had to wet sand the whole thing and respray. Took me an extra 4 hours. Anyone else found a filter brand that actually works without bankrupting you?

16

cora_perez•1mo ago

I'm sticking with water-based primer over epoxy on older cars

Last month at my shop in Denver I used water-based primer over bare metal on a '72 Mustang and three guys told me I was crazy for not using an epoxy sealer first. But I've been doing it this way for 6 years and never had a peel or adhesion failure. Has anyone else had good results skipping epoxy on classic cars that are just daily drivers?

30

parkernelson•1mo ago

Tried using a heat gun on that dent on a fender and it backfired big time

Last Tuesday I had a 2015 Honda Civic with a small dent on the rear quarter panel. Figured I'd try the heat gun trick to soften the paint and pop it out from behind. Turns out I held it too long in one spot and blistered the clear coat about the size of a silver dollar. Ended up having to sand and respray that whole section anyway. Anybody else have a heat gun lesson go sideways on them?

16

ellis.nina•1mo ago

TIL watching how a painter in Omaha prepped a 1965 Mustang changed my approach to filler work

Was visiting a shop in Omaha last month and watched a painter spend 20 minutes just feathering the edges on a quarter panel before any filler touched it. I always rushed that step. I cut my filler time by almost half now. Has anyone else learned a weird trick from just watching someone work?

8

grayw32•1mo ago

I finally had a day where nothing went wrong in the shop

Last Thursday was weird. I fixed a 2015 Civic with a dented quarter panel in under 2 hours, no fight at all. Then a guy came in for a bumper quote and just said "yes" to the price without arguing. Even the paint booth behaved itself, no fisheyes or orange peel. I actually sat down for lunch at noon, which never happens around here. Has anyone else ever had a unicorn day like that, or am I just lucky?

11

henrybaker•1mo ago

Wasted $300 on a fancy paint gun that just sputtered and dripped the whole time

Bought a brand new Graco airless sprayer online after watching a bunch of hype videos, and it turned a 2-hour door job into a 6-hour mess of cleaning clogged tips and wiping runs off every panel, has anyone else had bad luck with those budget turbine units?

2

jordan464•1mo ago

A customer's comment made me check my blending technique harder

Had a guy come pick up his silver Honda Accord last Tuesday, and he pointed out a slight color mismatch near the rear quarter panel. I thought it was close enough, but he saw it in the parking lot light... said 'it's just a hair off, look at the reflection line.' Went back and remixed the blend using a different reducer ratio, and it matched perfect after that. Now I always check the blend under direct sun and fluorescent light before I call it done. Anyone else had a customer catch something you missed like that?

24

angelacooper•1mo ago

Had a customer last week almost fight me over a dent

Some guy in a beat up F-150 came in saying he could pop a quarter panel dent himself with a plunger. Told him he'd wreck the paint and he got real loud about how all body shops are scammers. After he left I saw him trying it in the parking lot and sure enough he peeled a strip of clearcoat off. Has anyone else had to deal with know-it-all customers who think body work is magic?