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?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_logan2d ago

The DA sander trick is something a lot of guys learn the hard way. I think the real problem is people treat it like a magic tool that does all the work for you. A hard block is better for finding high spots because it doesn't flex around them like the pad does. It took me a few years and a mentor yelling at me before I figured that out too.

hayes.elliot2d ago

Yeah, the "magic tool" thing hits close to home. I remember thinking my DA was gonna fix everything on my first resto job. Spent hours on a door panel only to see every wave still there after primer. Hard block is brutal but honest. It'll show you exactly where you screwed up. That mentor yelling part is key too. Sometimes you need someone to tell you straight up that you're wasting time before it finally clicks.