c/auto-body-repairers

Warning: don't trust a 20 year old floor jack with a 4 ton truck

Last Saturday I was swapping out a rusty bumper on a 2018 F-250 and my old floor jack just gave out under the front axle. It made this loud pop and dropped the whole front end on the driver's side, nearly took my foot off. I had to scramble to get my jack stands under there before the whole thing tipped. Spent the next hour trying to figure out how to get the truck back up safely. Anyone else had a jack fail on them mid job and how did you get out of it?

Switched from a DA sander to a longboard for blocking 3 months ago

I used to think I could block a panel flat with just a DA and some patience, but after fighting orange peel on a 2018 Civic hood in my shop, I grabbed a 3M longboard and some 180 grit. The difference in panel flatness is night and day, I'm getting way less pinholes now too. Anyone else made the switch and felt like they were sanding wrong for years?

That guy who painted a Subaru with rattle cans in his driveway

Tbh I saw a post on Facebook last week where some guy showed off his rust repair on a 2010 Outback near Portland. He used Bondo over bare metal and painted it with $5 rattle cans from the auto parts store. The body lines were gone and the clear coat looked awful in a week. Why do people skip the primer and sanding steps? Has anyone else run into customers trying to cheap out like this?

Spent 2 hours sanding a fender only to realize I was using 80 grit the whole time

Was fighting with deep scratches that wouldn't come out, felt like an idiot when I finally checked the paper. Anybody else have a 'check your grit' moment that saved them a ton of time?

Had a day last week where everything just clicked...

It was Tuesday, I was working on a 2015 F-150 that had a nasty crease along the rear quarter panel. Normally I'd be fighting with filler and sanding for hours, but I got the dent pulled almost perfect on the first try with my stud welder. The paint match ended up being dead on too, no blending required. Has anyone else had one of those days where it feels like the car is working with you instead of against you?

Worst day in the booth I've had in years

Last Tuesday started out fine, then I had a pearl white tri-coat that just kept blotching on me. I must have sanded and resprayed that rear quarter panel three times before lunch. Then my HVLP gun decided to spit on the final coat and I had to start all over again. By 4 PM I was still fighting tiger stripes and my arms felt like noodles. The customer is coming back tomorrow morning and I have no idea how this is gonna look in sunlight. Anyone else ever hit a color that just refuses to cooperate no matter what you do?

Overheard a customer say panel gaps are 'good enough' and it bugged me

I was working on a 2022 Honda Civic last Tuesday when the owner walked by and said the front bumper gap looked fine. The gap was off by about 3 millimeters on the driver side compared to the passenger side. I told him I could tweak it but he insisted it was good enough. Do you guys let stuff like that slide or do you always push for factory spec?

Watched a guy at a shop in Phoenix fix a quarter panel with a $30 harbor freight hammer and dolly set

I was down in Phoenix last month visiting family and stopped by a buddy's shop. This older guy comes in with a dented quarter panel on an old Chevy. My buddy hands him a cheap harbor freight kit and says 'go for it.' 45 minutes later that panel looked better than some stuff I've seen come out of a $10k frame machine. Made me rethink spending big on tools when technique does the heavy lifting. Any of you run into a repair that made you feel like your expensive gear is overkill?

That retired guy at the dealer parts counter dropped some wisdom on me

I was picking up a fender liner at the local Chevy dealer last Friday and this older gentleman, must've been 70, was behind me in line. He saw my work shirt and started talking about how he used to straighten collision damage on 70s C10s with nothing but a hammer and a dolly. Told me he could get a quarter panel within 1/16th of an inch with a file and some patience. I've been relying on my stud welder and slide hammer for everything lately but he got me thinking maybe I'm skipping the basics too much. Does anyone else still do any old school metal finishing by hand or am I the only one who's let the tools take over?

Spent 4 hours hunting a rust bubble that wasn't even there

Had a 2018 F-150 come in last Friday with a small bubble on the rear quarter panel. I sanded it down ready to weld and found nothing underneath, just a paint chip that caught dirt weird. Turns out the clear coat had a tiny air pocket that looked like rust from the side. I wasted half my afternoon chasing a ghost because I didn't grab a flashlight and check the angle first. Anyone else get fooled by phantom rust like that?

I used to swear by cheap filler, but I was dead wrong

For years I bought the cheapest bondo I could find thinking it all sanded the same. Then I tried Rage Gold on a 2018 Honda Civic rear quarter panel last month and I'll never go back. The way it spreads and doesn't leave pinholes saved me about 2 hours of sanding time. Anyone else see a big difference with premium fillers or am I just getting old?

Paint gun air valve stuck open on a BMW hood today

I was spraying clear coat on a 2020 BMW 3 series hood this morning and the air valve on my Iwata gun just locked up mid-pass. Couldn't shut the air off without disconnecting the hose. Took me 45 minutes to tear it down and find a chunk of teflon tape jammed in the valve seat. Has anyone else had issues with tape bits getting into their gun internals?

I finally gave in and tried that PDR glue pull method I always made fun of

Been doing dent repair for 11 years, always thought the glue pull stuff was for amateurs. Then last month I had a quarter panel dent on a 2022 Honda Civic in Green Bay that I couldn't reach from behind no matter what I tried. Got a cheap tab kit from Napa for 30 bucks and it popped out clean in under 10 minutes. Has anyone else here been converting from traditional tools to these newer methods?

TIL a wet towel and a heat gun can save a dent repair on plastic bumpers

I was working on this 2018 Civic rear bumper last Tuesday, had a nasty crease right near the taillight pocket. Tried my usual slide hammer and plastic welder tricks, nothing was pulling clean. Then my old shop foreman walks by and says 'damp a rag, heat it from behind, and push from the front.' I thought he was messing with me but I gave it a shot. Heated the plastic to about 180 degrees with the rag on it, pressed from the inside and the crease popped right out like magic. Saved me from having to fill and respray that whole panel. Anyone else use heat like this for tricky bumper dents?

Old timer at the paint supply counter saved me $200 on clear coat

Stopped by FinishMasters in Portland a few months ago to grab some clear for a job. The kid at the counter tried to sell me the top shelf stuff, $85 a quart. This old guy came out from the back, put his hand on the can and said "that's overkill for a 2004 Camry, grab this one instead." Saved $50 a quart right there. Has anyone else had a paint supply guy just set you straight like that?

Debate: Is it worth spending extra on a weld-through primer for panel gaps?

I started using a special weld-through primer on a quarter panel repair last week after getting surface rust in the gaps on my previous job. The can cost me $18, but it stopped corrosion where the spot welds go. On the other hand, my buddy says he skips it and just uses regular primer after welding, and he hasn't had issues in 5 years. Does the extra cost and time pay off in the long run, or is it a gimmick for most shop jobs?

PSA: Reached 500 dent pulls on one hood last Tuesday and my hand still hurts

I was working on a '99 Chevy Tahoe hood with hail damage from a storm in Dallas. Pulled 500+ little dents over 3 days using a glue pull kit. Has anyone else found a way to speed up these big jobs without killing your fingers?

Rant: The time I had to pull a whole fender off because of a hidden magnet

I was doing a repair on a 2015 Civic in my bay last Tuesday, blending some paint on the rear quarter. I grabbed my magnetic fender cover to protect the area, but it was a cheap one I got online. The magnet was way too strong and it pulled the whole fender edge right off the clips when I went to move it. I just stood there for a second looking at this fender hanging by one bolt. Had to take the whole thing off to re-clip it, which added like an hour to the job. Anyone else ever have a tool or cover just ruin your whole flow like that?

Just realized I've mixed 500 gallons of filler since I started my own shop

I was cleaning out the back room and found a stack of old invoices for body filler. I added up all the gallons I've bought over the last 8 years, and the number hit 500. It's a crazy amount when you think about it, all those little cans and big drums. I remember when I first started, I was so careful with every scoop, trying not to waste a drop. Now, it's just part of the daily routine, but seeing that total made me think about all the cars that filler went onto, from simple door dings to full quarter panel replacements. It's a quiet sign of all the work that's passed through the bays. Has anyone else ever tallied up something basic like that and been surprised by the scale?

Question about using a heat lamp versus just letting filler air dry in a cold shop

Tried a 500-watt lamp on a quarter panel last winter and it cured in under an hour, but the old 'let it sit' method took almost three days in the same 50-degree bay. Anyone have a better setup for low temps?

I keep seeing people use a heat gun on fresh clear coat way too early and it makes me cringe.

I watched a guy in our shop try to speed up the cure on a bumper by blasting it after only 20 minutes, and the finish ended up looking like orange peel soup, so what's the absolute minimum dry time you all wait before even thinking about applying heat?

Serious question, had a customer three years ago in Spokane who insisted on a full quarter panel replacement for a dent I could have fixed with pulling and filler. He said it was the only 'right' way. I argued it was overkill and a waste of his money. Where do you draw the line on repairs versus replace?

Changed my mind about pulling a quarter panel on a '17 F-150

Thought it would be a 4 hour job, but the factory bed liner adhesive was like concrete. Took me and my apprentice a full 8 hours just to get it off cleanly. Anyone have a better method for that stuff besides heat and a ton of patience?

Can we talk about how much filler we used to use?

I was cleaning out the shop attic and found a box of old invoices from like 2008. One job on a Ford Ranger quarter panel listed 4.5 pounds of filler. That's INSANE. Now, with better pulling tools and frame machines, I'd maybe use a half pound on the same job. The change really started when shops around here got serious about cycle time and insurance companies started pushing for less filler. It's a totally different skill set now, more about metal finishing. Anyone else find old work orders that make you shake your head?

I finally got the quarter panel on that '78 Firebird to line up after fighting it for almost a full weekend.

The problem was a hidden brace inside the wheel well that had been bent in a previous repair, and it took me about 14 hours of careful pulling and measuring to get the gaps right before I could even think about welding.