c/auto-body-repairers

Spent $1,200 on a cheap paint booth setup, now I'm eating the cost

I figured a pop-up tent booth and a good fan would cut it for a weekend respray in my driveway near Austin. Burned through the money on materials and the paint got dust particles all over the clear coat. Had to sand it down and pay a real shop $800 to redo the roof panel. Anyone else tried the budget booth route and lived to regret it?

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eva_moore•2d ago

OEM part vs the $40 Amazon special I gambled on for a bumper cover

The cheap one cracked in 2 weeks when a shopping cart tapped it in a Kroger lot, but the OEM part took a hit from a rogue snowplow in Buffalo last January and only scuffed the clear coat, so has anyone else learned that lesson the expensive way?

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stellat46•5d ago

The 40 grit disc I avoided for years, until a door skin proved me wrong

I always thought 40 grit was way too aggressive for any body work, too much chance of gouging. Last month I was stripping a 2015 Civic door skin in Birmingham and kept burning through 80 grit pads like crazy. A older guy from the next bay tossed me a 40 grit and told me to just try it, so I did. It cut the old paint off in maybe 15 minutes without digging in like I expected, and the scratch pattern came out way more even than I thought. Anyone else been sleeping on a grit they refused to touch for no real reason?

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danielr99•9d ago

OEM panels vs aftermarket for a 2018 F-150, I finally picked a side

Had a customer bring in a slammed F-150 with a smashed rear quarter. Insurance wanted aftermarket, I pushed for OEM because these aluminum panels fit like garbage sometimes. We went back and forth for 2 days until they approved the OEM, and it still took 4 hours of tweaking to line up the tailgate gap. My buddy down in Austin swears by aftermarket for steel trucks, but on aluminum I'm never going back. Maybe I got unlucky with the brand, but that one repair ate my whole Friday afternoon. Anyone else refuse aftermarket on specific makes or am I just being picky?

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craig.viola•9d ago

Spent $400 on a paintless dent removal kit and got worse results than my hammer

I bought one of those PDR kits with the glue puller and knockdown tools thinking I could save a trip to the shop. The hail damage on my old F-150 was mostly shallow dings, so it seemed doable. After three afternoons in my garage in Phoenix, I had stretched the metal in two spots and made a crease worse. The glue kept popping off unless I let it cure longer, then it pulled too hard. Took it to a local guy who fixed it in 90 minutes for $150. The kit is sitting in my shed now, half used, and I feel like an idiot. Anyone else learn this same lesson the hard way or is it just me?

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wader71•12d ago

That $600 paint booth rental made me eat my words about cheap guns

For years I swore my Harbor Freight purple gun could match anything if I just adjusted the fluid tip right. Then a customer with a '23 Silverado needed a pearl tri-coat and I couldn't blend worth a damn in my shop. Rented time at a booth over in Modesto last Saturday, used their Sata, and laid down three coats without a single run or tiger stripe. Turns out the gun wasn't the whole problem, my old compressor tank was pulsing so bad I was fighting pressure swings the whole time. Now I'm looking at a decent 60-gallon setup and wondering how many clear coats I've ruined over the last five years thinking it was my technique. Anyone else blame their spray gear only to find out the real issue was air delivery?

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felixm29•14d ago

Dropped $900 on a plasma cutter I barely use, hand torch does the job faster

Honestly I thought buying a plasma cutter would speed up my rust repair work but after 6 months it just sits in the corner. The cheap 110v units cut through thin panels like butter compared to the heavy stuff I actually do on collision cars. I keep reaching for my $40 oxy torch because it handles brackets and suspension parts without dragging out the compressor. Anyone else shell out for shop equipment that ended up being overkill for their daily jobs, or am I the only one with a pricey paperweight?

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lucast81•16d ago

The 12 year old F150 that came back showroom clean after one rainstorm

Had a customer drop off his truck for rust repair, thing was beat to hell, 230k miles and cab corners rotted out. We patched it up and he picked it up Friday, then it rained all weekend. He sent me pics Monday, the rust spots turned into this smooth gray patina, looks like he paid us to do a full repaint instead of just the patch. Anyone else ever see fresh filler react weird to moisture like that?

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wells.christopher•18d ago

A customer's one comment about my masking tape changed my whole process

Last month in Sacramento, a customer watched me tape off her 2018 Civic and said 'you know that gap line is going to show through, right?' I was sure my overlaps were fine. Turns out she was right, the paint edge left a faint ridge after I pulled the tape. Now I use a two tape method, one layer for the base and one for the edge, costs me an extra 4 minutes per car. Has anyone else had a customer spot something you did for years without noticing?

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jordan_hill•21d ago

Tried a stud welder on heavy gauge steel, pulled a dent AND a chunk of my floor pan

Last Tuesday I had a 2012 F-150 with a dent right on the rocker seam, figured I'd skip the drill holes and use the stud welder for once. Got the slide hammer going and the stud held fine, but the sheet metal around it tore clean out, left a hole the size of a half dollar. Turns out that area had been bondo'd over twice before, so the steel underneath was paper thin. My mentor walked over, laughed, and said 'that's why we test with a magnet first, kid'. Anyone else ever trust a panel and end up making more work?

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laura_black•22d ago

Old timer told me to stop sanding between clear coats, he was dead right

Buddy at the shop in Cleveland swore wet sanding with 2000 grit before final clear would leave hazing, and I thought he was full of it. Tried his way on a pearl job last month and the finish laid down glassy with zero buff time, anyone else get burned by over-sanding?

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emma_baker61•25d ago

Noticed how many shops skip the corrosion warranty work now

Pulled a 2018 Silverado bed liner off last week and the cab corner was dust behind it. Dealer quoted the customer $1,800, but I looked it up and GM's corrosion coverage runs 5 years unlimited miles on that panel. Found that stat buried in the warranty booklet PDF. Anyone else seeing more of these slip past because owners just assume it's out of pocket?

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charles720•26d ago

PSA: stop trusting the 'just use more hardener' advice from the parts store guy

Last month I had a 2017 F-150 with a tailgate that kept sagging on the left hinge. The guy at AutoZone in Columbus told me to just grab some stronger epoxy and layer it thicker, said it would firm right up. Took his word for it, spent $38 on the stuff, and two days later the hinge cracked clean through while I was test closing it. Customer came back and I had to eat the part cost plus redo the whole repair with proper spot welds. I get that body filler and adhesives have their place, but for structural hinges that guy had no clue what he was talking about. Anyone else had to undo a parts store shortcut that cost you double the time and cash?

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wood.uma•27d ago

The fender that fought back all Tuesday

Spent 6 hours on a 2018 Civic quarter panel in Tulsa because the previous shop used 3 different types of seam sealer and I had to grind every layer off by hand, has anyone else dealt with mystery goop like that and found a faster way out?

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theas28•28d ago

Bought a $140 laser level that couldn't handle shop dust, back to string lines

I figured a fancy laser would speed up my panel alignment work, but after about 3 weeks in my shop the dust just killed the sensor. The thing started throwing lines off by a quarter inch and I didn't trust it anymore. Took it apart, cleaned the lens twice, still acted up. Has anyone else had laser tools crap out on them in a dusty environment, or did I just get a bad unit?

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cole_murphy•1mo ago

Old timer in Tulsa laughed at my $40k spray booth

I was painting a Ford Raptor in my shop outside Tulsa and this retired guy who used to do classics walks in, says my booth was a waste since his buddy's garage rebuilds came out cleaner with a leaf blower. He then showed me a door he'd finished with single-stage and no clear, zero dust nibs, and honestly it looked better than half the stuff I see from dealers. Am I overthinking air filtration when the real skill is just laying down paint straight?

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hannah_west39•1mo ago

That $400 paint booth filter I laughed at actually works

I've been spraying for 8 years and always used the cheap 20 dollar pre-filters. Last month a supplier in Tulsa talked me into this expensive 400 dollar set claiming it cut down on overspray and cure time. I called it a gimmick until my pearl coat came out flawless with zero dust nibs on the first pull. The booth air just feels different now, cleaner. Anyone else find a pricey consumable that turned out to be worth every cent over the cheap stuff?

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thea602•1mo ago

Had a customer point out my door gap was 3mm wider on one side last week

Took his caliper to it and he was right, so now I always check gaps with a feeler gauge before paint instead of just eyeballing it - has anyone else had a customer call them out like that?

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samrodriguez•1mo ago

The day I did 3 insurance estimates and they all came back approved no questions asked

Last Tuesday was probably my best day on the job in 10 years. I had this beat up 2018 Civic with rear quarter panel damage that I figured would get flagged for blending. Then a Tahoe with a scratched up bumper that usually gets nitpicked. And a F-150 with a dented tailgate. All three came back approved within 2 hours, no supplementary photos needed, no adjustments. The estimator at the shop even joked "are you a magician or what" when he saw the approvals. I don't know what the adjusters had for breakfast that day but I wish I could bottle it. Has anyone else ever had a run of approvals like that or am I just dreaming?

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jake_patel•1mo ago

Used to laugh at those paint thickness gauges until I actually borrowed one

Honestly, I thought they were a gimmick for years. A buddy brought his on a job last spring and I let him check a used bumper I was about to spray. Found out it had like 40 mils of old paint on it when I was sure it was down to plastic. Ended up saving me from a peel disaster that would have taken an extra 3 hours to fix. Now I keep a cheap one in my toolbox and it's paid for itself twice over. Anyone else have a tool they wrote off and then regretted not getting sooner?

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linda_reed•1mo ago

Hit 100 custom paint jobs last month and it messed with my head

I finished my 100th custom paint job last month on a 67 Mustang for a guy in Phoenix and it hit me harder than I expected. Counting them out made me realize how many hours I've put into just sanding and buffing alone. Has anyone else hit a random milestone that made them stop and think about the grind?

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susan81•1mo ago

Saw a big difference in paint adhesion after switching to epoxy primer on a job in Nashville

I used to just use standard urethane primer on everything, but after a repair last summer on a hood that kept chipping three months later, I tried an epoxy sealer for the bare metal. The finish held up way better through the heat and humidity here, no lifting or peeling at all. Has anyone else seen a similar change when they swapped to epoxy for their base coats?

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ramirez.vera•1mo ago

Had a painter chew me out over my sanding technique last month

Old timer named Dave stopped by my shop. Saw me using a DA sander on some filler work. He said I was going too fast and skipping grits. Told me to hand sand the primer with 400 before any paint. I tried it on a fender repair. The orange peel disappeared. Now I finish every job that way. Anyone else get told to slow down on sanding?

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lucast81•1mo ago

Been using a DA with too much pressure for 2 years, a neighbor finally said something

I was out in my garage working on a fender from a 2017 Civic, just grinding away with my DA sander like I always do. My neighbor who runs a body shop walked over and asked why I was pushing so hard, said I was basically fighting the tool. How much pressure do you guys actually use when sanding down filler?

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thomasgonzalez•1mo ago

Had to choose between a cheap paint gun and a name brand one last month

I needed a new spray gun for a repaint job on an old Chevy truck in my shop. The Harbor Freight one was $60 and the Devillbiss was $350. I went with the cheap one to save money, but it sputtered like crazy on the clear coat. I ended up sanding down three runs and a dry spot, which cost me an extra 4 hours. That $60 gun turned into a $200 lesson when you add up my time. Anyone else get burned by going budget on paint tools?

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