The winner will be randomly selected from correct entries and awarded $50. Entries must be received by the end of the month. Only one winner will be selected. Chances of winning are dependent upon the number of correct entries received. Employees of Babcox Media, industry manufacturers and BodyShop Business advertisers are not eligible to enter.
The winner will be randomly selected from correct entries and awarded $50. Entries must be received by the end of the month. Only one winner will be selected. Chances of winning are dependent upon the number of correct entries received. Employees of Babcox Media, industry manufacturers and BodyShop Business advertisers are not eligible to enter.
Popular Posts Auto Body Profit: The Squeeze is On Auto Body Welding: Look Before You Weld Why Haven't We Seen a Major Increase in Labor Rates Yet? Automotive Refinish: Avoiding Paint Redos, Part 1 Auto Body Shop Succession Planning: Having a Vision Connect with us advertise with us
Auto Body Profit: The Squeeze is On
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Popular Posts Auto Body Profit: The Squeeze is On Auto Body Welding: Look Before You Weld Why Haven't We Seen a Major Increase in Labor Rates Yet? Automotive Refinish: Avoiding Paint Redos, Part 1 Auto Body Shop Succession Planning: Having a Vision Connect with us advertise with us
Auto Body Profit: The Squeeze is On
Auto Body Welding: Look Before You Weld
Why Haven't We Seen a Major Increase in Labor Rates Yet?
Automotive Refinish: Avoiding Paint Redos, Part 1
Auto Body Shop Succession Planning: Having a Vision
Sponsored By Transtar Autobody Technologies
Thinking Outside the Bedliner: Additional Profit Opportunities for Protective Coatings
When most automotive companies think of protective coatings, they think of truck bedliners. But maybe they should be known as "problem-solving coatings" because they have 1,001 potential applications.
Today's body shops and parts distributors are missing a lot of opportunities -- not just with traditional two-component sprayable bedliners, but also with some of the alternative applications for these coatings.
In this 60-minute webinar, our experts will show you how automotive businesses around the country have established an additional profit center by using protective coatings -- in both traditional and non-traditional ways. This presentation will be an "idea starter" that can help you find additional money-making opportunities for your business.
Speakers Dan Reutter, Technical Specialist, U-POL Mark Thomas, National Training Manager, U-POL Jason Stahl, Editor, BodyShop Business
Sponsored By Transtar Autobody Technologies
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Add Your Listing Edit Your Listing By Category Profit Centers Bedliners & Bedliner Franchises/DealershipsCar RentalConsolidatorsFranchises & NetworksPaintless Dent Repair Equipment, Services, Training & FranchisesVehicle Upgrade, Trim & Accessories Refinishing Air Supply SystemsBooth AccessoriesClean Air/Shop EnvironmentCleaning & RecoveryCompressed Air SystemsDetail EquipmentDetail Products & CleanersDrying & Curing Lights/SystemsGun PartsMasking ProductsPaint & Paint ProductsPaint SafetyPaint-Mixing SystemsPrep & Surface ProductsPrep EquipmentPrepstationsSpray Guns & PaintingSpraybooths, Prep Stations & Related Equipment Repair A/C Equipment & SuppliesAdhesivesBody Parts & AccessoriesDimension/MeasuringFrame Straightening & AlignmentGlass/Windshield Repair & ReplacementHand ToolsHeat Guns/Heat ToolsLifts & JacksMechanical Parts & AccessoriesMetal Finishing/FillingPlastics & Plastic RepairPower Tools/Electric & AirScan ToolsService EquipmentStorageVin Certification LabelWelding Equipment & ProductsWelding Safety Shop Management & Operations Advertising & Marketing ServicesCleanup ProductsClothingComputerized Office & Information SystemsInformation, Training & CertificationInternet & Web-Enabled ServicesManagement & Financial ServicesMiscellaneous Training Training: Carbon Fiber Structure Repair
BodyShop Business is the leading source of information for the collision repair industry. Through digital avenues such as videos, podcasts, webinars, e-newsletters, social media and more, plus a monthly print magazine, BodyShop Business delivers content on business management, vehicle repair, industry trends, breaking news and more that collision repair facility owners and managers need to stay current on the rapidly changing auto body world.
BodyShop Business is the leading source of information for the collision repair industry. Through digital avenues such as videos, podcasts, webinars, e-newsletters, social media and more, plus a monthly print magazine, BodyShop Business delivers content on business management, vehicle repair, industry trends, breaking news and more that collision repair facility owners and managers need to stay current on the rapidly changing auto body world.
ByCarl Wilson Wilson on September 22, 2017
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You can never paint something a second time fast enough to be profitable. What’s worse than painting it twice? Painting it three times. So let’s be accurate, darnit.
Carl Wilson has over 30 years in the industry as a painter and technical rep.
If you have any familiarity with my scribblings in BodyShop Business, you’ve undoubtedly discovered that I have an affinity for alliteration. How could a title such as “Proper Paint Prep” fail to present precisely the same opportunity?
Over the decades, I’ve gravitated toward another expression, “The Logical Sequence,” which not only plants a seed of specificity but also encourages economy of motion (a.k.a. efficiency). And let’s not kid ourselves, with ever-shrinking margins, for whatever reason, being efficient has become a requisite.
We will drive through proper paint prep for the sake of accuracy in the operation, but we will approach it by way of The Logical Sequence.
“Carl, what do you mean by, ‘the sake of accuracy’?” Well, I believe it was Col. Cooper who credited Ross Seyfried as saying, “You can’t miss fast enough to win.” While he was referring to competitive pistol shooting, my reference is to the accuracy of the paint shop operation – in its entirety – because a redo for any reason is the result of an inaccuracy somewhere within the operation. Thus my comment illustrating the obvious: “You can never paint something a second time fast enough to be profitable.” What’s worse than painting it twice? Painting it three times. So let’s be accurate, darnit. It’s the decided first step toward efficiency: doing the job right the first time. Doing each operation of the job in the most efficient order leads us to The Logical Sequence.
A panel this filthy this far into the prep is a prime candidate for paint problems later.
As long as I’m already on the estimating soapbox, we should mention the hidden damage that’s revealed once the teardown occurs and the benefit of 100-percent teardown prior to putting the car into production. Not much kills efficiency more than pushing the vehicle aside while waiting for parts or approval, and of course that has a direct impact on cycle time.
Sorry…back to the paint shop.
A body line that changes angle can make a color appear different above and below it. Assess your color everywhere it matters.
A body line that changes angle can make a color appear different above and below it. Assess your color everywhere it matters.
The sidelight technique, which consists of shining a flashlight parallel to the panel, reveals hard-to-see pinholes.
The sidelight technique, which consists of shining a flashlight parallel to the panel, reveals hard-to-see pinholes.
Aggressive sand scratches that haven’t been properly feathered with the appropriate grit will result in sand-scratch swelling if primed over.
Aggressive sand scratches that haven’t been properly feathered with the appropriate grit will result in sand-scratch swelling if primed over.
Guide coat helps us see high/low spots. A powdered guide coat will reveal every scratch and pinhole as well.
Guide coat helps us see high/low spots. A powdered guide coat will reveal every scratch and pinhole as well.
Mask for prime is often an operation we can get paid for. Here, a piece of cardboard between the fender and door prevents overspray on the A pillar.
Mask for prime is often an operation we can get paid for. Here, a piece of cardboard between the fender and door prevents overspray on the A pillar.
The grit we block-sand with is up for debate, with many prepper/painters using a 320-grit sandpaper. I prefer a 240-grit sandpaper. You’ll need to decide for yourself, but let’s take a look at the functions of sandpaper in the paint shop for prepping.
A good rule of thumb is to feather the edge about an inch per paint job. This looks pretty good everywhere except the spot in the center that’s all the way down to metal, where it should have been feathered a little more.
We basically have one of three categories we assign the paper to: rough sanding or cutting; finish sanding or smoothing; and scuff sanding or abrading for adhesion purposes. I classify any sandpaper grit that can be painted over as a finish-sanding grit. Acrylic enamels can easily paint over 320 grit. Furthermore, 320-grit loads fast and quits “cutting.” This is why my preference is for a 240-grit cut. Regardless, I suspect most of us today are using a basecoat/clearcoat system and need to finish it off finer than 320 anyway. So we now once again want to apply a guide coat, and this is where a powdered product really shines. The panel is already flat, so now we need to chase out scratches – either 240- or 320-grit –and the powdered guide coat reveals every scratch to be removed. The next grit to use is determined by what grit scratch we’re trying to remove. A good general rule of thumb is to never jump more than 100 grits when using grits under 400. So to eliminate my 240 scratches, I’ll use 320, followed with more guide coat and then 400 grit. The goal is to stair-step to the final grit you’re after, as dictated by the technical reference manual, without creating a low spot. You may be done when you achieve 400 grit if you’re planning on sealing the repair, and will likely need to take it to 600 grit if you plan on painting it without sealing. At each step of the sanding process, you must leave enough material for the next grit sandpaper or risk sanding a low spot into the repair. It sounds more difficult than it is and, repetition being the mother of skill, the more a prepper does it, the better and faster he gets.
You may employ variances of sorts throughout the process, which is perfectly fine. And that brings to mind another expression I like: “The techniques are many, but the fundamentals are few.”
Remain faithful to the fundamentals and you’ll likely be on target. Nothing is faster than accuracy.
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