Welding Equipment TLC: Make it Last Longer
If you expect your vehicle to last longer and run better, everyone knows preventative maintenance is a must. The same goes for your welding equipment. To get the most mileage and performance from your investment, you’ve got to show you care.
Plastic-Filler Fundamentals
Shaping plastic filler is considered one of the fundamental skills needed by entry-level collision technicians. Some entry-level technicians grasp this skill quickly, while others struggle. Why is this? Part of the difficulty stems from the inability to see the entire forest for the trees. You see the dent or rust-out repair, so you focus on that one little spot. And you concentrate so hard on fixing that spot you forget that when you’re done, the repair must match the shape of the panel.
How to Fix Rust on Cars, Trucks
As you read this, a vehicle somewhere is rusting. And although rust repair isn’t for everyone, a shop owner somewhere is profiting from it. Could that shop owner be you?
Think Safety
What do you think of when someone says “shop safety”? The word safety means the condition of being safe from hurt, injury or loss – no matter where you are.
Is Spot Welding Viable?
Used in the manufacture of modern vehicles, spot welding becomes a bit more complicated when applied to collision repair.
Knowledge is Power
Question: What are you doing to inform consumers
about their rights when it comes to repairing collision damage?
Most states require, in writing, a disclosure regarding aftermarket
parts. But do you take this a step further and verbally explain
how aftermarket parts may affect the repair process?
From Wreck to Right
It’s a dark stormy night. You realize that you’ve strayed from the main paved road and are now traveling down a gravel one. The road is soft. Your vehicle isn’t handling well. It’s raining so hard that the car’s windshield wipers can’t keep up, and the ditches on both sides of the road are very
Why Weld Plastics?
It’s not unheard of for someone to ask, “Why even bother with plastic welding?” The answer: It can be a cost-effective repair method for many plastics that you’d normally throw out.
Tool Time: Common Hand Tools
Can you imagine finishing a weld with a file and emery cloth or sandpaper? Can you imagine prepping a panel for plastic filler with a piece of sandpaper powered only by elbow
grease? Can you imagine removing 25 different types of screws and bolts with a socket and a screwdriver – again, powered by
only elbow grease?
Extinguishing the Flames: Explosions
Explosions, by their very nature, come with no warning – leaving you only to react after the loud noise, after the side of your shop has been blown out, after one of your employees
is on his way to the hospital. That’s why it’s important to do everything you can to prevent explosions.
Filling In the Details: Modern Plastic Fillers
Selecting and using modern plastic body fillers can be confusing – a myriad of products are offered by a myriad of manufacturers, each with its own recommended application procedures.
“X” Marks The Spot
In the old pirate movies, “X” always marked the spot on the map where the buried treasure was located. Often encrypted, the maps were laid out using the only measuring method known at the time – latitude and longitude.