An Illinois shop owner has created a 20-minute video and posted it on YouTube to demonstrate all of the steps in the feather, prime and block procedure that must be performed to bring a repair panel back to a new, undamaged one.
Russ Hoernis of Hoernis Auto Body in Belleville, Ill., starts off the video by stating:
“Feather, prime and block is a refinish operation that for years has been snubbed by the insurance industry as either an included operation in repair times, or they have just been unwilling to compensate shops for the work and materials utilized. I have researched the CCC, Audatex and Mitchell manuals, and each estimating system has independently stated that feather, prime and block is a necessary operation that must be performed to bring a repaired part back to a new, undamaged panel. Each manual also clearly states that published refinish times are for new, undamaged panels.”
After documenting the entire operation, Hoernis goes over the labor and materials used and ultimately calculates that not getting paid for this results in roughly $50,000 per year in lost revenue to his shop.
Hoernis concludes the video by saying, “I hope for whoever is watching that this clarifies some of the issues we are up against.”
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