Blowing Smoke: Servicing Exhaust Systems
It’s more than likely you’ve seen your fair share of damaged exhaust systems. But without knowing the critical points of inspection, you may have missed something – which unfortunately revealed itself to the customer later.
A Balanced Business Decision: Performing In-House Wheel Balancing & Tire and Rim Service
The vehicles that grace our repair bays have one thing in common: They all have at least four wheels. And more than likely, their balance has been affected by the collision. You know what that means? There’s money to be made by performing in-house wheel balancing and tire and rim service.
The Good and Bad of Internet Estimating
The most recent trend in Internet application is online estimating or the execution of estimates through a Web service. Is this new trend right for your shop? Consider these pros and cons before signing up.
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? Choosing a New Paint Brand?
It takes more than a coin flip to decide whether to choose a new paint brand or stick with the one you have. Sure, a new paint product with all sorts of new bells and whistles may entice you to jump ship from your current brand, but make sure you do your homework before taking that leap.
Off With the Parts!
Shuffling new parts from metal department to paint department and back again is beginning to show its age. Though industry critics insist painting parts off the car isn’t a practical alternative, some production shops disagree – and have the reduced cycle times and increased profits to prove it.
Ease Your Purchasing Pressure: the Impact of Compressed Air
The impact of compressed air on workflow and product quality is often overlooked. The bad news: Costly rework due to poor quality paint jobs and workflow interruptions due to inadequate air supply can increase cycle times, causing real monetary losses. The good news: You have complete control over your compressed air system.
A Not-So-Sticky Subject: Adhesives
When ancient Egyptians boiled animal hides to make glue, they had no idea how far modern chemistry would take adhesives. Today, two-component epoxy, urethane and acrylic glues are being used as structural panel bonding adhesives – and OEMs have given their stamps of approval.
The Heat Is On: Infrared Equipment
Since the average body shop paints an entire vehicle just 10 percent of the time, it makes sense to focus your energy — and that of your curing system — on only the areas refinished. How? Infrared equipment can be applied just where and when you need it, helping to increase your shop’s efficiency
Prepare to Paint
Paint preparation is more difficult and complicated than it was a couple decades ago. To keep your shop as productive and profitable as possible, keep yourself up to date on the latest paint products.
Bedlining Your Pockets
As pickup trucks continue to grow more popular, so does consumer demand for bedliners. In fact, the spray-on bedliner aftermarket hit $90 million ’98. But how much of that $90 mil went into your bank account?