Electrical Troubleshooting
Whether you’re working on a vehicle just involved in a collision or repairing one with a reoccurring electrical problem, a familiarity with strategy-based diagnostic flow charts
is critical.
Under Construction: Remodeling for Optimization
Three shop owners remodeled to optimize their operations. Was it worth the cost and aggravation? Absolutely
Up to Code: Check Your Permits & Codes
Your grand opening won’t be so grand if the space you’ve designed for your paint area doesn’t comply with the necessary permit requirements and building codes.
Electrical Safety
Electrical accidents and injuries occur every day from the use of unsafe equipment, improper installation, unsafe work environments and unsafe work practices.
Singin’ the Blues in Montana: Blue Body Paint
Name: Blue Body & Paint Location: Billings, Mont. Owner: Delane Langton Established: 1989 Square Footage: 4,320 Number of Employees: Two Repair Volume: 10 per month (collision) Average Repair Ticket: $2,000 Delane Langton has the blues. It’s not that he’s sad … it’s just that, well … he likes the color! All of his cars are
A Well-Rounded Painter
If your customer-service index is high and your marketing efforts are giving your shop a healthy backlog of work, you know that what happens when vehicles reach your paint
department is critical to your continued success. And what goes on in your paint department is highly dependent upon the quality.
of painters you employ.
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.
It’s All In The Mix: Do it Yourself and Save on Materials
Mixing your own paint is the single best way to save money on a shop’s material bill – in fact, no other individual change will make a shop more profit than in-house paint mixing.
Get More Green from Your Yellow
Most body shops advertise in the Yellow Pages, and many of those shop owners renew their ads every year, leaving well enough alone.
Steel the One: Aluminum and Plastics
Fifteen years ago, most of us would have scoffed at the idea of amass-produced, all-aluminum auto, such as the Acura NSX, or a production automobile with exterior plastic panels, such as the Saturn.