Caring for Your Refinishing Gear
Today’s consumer is savvier than ever, so you’ve got to deliver the perfect color match and a flawless finish. To do that, it’s critical that your spray gun and spraybooth perform as they were designed to.
Reaching New Heights: Separating Types of Painters
What separates the average painter from an extraordinary one? The “best of the best” pay meticulous attention to their technique, gun maintenance, gun selection – and everything else involved with painting a vehicle. In fact, the best paint techs are scientists, students, sleuths, housekeepers and dancers all rolled into one.
Fill In The Blanks: Correctly Using Fillers
Today, fewer panels are repaired and more are replaced. Likewise, gone are the days when shops used entire 5-gallon pails of body filler weekly to avoid doing metal work. While today’s fillers are used in smaller volumes, a wider variety of styles can provide just what you need — if you know how they work, which to choose and how to use them properly.
The Dirt … On Dirt
Is contamination in your paint jobs a common occurrence? It shouldn’t be. If you identify all the potential sources of contamination, you’ll find that painting isn’t such a dirty job after all.
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.
Got the Paint Problem Blues?
Little paint problems can cost big bucks. But instead of spending a lot of green to make sure the reds, blues, metallics and pearls come out right, listen to the advice of experts who’ve experienced — and solved — these small, but expensive, problems.
Masking at High Speeds
When it comes to masking, plenty of products are available to get the job done economically. But because labor time is the most expensive component, the trick is to find a combination of products that effectively protect the car while allowing you to cover and uncover the vehicle in the least amount of time.
Behind the Paint: History!
Mistakes, World War II, foreign invasion and guinea pigs all played a part in the history of automotive paint. Who said history had to be boring?
Point/Counterpoint, Should an Insurer Pay for Both Tint and Blend?
First, the fact that color variance decks are available indicates that the colors of many vehicles in the field drift from the factory standards. I sold autobody/refinishing supplies for 20 years and worked with paint manufacturers to develop blendable matches for numerous colors. It was necessary to tint the color, spray it out, compare it
Finding Your True Cost of Business
It takes more than a coin toss to decide which jobs your shop should accept. It’s about understanding the cost of doing business. If you’re not measuring the profitability of repairs, how do you know the repairs are even profitable?