When replacing a quarter panel and a door, I like to have the body guy fit the new door and then remove it for paint. Otherwise, I have to spray the entire jamb of the door hanging up and fender blend. My body guy says, ‘Yeah, but then I have to put the painted door back on.’ I told him that his fitting of the unpainted door is in the replacement times. He thinks I should jamb and clear the jamb of the door so he only has to hang it once, but then I have to use up three rolls of two-inch tape, paper, etc., and fight around the door, opening and closing it many times while painting the exterior. But it’s way simpler to hang the door and paint the jamb quarter and door blend the fender all at once. The body guy is whining about having to put the door on twice. Who is right? Also, should I be getting .5 car bag time on primer jobs? I’m getting a measly 1.0 hours fill and block on quarter section jobs on the paint side. Is that enough?
There is no right answer regarding jambing the parts first or painting them complete off the car. I prefer to paint them off, but I’m flexible. If a body tech isn’t comfortable with that procedure, I don’t push it. If it’s simply a matter of money, it may be to my advantage to toss him .5 or an hour to prefit the parts. There are other labor operations you can barter with, such as fixing pinholes rather than sending work back.
Regarding ‘mask for prime,’ I would be happy to get it, even at .5. It’s better than donating your time! Regarding fill and block, the times for that operation are completely subjective, so I would opt for a set formula to determine the time, such as: .1 for every one hour of repair time the body tech gets (ex. 15 hours of repair time nets the painter 1.5 hours block and fill). I would shoot for something consistent and predictable. I’m sure there are other models that would work as well.
