Is Spot Welding Viable?
Used in the manufacture of modern vehicles, spot welding becomes a bit more complicated when applied to collision repair.
The Necessary Equipment
If your shop were simply painting used cars,
you could do an adequate job with a bare minimum of equipment.
A paint gun, a random orbit sander and a masking machine would
get most of the work done. If you intend to do productive collision
repair, however, much more equipment is necessary.
S-TRSW Comes of Age
Modern body shop repair techniques have come a long way from straightening a frame with floor pots and pullers and banging away on dented fenders. These days, it’s a matter
of pulling substructures to exacting measurements with the use of high-tech frame machines and of attaching new body parts to
the straightened substructure.
Peak Performance: Maintaining the Equipment in Your Paint Shop
The investment in a state-of-the-art paint department can be mind boggling.
The Heat Is On
The use of heat to dry paint is a hot topic these days.
Among the Elite
Name: Elite Auto Painting and Body Repair Location: Modesto, Calif. Owner: Moises Martinez Established: 1994 Square Footage: 18,000 Number of Employees: 16 Repair Volume: 120 to 140 vehicles per month Average Repair Ticket: $2,100 Making good decisions has become a habit for Moises Martinez. Start with the 34-year-old’s decision to open his own shop after
Three of a Kind
In my 27 years in the industry, I’ve never seen paint problems more infrequently than I do today. Massive, critical paint failures are extremely rare in any shop that uses a single brand of automotive finishes from start to finish. The few times in the last couple of years that I’ve gone to look at
The Invisible Repair
Bringing a collision-damaged car back to preaccident condition in a fast, quality-oriented manner while still making a reasonable profit is the goal of every modern body shop today.
Why Weld Plastics?
It’s not unheard of for someone to ask, “Why even bother with plastic welding?” The answer: It can be a cost-effective repair method for many plastics that you’d normally throw out.
Streets of Gold: Shurway AutoCenter Ltd.
Name: Shurway AutoCenter Ltd. Location: Brooklyn, N.Y. Owner: Giovanni "John" Scarfo Established: 1981 Square Footage: 17,500 Number of Employees: 20 Repair Volume: 150 cars per month When the first immigrants arrived at Ellis Island, they believed the streets of America were paved with gold. Obviously, they weren’t truly paved in a precious metal. But, to