Technical Tips for Auto Body Collision Repair

Bad Bolts The common denominator for tightening a clamp for pulling seems to be to immediately replace the 5-grade bolt the tool comes with ...

Taking a Look at Products Designed To Meet Cleaning Requirements for Industry Like any other sector of the business world, the industrial workplace has a very specific need for cleanliness ...

Taking a Look at Products Designed To Meet Cleaning Requirements for Industry And everyone knows that TIME IS MONEY. That's where E-Z Mix does it again ...

Save Time Painting Panels Off the Car! The Panel Tree #35900 by Steck allows the technician to trim, paint and blend at one shot ...

Appraiser Certification: CREDIBILITY and COMPETENCY How many times have you listened to body shop owners complain about poor damage estimating or, even worse, incompetent estimators? ...

Proper Paint Procedures Comeback paint repairs all have one thing in common: they are absolute financial losses for the collision shop ...

The Fine Art of Paintless Dent Removal Dings from car doors. Imprints from shopping carts. Dips from hail storms. Although aggravating to motorists, small cosmetic blemishes such as these can be repaired in a matter of minutes ...

Protect valued employees and avoid regulatory fines by developing an effective shop health and safety program Tom grew up in the collision repair industry. He painted cars years before anyone ever considered the health ramifications of not wearing masks or respirators. But even after the government ...

Panel Replacement - New Technologies Challenge Old Habits Adhesive bonding and resistance spot welding are finding their way into collision repair facilities across the country. Despite controversy surrounding these emerging technologies ...

Spray Guns 101 - Learning the basics of spraygun operation can help keep the paint flowing— and the shop running—smoothly. Paint technicians striving to boost their levels of performance must heed at least one piece of advice--learn the operating principles behind the sprayguns they use each day ...

Turning in a Polished Performance It's no secret that delivering a finished repair job that is sparkling and lustrous is rewarding to the repair shop. That's why the technician who polishes the vehicle ...

Nuts and Bolts – Even the little items count in collision repair Collision repairers determined to truly return a vehicle to its pre-loss condition would be wise to take cues from the aviation industry when it comes to choosing and installing fasteners ...

Attention: Painters – Do You Treat Your Spray Gun Like You Treat Your Car? Most people realize that proper maintenance to their car is the key to insuring top performance for a long period of time. They understand that proper lubrication and tune-ups are a necessary ...

"Air Conditioning for your tools" The secret to clean, dry compressed-air No, your air tools don't really care how cool it is in your shop. Any pneumatic tool, whether it's an impact ratchet or a high end HVLP spray gun, will not function correctly or provide the desired ...

"No Bullet Holes" Repairing Sheet Metal The Easy Way Some outdated autobody repair textbooks still recommend drilling holes along the crease of a dent to make room for the screw of the slide hammer. Drilling the dented panel makes ...

"Plastic Secrets" Comeback Prevention Basics Remember steel bodies? heavy, chrome-plated bumpers? plated steel (or at least aluminum) trim? simple lacquer or acrylic enamel paint? Allow me to remember a lost  ...

"Fastest Way to Bare Metal" – Paint Stripping the Right Way Panel stripping for professionals includes using an effective chemical...like Kleanstrip's Aircraft Remover. You know the drill...brush the panel with stripper, work on something else for 20 minutes, come back, scrape the surface ...

"Finicky Prep Work" Sanitary Prep Pays Off "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". How's that for a well-worn proverb? In Autobody refinishing, you could also say, "Three gallons of wax & grease remover is worth ...

"Masks and Hoods" Clean air - one of the three basic ingredients for life on this planet. Not only is it good for you, it's the Law! Take a tour of several body shops and you'll see a lot of differences in the way they look and operate. Many are spiffy, clean and well-equipped, while others ...

"Sandblasting and Restoration" – Going to bare metal One of the choices you face when doing a "fix-up" or restoration is deciding what restorative methods to employ. Before dealing with our current topic, it’s worthwhile to consider what "restoration" means ...

"Infrared Curing" Questions & Answers Q. My business is growing pretty fast, but why should I spend $1800-3500 on a curing unit when I don't have any serious problems with ...

Auto Body Repair Definitions Glossary of commonly used collision repair terms ...