Rodney
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Great advice and I appreciate it. We are very efficient and ive always been the one dictating the pace of the shop even when all I did was paint. The guys here really do respect me and do what I ask with the occasional hick-up. I’m an expert at multi-tasking and to be a painter or body-man you have to be. I know I can make it work just fine. We are really the only shop in our small area, but we still do a lot of work, and I think pulling in one more insurance company would benefit the shop tremendously! Not just for me but for my employees. Not bragging but I do have my head screwed on strait, have a great work ethic and I despise failure! This is what my Dad always dreamed about. Thanx alot guys, I will take your advice and move full steam ahead! :cheers
[quote=”ding” post=20372]Sorry to hear about your father.
tell us a little about your shop. the size, # of employees, DRP, etc and we can help with some specific advise. In general be honest, fair and upfront
with everyone. Get paid for what you do, dont sell yourself short.[/quote]We are a state-farm select first shop. 2 body-men one painter (me)! We do about 5 cars a week so not a lot of volume, which hopefully I can change that. I’m looking to hire a painter soon so I can focus on the business end of things. I plan on trying to take on 1 or 2 more DRP’s, and doing some P.R work. We are apart of the chamber of commerce so that’s a bonus as well as I am apart of a networking group of businesses in our local area so that should help increase volume as well. My wife is going to keep the books, and my cousin who is an accountant will help with everything involved as far as that’s concerned. I really pray that I can make things work, not only as good as my Dad did but hopefully better. Were not a huge shop, but we have an excellent reputation for doing quality work. I know I can handle it, but I still have to go through all the legal mumbo jumbo…..
Been painting diamont for a few years and I use a iwata lph400 1.4 @ around 22psi 2-3 med wet coats and lays down perfect for me, but that’s me. I think whats comfortable for you and your technique is what you should spray with. I did use the tekna for awhile but now use it for clear as it does really put the material on.
Lmao!! :stoned
We are a DRP shop for a couple insurance companies, but there are insurance companies that I would never be a drp for, since all they wanna do is save a buck and screw the customer ultimatly making the shop look bad. But I guess if your not willing to fight to get the job done correctly and to a pre loss condition then that falls on the shop or the owner. Imo some shops need to be alittle more educated on how to deal with these issues. As well as the insurance companies complying with manufacture repair procedures. With all the new metals going into these cars and trucks to protect its passengers, depending on the repair, most manufactures are sayin to replace structural components not repair as it is unsafe and not doing the job it was intended to do. If the shop doesnt follow procedure then the shop could possibly end up buying that vehicle that was improperly repaired. Am I wrong? :unsure:
I like the crystal tack rags but they are alittle to sticky for me, recently switched to the gurson tack cloth and I love them. There is no such thing as a lint free towel, the closest thing I have found to lint free is the tareless. They leave the least amount of lint that I have found. I always w&g and use the waterborne cleaner, then blow it down at the same time as i tack, then before I spray I tack it down wiping in the same direction on every panel.(dont know if it makes much of a difference thats just how I was tought). I turn out really clean jobs limiting how much I actually have to buff which I hate doing. An extra couple minutes prepping a car can save a lot of time in the end.
after baking a car sometimes id shock it with cold water, cut it open and let it breth overnight then buff it the next day. This worked great for me and it was every bit as good as a show finish. But I do only cut and buff when I have to, I know in restoration its the other way around.
We butt match our bedsides to cab corners all the time, and we do ALOT of full size trucks. The way I look at it is if the boss says to do it, then its his problem if it doesnt work, and if it doesnt work, he can pay me to blend the rest. Looks great though! customer will never notice that its a touch dark…….:P 😛 😉
Also going overboard on blending clear will cause this, Had it happen a couple weeks ago on a silver van that fought me every step of the way.
I had this problem a few years ago, not so bad that it was that noticeable but bad enough I didn’t like it. The clear I was using had a slight amber look to it and it changed all my lighter colors. We switched clears, and I haven’t had that problem since.
:welc
Your work looks great! I cant wait to get my 4000, Gonna be awhile though.:clappy
I have to agree with everyone else, Painters used to make alot of money!!!!! Its dropped off dramatically in the last few years. My dad has been a painter his whole life, thus I followed in his footsteps, so I got an early start. Imo You wouldve been better off going to work in a shop and working your way up from there. I know people who have went to school for it and say its nothing like what they were tought in school, and most of them thought they were gonna leave school and jump right into a journeymen position. Not trying to rain on your parade, but you have to really love your job because the money in this trade is fading fast!! Car looks great though, and good luck in the future.
Thats what I like about the new fast track compound is its no where near as messy as the G3. It doesn’t dry up and sling compound dust everywhere, in fact there’s no dust at all. From what I understand is its fairly new, its similar to the G3 but cleaner and not as aggressive so less swirls. After I buffed it I took it outside and there were no swirls at all, and that’s without polishing it, (I polished it anyway). And an added bonus is the price. Ive used ferecla for years and its quit spendy.
LMFAO!!!!!!:rofl :rofl