Advise please!

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 11:01 pm
what is expected from a rookie at a body shop? also, what in all do painter helpers do? are there body men helpers? I've been at this shop for close to 2 years. I started knowing jack @#%$, , up to this date i consider myself a good sprayer, bad body guy though. i block my bondo but i dont know what im doing wrong it always ends up wavy!!!! now spraying i can spray mirror like finishes minimal orange peal! also there is no one to guide me on my body work. the dude i work with is just a pain in the **** i dont want to talk **** but there are things that just cannot be acceptable. like priming over 40/80 grit scratches and saying its done with, the dude is wasting primer wtf is his deal?! i'm wanting to go work for an official bodyshop and learn more. what do ya'll the professionals advice me to do! ? also i'd like to point out that this site has helped and also theres this guy on youtube called pete some of ya;ll might know whome im refering too but his videos have also helped quite a bit! thanks in advance for the responses!

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PostPosted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 7:45 pm
Every shop is run differently. Most of the larger shops will quickly see which guys have an aptitude for certain parts of the process and have them work under an experienced guy first, then move up.

On your bondo work there are some basic things you need to remember. Use high quality sandpaper. Use the right grit for the stage of sanding you are doing. Starting off with a quick cut of 40 grit paper or even a 'cheesegrater' type tool is not a bad thing. Let the sandpaper do the cutting do not bear down on the block. Use an 'x' pattern and switch it up -- do not sand in the same direction continuously. I'm sure with some practice you can nail this.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 4:59 pm
thanks for the response again. i was kinda raging on that post cause it sucks to not know what to do! but i havent realy thought of let the sand paper do its job until recently. the cheese grater helps out a lot also! thanks the response again man.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:20 pm
anytime...glad I could help ;-)



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PostPosted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 10:45 pm
hey buddy i am a young prep guy that does some spraying, now i went to a voc school witch i did auto body everyother week no academics at all just working on actual peoples cars now when i got out of that school graduated my highschool and all i was good went to a competition for refinishing. Means nothing at all. i worked in a shop for almost two years they treated me like **** and i left, the job im at now im my own guy one a supose to be 2 person prep team made into 3 cause some moron on the body side. my point is to be in a production shop you have a job prep body work or paint thats it prep is easy body work eh pain in the **** sometimes but not rocket science paint same thing but you have to be quick thats it being young in my shop with a kid close to my age another two months older than me and the kid my age constantly talking **** my days become annoying and i **** up youll find this anywhere maintain focus and youll do fine



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PostPosted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 7:16 pm
Did you go to skillsusa jay? I went this past august for refinishing and came out national champ



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PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:16 pm
I'm going to give you the hard answer that you probably don't want to hear. There is nothing harder in the biz than being a good plastic body guy. That and frame work are the hardest things to know so until you get that, forget about descent money. Practice practice and practice more.pull the dent as close as you can get it, only use thin coats of nicely laid plastic, and let it fully out nearly fully dry. Start with the lowest grit like 36 with the biggest block possible and let the paper do the work. Do not apply pressure. Move in twenty degree angles and work till you have the basic shape. Move to 80 when you are close and feel the work moving your hand over the work in all directions not using your eyes. Your hands will learn to feel the highs and lows over time. When you are just about there, switch to 180 and gently get out your sand scratches. Apply your glaze, maybe stay with 80 or180 depending on how rough the glaze is and the feather the paint around it 1 inch outer layer evenly around the work. Let someone experienced feel the work then prime. I'd needs be, reapply glaze and gently work again



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PostPosted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 11:17 pm
Don't use 36 grit, you will create more work for yourself, no one has told you the obvious yet... Follow the shape of the panel...don't sand horizontally across a vertically contoured panel. Long strokes from edge to edge sanding into the surrounding paint( that's why you don't want to use 36! Extra work later) large area = large sanding block, small area = small block. Don't fix the "dent", fix the panel, that is, wipe a larger area and blend in to the shape of the panel (does that make sense?) when you finish your filler work, feather out the surrounding paint then "POP" ..."Putty Over Paint"...there will be no outlining of your bodywork by doing this. 40 grit>80 grit> 180 is all the paper you will need. It's a learned art, I had to work lead when I first got into this then had to learn " bondo". Make sure the guy prepping for paint blocks by hand using the same technique too and not busting across your work with a DA!!



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PostPosted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 1:07 am
Oddworxs When I started learning I was at the same place you did. Master your paint knowledge first. Laying down smooth paint is only the first part. Learning to match colors is what beat on me the hardest! Then knowing what to do when things went wrong.
If your blocking out mudd work and not seeing ANY signs of where the repair was. Even behind rough body men. Your way ahead in the game. Means your seeing the flow of the panel into the next.
One thing that a old body man told me. When I started learning that end was. Just keep doin it YOU won't realize when you git good at it but the people you work with/for will.
What part of Georgia you in?
If it ain't BROKE fix it till it is!!

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