Shop Space for Rent

Having a membership will be like renting your own shop space, but the main difference is cost. Shop space in Raleigh can be very expensive, normally around $2500 a month for an average sized shop, although prices have probably come down since the recession but still rather expensive non the less. If the membership fees were around $50 a month, you could book time when you needed it and you had all the equipment to make efficient use of your time, it would be like renting shop space for only $50 per month. As a Do it yourselfer or maybe even a automotive hobbiest, it's a cost effective solution to having your own shop. Add the fact that you don't have to worry about building maintenance, purchasing your own equipment, insurance and its an amazing concept.

"Tricks of the Trade" Clean and scuff a blend panel.

Cleaning or chemical washing a panel is critical if you want a top notch finish for your paint, scuffing a blend panel is too. But did you know you can do both at the same time?

This Trick of the Trade is useful when spot panting or blending.

Instead of using water and a scotch brite pad and re wetting your panel, you can spray on your chemical washing liquid (wax and grease remover) and scuff the panel with the pad. Follow with a clean dry towel and the panel is cleaned and scuffed.

Tricks of the Trade "sanding out a run"

Runs are a fact of life in a body shop. The more experience you have the less of them you will get, but you still get em on occasion. So the questiont is not whether you get em, it's more about when, where and how to get em out.

Most use a wet block and sandpaper technique; but did you know you can actually apply a finishing putty (or metal glaze) right over the run in your clear? and when you wet block the putty it will keep even pressure threw out the sanding process and remove the run entirely without sanding or polishing through the clear.  Provided you have enough clear on the area you are working with (chances are good you do.  the run remember?), its a very effective trick that will save time and money later.