My car was hit by a guy who ran a stop sign and it cut open my rear quarter panel exposing the inner portion of the body. I’m just curious if this a fixable issue. Do they have to cut out the quarter panel and weld a new one in. The body on the car is aluminum. Just curious how this will get fixed properly. I have not spoken to the insurance adjuster yet. Thanks guys

Hi guys, even though I've painted my car before, I am still confused about one thing: People seem to interchangeably use the US (non P) and EU (P) grit system a bit too much. Some people say "you should always sand the primer with 600 before basecoat", some people say "800-1000 grit before basecoat" and I am always confused, is it 600 or P600, 1000 or P1000.

So, what grit do I use to sand my primer before a metallic base because my paint still looks orange peely even though I sanded the clear coat super flat with a block using P1500, it seems like it's the primer underneath that's not sanded well enough, or with the correct grit (I sanded it with P600 by hand, without fully removing the guide coat though, that's maybe why, it was applied super thin, I didn't want to burn through it).

Hello all,

I need some advice on what to do.

My 2024 Hyundai Tucson has been at the body shop for 10 months due to front-end damage. The shop owner has stopped responding to calls and messages, and while I reported the issue to the DMV, they haven't done much other than issuing violations and fines. The insurance company paid the shop owner $20k directly, but only half of the repairs have been completed.

I'm considering pulling the car and taking it to another shop to finish the repairs, even if I have to pay out of pocket. However, a lawyer told me that pursuing the owner for the remaining work could cost $40k, or I could send him a letter for $5k, with little guarantee of recovery. I'm feeling stuck and frustrated.

The car is a lease, and I have to return it in two years, so I’m concerned about the impact of this situation. I now realize I chose a poor body shop, and it’s been difficult to even check on the car since I’m not allowed on their premises.

Any advice on how to move forward would be greatly appreciated.

Damaged parts:

Radiator support( not sure if it was replaced) Radiator assembly/condensor( not sure if It was replaced) Hood( he replaced and painted) Bumper( has and painted) Radar sensor ( doesn’t have) Daytime lights (doesn’t have) Headlights( doesn’t have) Grill: has

In late October, I was involved in an accident where I was not at fault. The police filed an incident report confirming this, with the other driver admitting responsibility. A motorcycle hit me from behind. I contacted my insurance company first, but they informed me that I had two options: I could go through them, although they sometimes don't recover all the costs, or I could go through the other driver's insurance. I chose to go through their insurance, which was Progressive.

I reached out to Progressive, and they told me I already had a claim number and that I could take my car to any body shop of my choice or use one from their network. I decided to go with a local body shop with good reviews. Around the beginning of November, Progressive provided me with a rental car. Then, I received an email from the insurance adjuster saying the repairs were underway. I called Progressive to ask if my car was going to be totaled, and the adjuster confirmed that there was no indication of that.

In mid-November, I got another email from the adjuster stating that he re-inspected my car and completed a supplement, and the estimated time for repairs would be by the end of November. However, when that time came, I received no update. Instead, I got an alert saying the new estimated completion date was the end of December. I called the body shop to ask why the repairs were taking so long, and they explained that the adjuster had missed "a lot of things" and that the full extent of the damage could only be assessed once the car was lifted.

I asked the body shop if they thought my car might be totaled, and he said thats up to the insurance company, but the body shop mentioned that there are hints or signs, that at some point their system will flag a vehicle, and that my car already got the flag at that point. Does anyone know here what he might be talking about?

The body shop pointed out that there was a 1-foot beam that prevented frame damage but now needs replacing, along with the muffler system, quarter panel, trunk, and lid. They also noted that the doors are misaligned. It’s not a rare car so its not like there is trouble sourcing parts for it. One last question, I know this might be better asked for the insurance adjuster, but does the insurance adjuster take the cost of my rental car into account? By the time my car is ready, I’ll have had the rental for two months...

Greatly appreciate any feedback on this. Thanks

What 2k clear to use?

Crash was low speed around 10-15 mph. Is my frame damaged? I hope my car isn’t totaled.

Hey guys. So my girlfriend got hit at work this morning. Person that hit her is trying to pay cash but I told her no, this is a insurance situation all day. This is the only picture I've seen of it so far and haven't seen it in person yet.

It looks like it'll need a quarter and some work on the door off top. Maybe inner wheel house depending what it looks like. It's a 2012 Cadillac SRX with 160k miles. I personally don't see it worth replacing a quarter on and I'm sure insurance will total it. What's y'all thoughts? Valve is roughly 8-10k if I had to guess.

Long story short, went off on my own after apprenticing as a painter for 2 years, I’m 4 months in and losing my fucking mind.

I took a job as a second painter for an MSO, the plan was for me to provide relief to the paint shop to the tune of turning 60-80 hours, which seemed ideal for my first gig on my own. Generally speaking for the first couple months that’s how it was panning out, I wasn’t taking food off the lead painters plate and I was getting the trigger time I needed. At about the start of my third month work came to a halt, just completely sapped dry of any new work coming in.. so the lead painter quits after 12 years of tenure in this facility.

Such as things seem to go, we got absolutely slammed with work the week he left. Initially I saw this as an opportunity to prove my worth and make some serious money. While I was able to do both of those things, I was working 11, 12, 13 hour days every single day. I have no issue with working long hours, but due to the meticulous nature of refinishing inevitably I knew it’d come to be too much. I’m still digging myself out of the hole of work volume AND my fucking paint booths are BOTH down since last Friday morning.

At first I made it work, I just did what I had to do.. in the first week I cleared 18 repair orders, turned 140 hours, and worked maybe 60-65 hours. Mind you it’s an MSO so while yes that’s the most money I’ve made in this trade, it still didn’t feel worth it.

Maybe it’s an MSO thing but I just don’t see this getting better anytime soon. All 4 of our body techs are seasoned and put out a lot of work, I don’t have a helper, and I’ve only been on my own for 4 months. They’ve tossed around the idea of pulled a tech from another shop to temporarily provide me some relief, but ultimately that won’t suffice because we all know it usually takes quite a long time to hire a full time tech that’s dependable. Not to mention, fuck momentary relief, this just isn’t a one painter shop.

Yada yada, I’m having nightmare fever dreams about work, talking in my sleep about work, sleep walking, my fiancé thinks I’m losing my fucking mind. Even once I achieve the greatest level of professionalism as a tech, this is not how I want to work in this trade. The pressure is just too much to deal with, and yes I’ve expressed all of this to my manager who, despite managing an MSO, is a really great guy. I just fear that if I keep working like this I’ll become too spiteful and resentful towards the trade, continually lack pride in my work due to the demand of volume, and just won’t even want to do this shit anymore. And frankly, I love this line of work, but this doesn’t feel healthy.

Devastated this happened on my less than year old car (honda hrv 2024). I am right in assuming the part that would need to be replaced (other than the tail light of course) is called the "quarter panel"? I want to research the parts for this to have an idea of how much this would cost me to get it fixed.

Thank you for all the help

https://preview.redd.it/8r2xj6hw5g4e1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4bab91e02f9fc464109c9e8756d2d0afcd7a1d69

What is the best course of action for this. I know the damage is minor. But also got my car < year ago.

Or just leave it as is?

I wanted to get a new air compressor for some painting I will continue to do at home, but I'm a bit space constrained.

This Eastwood compressor is is a scroll compressor that's supposed to be able to output 12.9cfm @90 psi and has a small 30 gallon footprint.

Does anyone have this compressor and if so what is your thought ? Or bite the bullet and make space for a 60 gallon 2 stage compressor?

Currently Eastwood has this compressor on sale for black Friday /cyber Monday for $2000