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A customer's comment about my clear coat finish made me change my whole process
I mean, I've been doing this for a while, and I thought my clear coat work was solid. But about six months ago, a customer came to pick up his black Ford F-150 and he just stood there, squinting at the hood in the sun. He said, 'It looks good, but I can still see a bit of that sanding texture underneath, you know?' That hit me hard. I went back and looked, and he was totally right. I was rushing the primer sanding, stopping at 400 grit sometimes, thinking the clear would fill it. Now I never go coarser than 600 on my final primer pass, and I always wet sand it with a block, not just my hand. I also started using a guide coat religiously to really see the lows. It adds maybe 45 minutes to the job, but the difference is night and day. Has anyone else had a simple piece of feedback that made you rework a step you thought you had down?
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jamiekim11h ago
Oh man, that's the real stuff right there. A sharp customer eye is brutal but it's the best teacher. For soft edges, I had to force myself to tape off way tighter and really focus on keeping my gun angle perfect all the way around the panel. It feels slow at first but now it's just muscle memory. That guide coat trick you mentioned is a lifesaver for seeing that waviness too.
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