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Hot take: I used to think blending clear was a waste of time, then a black CTS bumper humbled me on a Thursday
I had a 2019 CTS bumper in jet black that I rushed out the door and the customer brought it back in 2 days because every swirl showed under the shop lights, so my boss Ray made me sit there and wet sand from 1500 up to 3000 grit for 45 minutes and buff it slow at 1400 rpm. The thing came out so deep and wet looking that I actually stood back and stared at it, and now I do the full 3 step on every dark color even when it eats my clock. How do you all handle the pressure when the writer is breathing down your neck about cycle time and you know cutting the polish step will bite you later?
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emma_smith5h ago
That line about standing back and staring at it hit me because I did the same thing the first time I actually took my time on a black bumper. What worked for me was talking to the writer before I even started, just flat out saying hey this is a 3 stage job, it's gonna be 4 hours not 2, do you want it back fast or do you want it right. Most of them pick right once you put it that way, and the ones who don't, I get it in text so when it comes back they can't pin it on me. Ray sounds like a good boss for making you eat that lesson early.
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leo_lopez5h ago
My old shop had this painter named Dale who kept a little notebook in his toolbox. Every car he touched, he wrote the date and what he did, base coat, clear, wet sand, whatever. One Friday a customer came back mad about swirl marks on a job from six months earlier that Dale knew was clean when it left. He just flipped open the book, showed the guy the date, and that was the end of it. That notebook saved his butt more times than I can count. Your text thing does the same job, just faster. Dale was 62 and still doing it by hand when I left, so guess it works either way.
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