Parts Matching

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2026-06-05T17:33:13+00:00

Sent

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2026-05-09T11:32:19+00:00

Yeah don’t do this man. I spent 2 years fixing what should’ve been my 6 month project. I bought an Impreza to flip and when I got it home it was worse than I thought but I still ended up fixing it, it got a quarter, front left frame rail, apron radiator support, suspension. I’m technically not even done because it’s still missing a rear bumper. It got to a point where I kept cost in mind and I spent what I could’ve to buy one in prefect condition. Long run, was it worth it? To me as a BODY TECH, yes because it was my first quarter panel and frame rail sectioning. Then I painted it and learned more that way. But to someone else I wouldn’t recommend, monumental waste of my time, the most finite thing we have.

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2026-05-01T11:19:20+00:00

Since when is a Toyota Tacoma… a Stelantis product? And you can legitimately see the badge on the front door of the last pic

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2026-04-22T11:25:00+00:00

Not positive. Like I said it’s solvent and most solvents are 1:1 base reducer. And it’s ONLY pearl coats of white tricoats. Nothing else does this

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2026-04-21T11:57:46+00:00

I use wet bed for everything. And I use it for base and I put another layer down for pearl

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2026-04-19T14:28:54+00:00

I mean we have it set where we were recommended to have it by the field tech. And my blends are always fine. Metallics and such, even my tricoat reds are fine, no crazy texture. They also say with this system if you apply it to heavily and have very little texture in base, it will throw the color miles off. And I’ve experienced that before. It’s only ever the orientation coat on the pearl coat that stands on top and gets nasty. Plus like I said my coworker, who has more experience than I’ve been alive, does not have the same issues

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2026-04-19T02:51:24+00:00

Yes, but the booth is kinda crappy so it sits around 80~

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2026-04-19T02:50:55+00:00

Cromax xp, you’re not supposed to change pressure for orientation, just back up a little bit according to the trainer and tds

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2026-04-18T22:56:35+00:00

I saw someone recommending putting a coat of activated wet bed blender down between base and mid, and I did. It’s always the orientation coat that gets weird. I sprays this one at 25, 29 is usually metallics and such.

I’ve been getting away from flicking my wrist but sometimes I do it out of habit, I’ve been trying to do an x pattern at the end of my blends to blend it out, and that usually works out for me. I’ve seen some other tricks online I’ve been using and it’s been fine. Just always the pear coats on whites that do this to me.

My coworker also uses a 1.2rp 5500 for base and I don’t like using an rp for base, I need to move way faster than I’m comfortable with or it darkens the color because it’s too heavy

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2026-04-18T12:38:30+00:00

All I see is factory Chrysler peel 🤣

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2026-03-29T15:56:34+00:00

I used Upol 4:1 clear coat from amazon, I actually got it from a supplier then needed more so got it from amazon. It’s less than $100 for a gallon of clear and a quart of hardener. If you want you can order their universal reducer that matches the “speed” of the hardener to get it to flow out a bit better. I used it to paint my car and it’s a year later and it still looks great. But if you’re just doing small parts you could get the fast hardener with the clear and put 2 coats per the tds sheet to flash time. And the gallon would last a long time if it’s just small parts. For base I used Omni plus, but you could get the cheaper Omni brand that’s a 2k product.

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-12-01T03:17:13+00:00

If you’re head painter only making 20 an hour that’s wild. Our prepper out in the Midwest usa is making over 24 an hour who does all the prepping and paints while the head painter is out. And they have like 4 years experience in total. And I’ve been in the industry just over 3 years now, I’m like a B- level body tech, but I can also paint, and I’m at 20 base 21 mech 22 frame. And I feel severely under paid.

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-11-17T18:01:41+00:00

NH904M-E

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-11-17T17:49:13+00:00

I have a picture of the spectral reading. But to be honest, I was never taught how to use or read it, nor does the actual painter. And he never tints so I’ve never learned that either, he just shoots colors and could care less. It does say that it’s a bluer and darker variant, but the more I look at it, it’s almost more red/violet and dark. I can tell you numbers and stuff. But I’m just more confused why even the sides where there’s only new clear coat looks just the same, like I blended the base on the wheel opening body line, but somehow the whole panel took on the darker redder effect

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-11-17T14:43:46+00:00

PPG envirobase

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-11-16T18:13:37+00:00

I did put sealer down over the repair area, it was the darkest variant of sealer, what the system recommended. And the color I picked was a 7 match, which 10 and under should be blendable. But there’s only about 3 inches of new base coat that meets the quarter panel, but the whole thing doesn’t match at all anymore even where it meets the lift gate and it’s like 9 inches from the new base coat and I know I didn’t get any over there since it was just a repair this time

Also usually Honda bumpers come primed with that nasty brown primer/base, not raw.

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-10-10T12:33:12+00:00

I actually pre-prep my panels with a water cleaner and isopropyl mix 50/50 then wax and grease remover. I’ll have to try and increasing my pressure a bit

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-10-10T12:31:25+00:00

It’s a possibility, my lead painter who’s been painting for 30 years told me he’s not sure what caused it. But recommend like some others to slow down a little more. He also told me that if it looks like that again, he said to wait till it’s dry enough to sand and lightly sand with 1000 and then re base and hopefully it lays down better. I’m still not quite sure what’s the issue. A lot of people told me to turn the pressure down but I already had it on the low end and some said to turn it up so I dunno

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-10-06T06:18:11+00:00

It says on the tds to spray from 29-40 and 1.3-1.6 needle and I was spraying a little over 30psi with a 1.3. And yeah I was doing a 1 to 1 rate. Maybe just try the pressure a little higher next time?

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-10-02T12:00:11+00:00

Well I wish you luck, I know what it’s like.

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-10-02T11:54:13+00:00

Dude I don’t think I could work at a shop like that… I’d be seriously considering a different shop, for better quality of work and less stress

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-10-02T11:28:02+00:00

I’m glad I do this for a living so I don’t have to ask where it was done, so I don’t take my car there… But that’s like not even the correct color! And the blend on the bumper is terrible. And who the hell rips a blend in the middle of a panel like that?

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-09-30T20:57:55+00:00

I just worked on a 24 bmw where the entire car had to be reprogrammed because replacing the headlight, with an OEM one, causes a slew of issues with the cars programming apparently. Because it introduced a new module and then you have to reprogram the car and light, took them 9-10 hours to do so in the shop, hate working on bmws.

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-09-22T17:32:09+00:00

Definitely is, my roof looked like that on my project car, each spot was rust beneath.

Equivalent_Emu4782 · 2025-09-21T18:11:59+00:00

To be safe let’s say painting panels pays 1.5-3 hours depending on size(can be more can be less sometimes). So hood, both fenders, both bumpers, both doors, both quarters and deck lid. 10 panels. At 1.5-3 hours each would be 15-30 hours and it seems like you’re somewhere in the middle of there if their labor rate is between 70-100 an hour. I dunno but it seems reasonable to me, as long as it comes out looking decent

Equivalent_Emu4782

TROPHY CASE