Aluminum Guide » Financing Growth » Blending Tips
April 2014//Vol. 33 No.4
www.bodyshopbusiness.com
Three lucky readers win $50 and get their questions answered by experts. See pg. 28 for your chance to win $50!
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Inside
April
April 2014
Vol. 33 No. 4
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ON THE COVER Reader’s Choice Three lucky readers get their questions answered by experts – and win $50! For your chance to win $50, see pg. 28!
Blind Spot Monitoring ......................................................................29 Addressing blind spot monitoring in Toyota vehicles.
Rust Repair......................................................................................32 The proper way to treat rust.
Paint & Materials ............................................................................36 Is paint capping by insurers legal?
FEATURES
42 Anticipate the Blend...and Blend! PROFIT IN THE PAINT SHOP
Once a painter is in command of time-tested techniques and faithfully executes those techniques, blending can be simple.
68 Can You Afford to Expand? MSO FOCUS
SPECIAL SECTION
55 Aluminum Preparation Guide With the 2015 Ford-150, aluminum has entered the mainstream. Are you ready?
Four prominent multi-shop operators discuss how they have financed their growth and the lessons learned along the way.
78 R&I of Glass: Can You Afford to Wait? TECHNICAL
Some shops are finding that removing and installing glass themselves is having a positive impact on cycle time.
Equip Yourself.........................56 All the equipment and products you need to repair aluminum.
Aluminum: Not Difficult, Just Different .........................65 Important things to know when repairing aluminum vehicles.
SHOP TALK Editor’s Notes
8 10 Detours 14 Clark’s Corner 20 Web Presence Management
Here comes aluminum...are you ready? Detroit is where it all started.
Use heat to improve your cycle time and finish quality. Check out this handy glossary of website development terms.
BODYSHOP BUSINESS (ISSN 0730-7241) (April 2014, Volume 33, Number 4): Published monthly by Babcox Media, Inc., 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333 U.S.A. Phone (330) 670-1234, FAX (330) 670-0874. Copyright 2014 Babcox Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Periodical postage paid at Akron, OH 44333 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BODYSHOP BUSINESS, P.O. Box 13260, Akron, OH 44334-3912. Member, BPA Worldwide
DEPARTMENTS Guess the Car ....................................................................................4 e-Buzz ..............................................................................................6 Industry Update ..............................................................................12 Buying Tips......................................................................................24 Product Showcase............................................................................92 By the Numbers ..............................................................................96
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Guess
the Car
See the May issue for winner of Guess the Car #132.
Reader Contest! Win $50! What vehicle MODEL does this picture represent? Fax your guess to (330) 670-0874. Include name, title, shop name, city, state and phone number. Or submit your guess with our online contest form by visiting bodyshopbusiness.com/guessthecar. The winner will be randomly selected from correct entries and awarded $50. Entries must be received by April 30. *Only one winner will be selected. Chances of winning are dependent upon the number of correct entries received. Employees of Babcox, industry manufacturers and BSB advertisers are not eligible to enter.
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#132
SOLVED!
Arrow-star = (Ford) Aerostar
!
WINNER #131
#133
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Bill Stewart, Sterling Autobody, Rochester, N.Y.
Flying spur = (Bentley) Flying Spur
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They Said It On
e-Buzz
bodyshopbusiness.com
The latest online content from BodyShop Business
How Do I Find Out My Area’s Competitive Labor Rates?
March 22 — John Eaves, Jr. speaks about PartsTrader to NORTHEAST Show attendees.
Like • Comment • Share
: @BSBMagazine: “When did we become an industry of cowards?” asks an attendee of the NORTHEAST Show.
BodyShop Business Readers Group Worn tires are one of the most common things we see in the body shop! Hands down, without a doubt, the most common thing one will see in a body shop is worn tires, especially on those vehicles that have had front end damage.
Find 1,000’s of BodyShop Business articles online at www.bodyshopbusiness.com 6
April 2014 | BodyShop Business
Todd Donald, founder, Collision Repair Fair Business Council
Comment by cyborg_destruct: After having my NSX repaired at two different DRPs incorrectly, I decided I should open a body shop so I could do it right. What a mistake! The cost increases for materials go up between 6 and 12 percent every year, and yet the insurance companies only ‘allow’ an increase of about 7 percent every five years. So the supplies have gone up between 30 percent and 60 percent, yet the insurers are so generous that they ‘give’ us a nice, big 7 percent, so we’re only losing between 23 percent and 53 percent. They’re now telling all their customers that if a company outside their ‘network’ does the work, they won’t guarantee it. Next is the materials capping. I’ve been in business for more than 12 years, and the insurers still try to cap materials almost every time. I bring this up from time to time and am told, ‘If the body shop doesn’t catch it, we save money, and if they catch it, we’ll pay.’ Next, the insurers have figured out ways to manipulate the actual estimating systems. I had a recent estimate where the first line item was a bumper overhaul. My system showed 2.1 hours, while their system showed .6 and had ‘INC’ on every other part on the bumper as an included operation. Now, insurers are even starting to use third parties to bill out glass. Safelite glass calls and records you when they ‘ask’ you if you’ll accept the repair at a 47 percent discount over NAGS. If you say that you won’t, they then say you can’t do the job. After 12 years, I’ve discovered that most insurers lie, cheat and steal. I make a whopping $24,000 net profit a year – that’s before my wages are deducted from operations. The only reason I’ve been able to stay open is because my previous businesses did so well. This is the only business I’ve ever seen where another company tells you what to charge and how to repair something. You would have to be insane or very well off to even attempt to open a shop with the insurance scams out there now.
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Editor’s
Notes
Publisher
S. Scott Shriber, ext. 229 sshriber@babcox.com Editor
All In For Aluminum y first exposure to aluminum was when I was 8 years old or so. Dad was drinking a Budweiser, and I asked for a sip, which, to my mother’s consternation, he offered. I grimaced from the taste. Then, after he drained it, I tried to crush the can but could only put a small dent in it. Dad, of course, demolished it.
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All of this talk today about aluminum in the collision repair industry made me think of that story. But Ford’s F-150 is far from a beer can – it’s military-grade, and will be more powerful and able to stop more quickly. Given that it’s America’s top-selling vehicle, it has got many shops asking if they’re properly trained and equipped to repair aluminum. Most aren’t. Some are panicking, while others still have a casual attitude about it. “I don’t see any F150s,” one shop owner told me. “They all go to the local Ford dealer.” The manager at a multi-shop operation
said to me, “We still don’t see enough aluminum vehicles to justify dedicating a space in the shop for it. The ROI just isn’t there.” But it will be. Word is other OEMs are putting their orders in for aluminum now before they’re shut out. And GM is talking about introducing an aluminum Silverado by 2018. Aluminum isn’t new to the industry. It has been found in certain body parts in certain makes/models for years. And, of course, the higher end vehicles like Mercedes, Jaguar, Audi, etc. But now it’s going mainstream. Are you ready? It’s not difficult, as the technical experts say. Just different. Check out our Aluminum Preparation Guide on pg. 55 for the equipment and expertise you’ll need to repair aluminum vehicles. We’re at a significant time where body shops are being awakened to the importance of following OEM repair recommendations, and consumers are being made aware of the importance of choosing a repair facility capable of fixing their vehicle. It’s time to get on it.
Jason Stahl, Editor Email comments to jstahl@babcox.com
Jason Stahl, ext. 226 jstahl@babcox.com Managing Editor
Gina Kuzmick, ext. 244 gkuzmick@babcox.com Contributing Editors
Mitch Becker, Mark Clark, Mark Claypool, Erica Eversman, Tom Ferry, Curt Harler, Kristen Hampshire, John D. Lyman Sr., Hank Nunn, Carl Wilson Graphic Designer
Lisa DiPaolo, ext. 281 ldipaolo@babcox.com Advertising Services
Kelly McAleese, ext. 284 kmcaleese@babcox.com Director of Circulation
Pat Robinson, ext. 276 probinson@babcox.com Director of eMedia & Audience Development
Brad Mitchell, ext. 277 bmitchell@babcox.com Subscription Services
Ellen Mays, ext. 275 emays@babcox.com Tel: (330) 670-1234 Fax: (330) 670-0874 Website: bodyshopbusiness.com Corporate
Bill Babcox, President Gregory Cira, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Stankard, Vice President Beth Scheetz, Controller A limited number of complimentary subscriptions are available to those who qualify. Call (330) 670-1234, ext. 288, or fax us at (330) 6705335. Paid subscriptions are available for nonqualified subscribers at: U.S.: $69 for one year. Canada/Mexico: $89 for one year. Canadian rates include GST. Ohio residents add current county sales tax. Other foreign rates/via air mail: $129 for one year. Payable in advance in U.S. funds. Mail payment to BodyShop Business, P.O. Box 75692, Cleveland, OH 44101-4755. VISA, MasterCard or American Express accepted.
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Detours
By S. Scott Shriber, Publisher
Detroit Is Where
It All Started any will argue that the first automotive concentration was in Indianapolis, and to a certain extent that’s true. But few can argue the role Detroit played in the overall transformation and centralization of the automotive industry. I’m departing from my usual format of writing about cool shops to talk about something that I’m passionate about and believe you should be passionate about, too. Every year, our industry gathers to network, receive training and take a look at the most up-to-date equipment available. This is an important time since you can’t get this high concentration of collision-based stuff in one area. It’s both efficient and overwhelming, all at the same time. This business and its landscape are changing at an unprecedented rate. If you’re not changing, you’re being left behind. Look at all the changes that are being recommended this year just because one manufacturer decided to change what its truck is made out of. That’s just one change in a sea of changes that happen every year. What better place than Detroit, Mich., a.k.a. the Motor City, to find about all these innovations? That’s why the folks at ASA chosen to host the 2014 NACE event there. In fact, you can even tour the facility where that aluminum F-150 is produced. Opportunities are being offered by all the automakers that
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will give you the rare chance to see inside our industry in a way we haven’t been able to in years. Take it from me who spent years in and out of assembly plants – there is nothing quite like watching a vehicle come together and get driven off the line after final assembly. If you haven’t had the chance to take a look at the upcoming festivities, I urge you to visit www.naceexpo.com and look around. Look at the show floor. It’s almost sold out and we’re still months away. This is truly going to be the collision event of the decade. I’m honored to be working with Dan Risley and show management this year and looking forward to the best NACE we’ve seen in years. Detroit is easy to get to, and there are plenty of accommodations in the area. The automakers and equipment manufacturers are putting together activities to remember. This is a venue where you can go and spend an extra day and see some of the local sights. I lived in Detroit for six years and was amazed last week when I returned for some show planning. The city is back and alive, and cars are at the heart of it. All of us here at BodyShop Business will be there, looking forward to enjoying the happenings with you in the automotive mecca of the world. The cruise-in of 2014 is in Detroit! See you there! BSB
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Industry
Update
BASF VisionPlus Conference a Success BASF hosted more than 100 collision repairers at its VisionPlus Performance Group Conference March 9-11 at the Hilton Clearwater Beach in Clearwater, Fla. Charles Coonradt, author of “The Game of Work,” was the featured speaker, followed by Susanna Gotsch from CCC Information Services, who reported on trends via statistical analysis from the quarterly CCC Trends Report, and Kim Hazelbaker from the Highway Loss Data Institute, who discussed evolving vehicle technology. There was also a panel discussion featuring multi-shop operators, and breakout sessions on various topics pertinent to running a top shop.
New York MSO Drops State Farm Select Service Over PartsTrader ollision Experts, a New Yorkbased MSO, said it will no longer be a part of State Farm’s Select Service program because it wants to have the right to decide where to purchase parts. Collision Experts has been communicating to its State Farm customers that they can still choose to have their vehicles re-
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paired at their shops in Schenectady or Clifton Park, but that State Farm may no longer refer customers to Collision Experts. CEO and owner Maryann Bowman said it was more important for Collision Experts to have the freedom to buy parts from trusted vendors that the company has built relationships with over the
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years rather than be included in State Farm’s Select Service program, which requires collision repair shops to purchase parts from PartsTrader. “Sometimes you have to part ways in a partnership,” said Bowman. “In this case, I believe that the national changes don’t work for my business model. We do not want to sever the relationships
we’ve built with our vendors over the years.” State Farm has been rolling out PartsTrader incrementally and just recently implemented the mandate in New York. Collision Experts states that it is the only local body shop to publicly opt out of the program as a result of the changes. “Although we value the business that State Farm has referred to us over the years, the new Select Service Program does not fit our business Continued on pg. 90
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Clark’s
Corner
By Mark Clark
Turning Up the Heat arilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon starred in the movie, “Some Like it Hot.” But it’s not just old movie stars who should be attracted to high temperatures; every paint shop runs fastest when they “like it hot,” too. Solvents evaporate faster, isocyanate catalysts crosslink quicker, and body fillers, sealers, basecoats and clearcoats all speed up under heat.
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Alligator Heaters » Kerosene and split firewood both create some heat when burning, but spraying flammable vapors around an open flame of any kind seems like a bad plan. Sadly, I was in paint shops heated by both long ago in Iowa. I had a customer way out on some county roads, then way out on some more gravel roads. He farmed soybeans full time and bought total losses and rebuilt them in his spare time. He heated his shop all winter with firewood in a cast iron stove in the center. He would shovel the stove chock full of logs and get the room temperature up in the high 80s. Then he would slam the stove door shut, fire up the exhaust fan and start painting while it was hot – and many times, finish the last coat when it wasn’t. All things considered, his paint work was really pretty good, which shows that a good painter can overcome many obstacles. I had a customer who won the bid to refinish a slew of 40-foot semi trailers. The trucking company jumped on his bid because the shop seriously underestimated the time and cost to do the work profitably. 14
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They rented a huge building that had rail lines running through it; can you say tall ceilings? They built lots of scaffolding to get the sanders and painters close to the trailers. Winter came, and he rented kerosene-fired, openflame alligator heaters from a construction supply company. Nothing like a fog of iso-catalyzed urethane enamel overspray drifting toward the roaring flame heater! Tall ceilings, good luck and lots more oxygen than fumes kept us all from disappearing in a mighty flash!
Air Replacement » A basic crossdraft spraybooth has a fan that exhausts about 10,000 cubic feet per minute (CFM) of fume-laden air. If the shop didn’t install an air replacement furnace designed to deliver 10,001 CFM, then the fan quickly pulled all the air from the cabin, the paint room, the metal shop and the office if the door wasn’t shut. Speaking of open doors, when the spraybooths with no replacement air got rolling, they slammed every door in the shop like a volley of gunshots. Here’s a happy and a sad story about early air replacement. We had a Cadillac dealer build a snazzy new building in 1986 with plenty of space for their entire fixed operations (parts, service and body). Never asking the employees or even the managers what they thought would be good for the design, they followed their fancy architect’s advice to the letter. Being a smart fellow, he knew the air exhausted from the booth would have to be
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»| Clark’s Corner |« made up or many airflow problems would quickly accrue. He specified the correct size air replacement furnace and had it installed – in the middle of the body shop, so that all the replacement air had a chance to collect all the sanding dust and shop clutter before it was sucked onto the car through the filtered doors. Learn from their folly and be sure to hook the A/R unit directly to the booth so the incoming air stays clean, and the cabin is even slightly pressurized against dust sucked in from the seams and cracks. The happy story was the first closed circuit booth I ever sold. It went to the local Volkswagen dealer in 1971. That heated spraybooth made for much cleaner and faster paint work, and they quickly had the reputation for the nicest paint work in town. Hooking a $5,000
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furnace on top of a $10,000 fireproof box made for faster dry, better gloss and much less dirt in the finishes. They even rented out the booth when a competing shop needed a first-class repaint. I would like to report that all my other dealership customers in 1971 immediately bought their own heated spraybooths, but sadly they didn’t. They continued to suck all the shop air into their paint work through poorly maintained crossflow booths for many more years.
Visible Light » Our eyes can discern electromagnetic radiation between 400 and 700 nanometers long, otherwise known as visible light. Increasing the wavelengths past the color red at 700 nm moves into radiation known as infrared (IR). (Decreasing wavelengths below purple at 400 nm reveals
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equally invisible ultraviolet light.) IR comes in three flavors: short wave, medium wave and long wave. Your shop will benefit most from two of the three choices. Long wave infrared bulbs are similar to the ones in the motel bathroom ceiling or the bulbs that shine on the hot dogs turning on the spit under glass at the gas station. They’re heating from the top down. It’s good for you coming out of the shower and the Polish sausage on the rotisserie, but not so much for your paint work. You want your paint, body filler and primer to cure from the bottom up. Not to say I didn’t sell a whole bunch of those original body shop IR units – round metal fixtures that held five or six of those very same long wave heat light bulbs – on a rolling stand. It was Iowa, it was winter, and any heat – top to bot-
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»| Clark’s Corner |« tom or side to side – was welcome in the body shops. Both medium wave and short wave IR lights will speed production and improve quality in your shop starting today. Remember also that they do the same great job accelerating evaporation or crosslinking hardeners in the summer,
too. It’s harder to fire them up when the air is already 95 or 100 degrees, however! There is one useful tip that I always got during the many interviews I conducted with the various IR manufacturers over my years at BodyShop Business. As much as 50 percent of the effectiveness of any
medium or short wave IR light fixture is provided by the reflector backing. Does it feel like your shop’s light has lost effectiveness and maybe it’s time for a new emitter (bulb)? It may be, but you’ll be pleased by how much faster it works if you would just clean the dust and overspray off all the shiny parts.
Blowing in the Wind » One of the best descriptions of how waterborne finishes work goes like this: Do your wet blue jeans dry faster on the clothesline on a hot day or a windy day? The answer is a windy day. Petroleum solvents want to leap back into the air from the sprayed paint; water is often content to stay within the paint film on humid days. Moving air past the finish dries both types of coatings faster than heat alone. Circulating the air in the spray cabin, whether through eyeball-style adjustable nozzles, turbine fans or bladed fans, works wonders. The benefits of hustling some air around the car must be weighed against the additional dirt and dust that hurtles through the moving air. It’s worth it, folks – fire up those fans!
Heat Rocks! » Don’t paint in front of open flames, and don’t suck out lots of air without a method to replace it. Employ IR lights at every chance, and kick in A/R furnaces and speedy air movers to turn your booth into a big oven. Make sure your paint shop has written operating procedures that include using heat to increase your cycle time and your finish quality. BSB Mark R. Clark is the owner of Professional PBE Systems in Waterloo, Iowa; he is a well-known industry speaker and consultant. He is celebrating his 26th year as a contributing editor to BodyShop Business. Circle 18 for Reader Service
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Web Presence
Management
By Mark Claypool
What’s In a Word? must admit it can all be confusing sometimes – domains, URLs, Web servers, the cloud, IP, FTP, search engines, SEO, meta tags, etc. There’s a lot of website development terminology that may or may not mean anything to us. So let me explain some of it. Tear this article out and keep it available as a handy resource, or bookmark the link to this article online. Here goes: Internet – A global network of millions of independent computers, linking more than 100 countries and nearly 2.5 billion people. Contrary to what Al Gore may have claimed, he did not “invent” the Internet. It’s more of a concept rather than an actual entity, a physical infrastructure of networks connected to other networks. World Wide Web – Often mistakenly used synonymously with the Internet, the Web is actually a place for sharing information that’s built on top of the Internet. This is where we access information and have our websites. ISP – Internet Service Provider, a company such as AT&T and Verizon that sells you a connection to the
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Internet. Access is given through the old dial-up method, DSL, cable or other means. IP address – IP stands for Internet Protocol. All machines on the Internet have a unique, numerical IP address. These numbers identify each particular machine, which is why you should never have a computer in your lobby where people can leave you reviews. These reviews would all come from the same IP address, and review sites will eventually disregard them, believing you were “stuffing the ballot box” with reviews yourself. Domain – Remembering numeric IP addresses alone would be impossible, so domains are words rather than numbers. Like google.com, bodyshopbusiness.com, optimaautomotive.com and your own business domain: insertyournamehere.com. Domain names are not “owned,” but you can own the rights to use these domains. You can reserve domains through services like GoDaddy, HostGator, etc. When used online, your domain is known as a URL (uniform resource locator) or your Web address. You, as the business owner, should own the rights to your own domain name. Domain Name Server (DNS) – A computer that hosts a domain name and directs an inquiry about that domain name to the correct IP address where the content associated with that domain resides, usually a Web server. Web server – Web pages have to be hosted somewhere, and Web servers are where it happens. They serve up websites under assigned domain URLs. This is also known as “hosting,” since you must have a Web server that “hosts” your website for you so it can be seen by your customers and prospects. Usernames and passwords (known as FTP access codes) are needed to get into your Web server.
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»| Web Presence |« Email servers – These are similar to Web servers in that they serve up emails like an electronic postal service, both incoming and outgoing. These are separate from Web servers, which is often confusing for business owners. Email servers are Mail Transfer Agents (MTAs) that transfer electronic mail messages
back and forth. Usually these services – Web hosting and email – are bundled in a package. Search engines – These are computer programs that read, or index, all the text on a website and search for particular keywords within them. They include Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. Search engines use so-
phisticated, proprietary algorithms to match search queries entered by individuals with Web pages containing those keywords. Search engine optimization (SEO) – The art and science of building and maintaining a website so it ranks as highly as possible when searched by that site’s target audience. No SEO company can ethically promise position one or page one placement of a website. The more you know about this, the better. HTML – Stands for Hyper Text Markup Language, the programming language used to create websites. HTML defines exactly how a website should look when it appears on a computer screen. Plus, it contains the actual content that the website will have on it, both text and images. Meta tags – These are part of the HTML coding of the site but do not change how a website looks. Rather, they provide information about images, page descriptions and the SEO-important title tags on the page. As stated in past columns, meta tags called meta keywords are no longer relevant, yet most developers still use them. Cloud – Offsite, online storage of data with a service provider. This is used for documents, images, databases, etc. These can be used as backup or to alleviate the need to have storage devices in-house. BSB BSB Contributing Editor Mark Claypool has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of workforce development, apprenticeships, marketing and Web presence management with SkillsUSA, the I-CAR Education Foundation, Mentors at Work, Veri-Facts Automotive and the NABC. He is the CEO of Optima Automotive (www.optima automotive. com), which provides website design, SEO services and social media management services.
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Buying
Tips Spraybooths
Uni-Cure
Accudraft If you’re shopping for a spraybooth, make sure you look for these key energy-saving features: Variable frequency drives (VFDs) – These not only allow users to save on electrical energy, but users also can add a number of energy-saving process features to control panels. They should either be on only the exhaust or on both intake or exhaust if the system has an intake. Direct fire – The industry standard for heated systems. Indirect fire heat should only be a last resort if the only available fuel is oil. Any booth that’s heated should recycle a minimum of 80 percent of the heated air when in the bake cycle, saving a lot of energy that would otherwise be wasted. Adding a non-recycling heater to a spraybooth is a short-term gain and a long-term loss.
GFS While the technology, design and construction of the paint booth are crucial factors to consider, the need for aftersales support for shops to get the return on investment from their booth cannot be emphasized enough. Once you commit to a piece of capital equipment, you want to be sure that the manufacturer has the resources and network in place to service and support that equipment. For example, GFS’ nationwide distribution network doesn’t just handle sales of
paint booths, but also installs the products, provides service, assists with facility planning, code compliance, startup and training. In addition, having the ability to obtain service and support direct from the manufacturer is extremely important. OEM parts and filters from the original manufacturer of your paint booth will ensure that it operates as it was designed to, and will help ensure that your booth delivers the productivity your shop needs it to provide.
When buying a spraybooth, everyone wants the best product for their money. However, the upfront price of the booth is only half the equation. Look for other costs associated with a spraybooth installation. These include concrete, permits, gas and electrical. These often get overlooked and can cost as much as the booth. Make sure you work with an experienced manufacturer that can guide you through the installation. You also want a manufacturer who will be with you long after the initial sale. A spraybooth is a long-term investment and you need a partner who has a great track record. Finally, look at the serviceability of the product. Many booths are imported and so are the service parts. Some products require a special technician to perform the service work. You need a product that can be quickly repaired. Learn to ask questions like, “How long have you been in business?” “Do you have direct installation crews?” “Do you have parts readily available for service and can an electrician install them?” These questions will ensure that your purchase will last for the long haul and bring you the right return on investment.
Auto Body Toolmart Automotive paint booths are available in many different configurations. Here are a few very important things that should be considered up-front: 䡲 Are you having your booth installed, or will you be assembling it yourself? Installing a booth yourself is much easier than it looks and can save you thousands. Nut and bolt booths are sturdier and easier to install than zip screw booths. 䡲 What is the largest vehicle you will be painting? There is no need to get a booth to hold larger vehicles that you won’t be painting.
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䡲 Are bulbs included, and do the light fixtures have inside access? 䡲 Is the booth legal? Make sure your booth meets all national and local codes. 䡲 Is it Americanmade?
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»| Buying Tips |« Spray-Tech When buying spraybooths, economic efficiency and cost of operation are important to consider. Maintenance costs include air filters, lightbulbs, and general wear and tear. Filters can be expensive to replace, especially intake filters. Energy costs to consider are electrical usage and fuel consumption of the air make-up system.
AFC Finishing Systems A spraybooth is a significant investment for any body shop, and it’s important to make an informed purchase decision. The first thing to consider is the experience of the manufacturer. Second, what support before and after the sale does the company offer? Third, make sure you know what you’re buying. Understanding your spraybooth manufacturer is the key to making an informed purchase decision.
Garmat Making the choice of what to purchase is critical to your business success. 1. Distribution – Do they offer support before, during and after the sale? 2. Performance – Look for features that enhance productivity. 3. Installation –Be aware of hidden costs, and also be cognizant that you’re not trading a lower equipment price for higher installation costs. 4. Reputation – Get an unbiased opinion from your peers. Talk to other shop owners and ask what equipment they recommend. 5. Ease of Maintenance – Longevity of your equipment is tied to preventative maintenance. Simplified procedures can lengthen its lifespan.
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Tell Us What Articles You Want to See — and Win! BodyShop Business is planning its 16th Annual Reader’s Choice issue — an entire issue devoted to what you want to see! But we can’t do it without you! Fill out the form at www.bodyshopbusiness.com/readerschoice, or fax the below form to (330) 670-0874 by May 23, 2014. If one of your ideas is chosen, we’ll not only find someone to write the article you suggested, but we’ll credit you for the idea — and give you 50 bucks!
WIN
50!
$
Full name:__________________________________________________ Title or position: __________________________________ Shop name:__________________________________________________City, state: ______________________________________ Tel: ( __________) ____________________________ Email:________________________________________________________ Annual shop sales (this won’t be published) ✔ one:
___ Up to $249,999
___ $250,000-$349,999
___ $750,000-$1 million Address to send the $50 to if your idea is chosen:
___ $350,000-$749,999 ______
___ More than $1 million
________________________________________________________ ___________________________________ZIP __________________
If an industry expert offered to answer one question for you, what would your question be? (It must be collision repair-related) ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ Why is this question important to you? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
On what topic would you like to see an article and why? I’d most like to see an article on
___________________________
because __________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ 28
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READER’S CHOICE
Monitoring “Many cars such as Toyota and Lexus are offering blind spot monitoring. There are four sensors on each car behind the bumper covers. I’ve heard that if the paint on the bumper cover is too thick or has filler, the sensors won’t function properly. Is this true? And how would you test them after a repair?” — John Borek, general manager, Autocraft Bodywerks, Austin, Texas Question answered by: Karl Kirschenman hen you’re trying to move a car through your shop, the smallest details can trip you up and throw a monkey wrench into your repair plan. Especially annoying are the issues that come at you from left field – the unforeseen factors that make you scratch your head and go, “Huh?” Vehicles today are increasingly loaded with many new features that are making the roads a safer place. But all these new technologies also increase the chal-
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lenges for collision shops. Every OE system is unique with its own special quirks. Blind spot monitoring systems are a real-life example. Some systems use cameras. The Toyota/Lexus system relies on millimeter wave radar sensors installed behind the rear bumper cover. The system detects vehicles entering the driver’s blind spot on either side and illuminates an indicator in the sideview mirror. If the driver signals a turn, the indicator flashes. However, millimeter wave technology does have some inherent problems. The waves can be absorbed by gases in the atmosphere, limiting their range. Rain in particular, and humidity in general, can also diminish the signal strength. In addition to these limitations, the system can’t detect what it can’t “see.” There can be nothing impeding the sensors. Think of looking through glasses with badly smudged lenses – you get the idea. Anything blocking the radar will impair its www.bodyshopbusiness.com 29
READER’S CHOICE » Blind Spot performance – ice, mud, snow and especially a fresh coat of paint! Suppose that you have just worked on a Toyota or Lexus with the OEinstalled blind spot monitoring feature. There was damage to the bumper, but you did your usual superb job and the car looks like new. You even took care of a tiny scratch on the
blind spot sensor. The paint match is perfect and the bumper looks like new. The owner drives away happy. So why is he driving back to your shop a few days later telling you that the blind spot system no longer works? You know you did your job right, so what’s the problem? Here is a portion of what Toyota
says about repair involving its blind spot monitoring system. Take special note of items (5) and (6).
Handling the Radar Sensor » One blind spot monitor sensor is installed inside the left and right sides of the vehicle’s rear bumper, respectively. Observe the following to ensure that the blind spot monitor can function correctly: (1) Keep the sensor and its surrounding area on the bumper clean at all times. (2) Do not subject surrounding area of the bumper to a strong impact. If the sensor moves even slightly off position, the system may malfunction and vehicles that enter the detection area may not be detected. If the surrounding area has been subjected to a strong impact, inspect the sensor and surrounding area. (3) Do not disassemble the sensor. (4) Do not attach accessories or stickers to the sensor or surrounding area on the bumper. (5) Do not modify the sensor or surrounding area on the bumper. (6) Do not paint the sensor or the surrounding area. (7) Do not apply strong impacts to the sensor or drop it, as it is a high-precision device. (8) Do not reuse a sensor that has been dropped or subjected to a strong impact. BSB Karl Kirschenman, ALLDATA collision product manager, holds a bachelor of science degree in communication. He has more than 10 years of experience in the collision industry. © 2014 ALLDATA LLC. All rights reserved. All technical information, images and specifications are from ALLDATA Collision S3500. ALLDATA and ALLDATA Collision are registered trademarks of ALLDATA LLC. Toyota and Lexus are registered trademarks of Toyota Motor Corporation and/or Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. All other marks are the property of their respective holders.
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READER’S CHOICE
Treating
“What is the proper way to treat rust? I do quite a bit of restoration, and rust has always been a problem. Also, how do you prep a vehicle that has been sodablasted?” — Randy Walker, owner, Randy’s Body Shop, Durant, Okla.
clearcoat. The fix that day was to color, sand and polish. A month later, it came back. The real problem was that when we blasted the vehicle, we didn’t use gloves to protect the surface. Guess what? The rust was caused by acid from the skin, and it showed up much later.
Three Steps » The first step is to Question answered by: Tom Horvath ust is a serious issue and can be a big problem down the road if it’s not dealt with from the beginning. Teaching employees the importance of rust is something I felt I stressed too much about – until I had a problem. Now, I can’t stress enough the importance of addressing it early in the process. Rust not dealt with properly is always a problem, but sometimes it may take a long time to show up. I remember one time doing a restoration thinking that everything was fine. Months later, the customer pointed out a fingerprint that showed up in the
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take proper care to protect the surface as soon as it’s ready. Take proper care not to touch the surface with bare hands. No moisture or other contamination can touch the surface of bare metals. Next, find a compatible primer surfacer for bare metal, usually referred to as DTM or “direct-to-metal” primer. This is the foundation and is the most important part of any repair that deals with bare metal. After the foundation, many hours of prepping, painting and material usage is applied to the surface. This
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READER’S CHOICE » Treating Rust
can result in thousands of dollars and, if done wrong, will be a waste of time. I like systems, so when I look at DTMs, I look for a paint system that’s complete, from DTM to high-build primers to sealers. This way, if there is a problem, I know where to look. If you’re intermixing one product line with another, no manufacturer is
going to take responsibility if there’s a failure. So even if there is a cost savings for a length of time, the one time you have failure, the failure could be so catastrophic you may not be able to ever overcome the loss. Step one: Strip the metal to bare. Soda blast, paint stripper, bead blast, etc. However you do it, make sure it’s done in a moisture-free environment.
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Step two: Don’t touch the surface with bare hands. Step three: Find a compatible primer system, DTM, high-build primer and sealer. BSB Tom Horvath is with Clearcoat Solutions. He can be reached at thorvath@clearcoatsolutions.com.
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READER’S CHOICE
& Materials “Legally speaking, how can insurance companies limit paint and materials charges?” — Mike Jackson, L.J.’s Autobody, Washington, N.C. Question answered by: Barrett Smith hank you, Mike, for the great question; it’s one that has been asked by many concerned repairers over the years. Because I’m not an attorney, I do not provide legal counsel. However, I can lend you my experiences dealing with this and other issues as a claims adjuster, providing my expert witness services to plaintiff and defense attorneys for litigation, and offering my consulting services to collision repair shop owners across the country. While there are statutes in some states which prohibit “capping” or pre-set “thresholds” and inhibit other similar activities, each repairer should be familiar with the rules and regulations in their state and handle such situations through the proper channels per their state’s guidelines. For those who don’t have such protections, insurer
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underpayments may or may not be a “legal issue.” Such issues may depend upon wording in the insurer’s policy/contract and other such provisions. As such, I am not ongoing to address the legal aspect and will instead provide you with a more pragmatic and practical answer that should resonate with you and others. Simply stated: insurance carriers underpay and short-change claims settlements to consumers because they’ve been allowed to. And they continue such behavior because they are not being properly challenged. For many insurers, in most states and markets, they do what they do because there has been no downside for them. With literally billions of dollars at stake, there’s no incentive for them to stop and have every incentive to continue the practice. I often employ the adage, “As long as one does what they have always done, they will continue to get what they have always gotten.”
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READER’S CHOICE » Paint & Materials This, of course, goes both ways in that some continue to lose and others continue to gain. Insurers are fully aware that most repairers are uncomfortable taking on a huge insurer due to a number of fears and concerns, including but not limited to: 1. Making the insurer(s) angry and having work steered away from them. 2. Not knowing what to do to combat the abuses. 3. Fear of litigation and the associated costs. 4. Fear of losing in litigation and being left worse off as a result. 5. Upsetting/inconveniencing their customer and losing referrals. 6. Tarnishing their reputation in their community-market area. 7. Unsure how to combat the insurer’s poor-mouthing of the repairer if they don’t comply.
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8. Destroying long-term relationships with local appraisers. The fact is there are many things a repairer can do to effectively combat insurer short-pays, and they all begin with a proper, well-crafted Repair Contract/Authorization and the repairer having a full, in-depth understanding of local and state laws governing the collision repair industry. No less importance should be placed on the repairer’s being equally familiar with their state’s laws and regulations governing the business of insurance. Most shop owners’ prior experience is as bodymen, not businessmen. They start their own business knowing how to provide good repairs and good service, but most of them have minimal knowledge on how to properly operate a business. I’ve found that the overwhelming majority of shop owners don’t know
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what their true hourly cost of operation is. They only know that if they can pay their bills and keep a little at the end of the month, they’re doing something right. Few seek to look for what they’re doing wrong until it becomes a glaring and costly problem for them. On the other hand, insurers are managed by astute and educated business people who are perfectly capable and willing to take advantage of the repairer’s lack of business acumen. Insurers are led by collegeeducated experts in various fields including finance, business of insurance, banking, etc., many with master’s degrees in business and other disciplines. As an example, Edward B. Rust, Jr., the current chairman of the board and CEO of State Farm, holds both a juris doctor and master of business degree. I can assure you that those
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READER’S CHOICE » Paint & Materials under his direct leadership are equally educated and trained, and it shows in the long-term success of the company, just as it does in others we deal with on a regular basis such as Allstate, GEICO, Farmers and others. Furthermore, insurers can seek the
expertise they may not possess inhouse outside through the services of corporate consulting companies. Professional consultants enable the insurers to have a better understanding of their existing markets, proposed markets, underwriting practices, claims practices, the collision repair industry’s practices
and the consumer. Insurers need to know what the near and distant future trends will be, how they will impact their business and how they can best capitalize from them. Insurers know more about repairers and consumers than we know about ourselves…it’s their business to know what people like and don’t like, what they fear and how to best capitalize on that fear. Information is the insurer’s base business. The acquisition of viable and accurate information is what enables them to take the risks they take and allows them to be profitable and grow while remaining competitive. It also allows insurers to determine the strategies they’ll put into place from marketing their company and its image, and determine their risks and pricing of their product. The strategies for success are disseminated from the company’s leadership all the way down to the adjuster and appraiser in the field who interact with consumers and repairers to resolve their claims. So again, it’s not really a legal issue until the repairers and their customers threaten to make it one to put a stop to the abuse…it’s merely one entity in a proposed position of power taking advantage of another’s weakness – simply because they’re continuously being allowed to. For the truly independent repairer, the logical choices as I see them are: ● Continue to do as you have always done and expect it to get worse. ● Make a commitment to acquire the knowledge and business acumen needed for you and your business to thrive…not merely survive. ● Emulate other successful businesses and strive for optimization in all facets of operation. BSB Barrett Smith, AAM, is the founder and president of Auto Damage Experts, Inc., which has been providing automotive inspection and expert legal services nationwide since 1997. He can be reached at (813) 657-6705 or barrett@ autodamageexperts.com.
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PROFIT IN THE PAINT SHOP
Profit in the Paint Shop Series:
Anticipate the Blend... and Blend! Once a painter is in command of time-tested techniques and is faithful to the proper execution of those techniques, blending can be pretty simple. Part 4 of a six-part series on how to maximize profit in the paint shop.
By Carl Wilson erriam-Webster’s online dictionary lists “blend” as a verb: “To mix (things) thoroughly and usually with good results.” A few synonyms and related words are listed, too: “combine,” “incorporate,” “mix,” “stir,” “conjoin.” Well, that’s not quite what we mean when we say “blend.” Blend is also listed as a noun: “Something produced by mixing or combining different things.” And that’s not what we mean, either. While we use the term blend in the paint shop as both a verb and a noun, it certainly isn’t either of the definitions we just read. My 1957 Thorndike-Barnhart dictionary mirrors Webster’s definitions, so I think we can reasonably conclude that the way we use the word blend in our industry isn’t due to generational differences.
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Above: a three-stage sprayout letdown panel. Right: documenting three-stage.
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PROFIT IN THE PAINT SHOP » Part 4
My own personal color library...do you have one? You should.
Nor can it be attributed to idioglossia or cryptophasia (that secret language between twins). But it’s fair to say that, to the outsider, the lingo we use is indeed cryptic. We know what we mean when we say blend, though – getting into the adjacent panel for color consistency
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My own file index on Toyota.
purposes. Creating the illusion of a perfect match by blending (verb). And it’s important that a painter can perform a nice blend (noun). I don’t want to oversimplify the blending process, but once a painter is in command of timetested techniques and is faithful to the proper execution of them, then it is
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indeed pretty simple. However, before we talk about techniques, let’s consider the “why” of blending.
Why Blend? » The most obvious answer to “why” is to help hide a color that’s slightly off. We aren’t going to go down the rabbit hole of color theory
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PROFIT IN THE PAINT SHOP » Part 4 and tinting techniques here, but we will ask, “How do we know the color is slightly off?” We know because we’ve been diligently building our own personal color sprayout library, and when we pulled the appropriate color card out and determined that while it’s not dead-on, it certainly is blendable. Right? No? You don’t have
a personal library? How about color chips from your paint manufacturer? With or without the personal library or manufacturer’s color chips, we can be certain that nothing ever always matches. Therefore, we blend. It could be because the vehicle was repainted before, or it has a transparent color coat from the factory resulting in what
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appears to be a blotchy metallic that we’re probably calling “mottled.” Try and hide that “mismatch” without a blend. It could just be that UV exposure has degraded the hood at a faster rate
Splitting the Color ecades ago, my father taught me a technique called “splitting the color.” When he was a young combo man, lacquer was king. He would sometimes cocktail the color with clear 50-50 for his final coats of color. He believed it better emulated the look of the factory lacquer, which was reflowed with high heat to improve gloss and minimize buffing. That works with lacquer because the color and clear are brothers. With today’s coating systems, color and clear are not brothers, so we cannot mix them. But we can still split the color. Essentially, the result of split color is half the pigment suspended in a carrier of the same viscosity. The color, metallic or mica – everything – behaves the same as unsplit color but with only half as much being applied. It’s critical to maintain a consistent viscosity in order for the color to behave the same, which is why you cannot simply reduce the color with solvent. If you ever have, you know that the result is a different color as the metallic will behave differently than the more viscous color you’ve already applied and are attempting to blend. Rather than using clear or solvent as the splitting agent, you use the same translucent product from your mixing bank that you use when mixing a midcoat such as pearl. This is your splitting agent. Be mindful of any reduction you’ve done to your paint before you’ve split it, so you can maintain the same reduction after you’ve split it. Not to insult anyone’s intelligence, but this split color is applied at the edge of the paint you’ve already applied for coverage in order to transition your color into the car’s existing color. Of course, not all colors need this, but many will benefit from the technique.
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PROFIT IN THE PAINT SHOP » Part 4 than the less exposed fenders, resulting in two colors to match. Let’s hope most of what we mix is not off due to a corrupt bank of toners – a failure to ensure all agitator lids are engaged to the bank and spinning several times a day. It’s possible that the formula has been altered or even completely over-
hauled and, as a result, is no longer going to work as the “go-to” formula for that particular color. We also can’t overlook the effects of metamerism, or the perceived difference of color due to different light sources delivering different light spectrums. Whatever the reason, the color is off, and we’re going to blend.
When Not to Blend » It’s important to note, however, that not all things can be blended. For example, a dark metallic flop on a silver vehicle cannot be hidden in a blend. Blending does not replace tinting and adjusting color; it complements it. In most cases, you’ll cycle the car through the paint shop faster by bringing the color to a blendable match and blending than attempting to match the color dead on. Not to mention that due to the differences of the cones in your eyes compared to my eyes, dead-on to me may not be dead-on to you. Nevertheless, not every scenario is a candidate for blending color. Bumper covers come to mind. We need no reminder that most of the bumper covers we see on the road don’t quite match. We know that the color behaves differently between plastic and steel regardless of where you see the origin of the problem. Static electricity of the plastic affects the lay of the metallic, or the cooling effect of the evaporating solvent results in different temperatures between the substrates and therefore the painted steel parts take longer to dry than the plastic parts, which in turn affects the lay of the metallic. Either way, the metallic can behave differently between the substrates. Yet even with this in mind, it’s sometimes prudent to blend the adjacent panels when replacing a cover. There are colors that simply demand it. Now hopefully we’re in agreement that, odds are, we’re going to blend the color. And hopefully we’re making that decision at the beginning of the repair process so we can maintain an efficient flow. It’s important that you refer to the technical reference manual provided to you by the paint manufacturer for specifics regarding blending their color. It will cover all the procedures and products necessary to maintain the integrity of their product – and their warranty. So let that be your guide as I present to you a few techniques for you to consider.
Wet Bed » Another technique that makes metallic easier to control is a Circle 48 for Reader Service
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PROFIT IN THE PAINT SHOP » Part 4 “wet bed.” Most of the systems I’m familiar with have a product that can be applied over the blend panel, and this gives a wet bed for the blend to lay on, minimizing any metallic halo at the edge of the blend that sometimes shows up with high metallic colors. Check with your jobber or technical rep to find the specific product to use.
By the way, splitting the color and a wet bed – splitting both the base and the mid-coat at their respective edges – can help you when you’re blending a three-stage pearl or candy job.
Mastering Pearls » As long as we’ve broached the subject of pearls, I would like to offer another time-tested tidbit.
Undoubtedly, you’re familiar with a “letdown panel” or sprayout card you made showing base color and one, two, three and four coats of pearl. Usually only half the card is cleared, and it’s used to compare to the vehicle to ascertain the proper number of pearl or midcoats you would need to apply to achieve a match. The challenge can be when four or five coats of pearl are needed to transform the base into a blendable match, and then you have to blend those four or five coats onto the blend panel without getting a halo of pearl to give your blend away. Painting only a bumper cover is easy enough with no halo to worry about. But in the middle of a door? That’s more difficult. So I tucked away what a technical rep told me 20 years ago: “Tint your base so when you blend it out, it sort of looks done.” His point was to avoid having to radically transform the color of the base with several coats of pearl; adjust the base instead so you don’t have to. This tip doesn’t really apply to factory candies – the ones where you have a semi-muddy orange metallic base you must transform into a bright and clean candy apple. No shortcut there. You have to make sprayouts and tint accordingly, but go ahead and split the color. That will help!
Body Lines » Another blending tactic is to utilize body lines to help hide the color transition. In addition, drawing the blend across the panel diagonally rather than vertically can assist in hiding the blend. Pardon the redundancy, but again, the color must be close enough for a blend to begin with; some mismatches simply will not blend out to achieve an invisible blend.
Sealer Edge » Before we get away from color, there’s another situation that can cause grief for a painter: seeing the edge of the sealer through the color. This can be common with waterborne, which when dry is so thin that it maps the sealer’s edge and it telegraphs to the surface. The practice of over-reducing the sealer in order to Circle 50 for Reader Service
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PROFIT IN THE PAINT SHOP render it thinner and achieve a smoother surface is not recommended. That will result in an insufficient film build of sealer, which is one of the causes of sealer failure. A better solution is to mix and apply the sealer according to the manufacturer’s recommendation and melt the edge in with a blending solvent. When done properly, this eliminates a telegraphed sealer edge.
Blending Clear » On to blending
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clear, or “burning” a blend in the clear or melting the edge in with a blending solvent as opposed to taking the clear to a natural breaking point. The answer is “no.” I know of no paint or car manufacturer that endorses that practice. They all predict failure if attempted, maybe not today or tomorrow, but in time as the edge of your clear blend will be revealed since it never melted into the OEM clear. Yet, as a practical matter, there’s a difference between Grandma’s 1991 sedan (which has a scratch on the quarter panel that you’re painting for free) and a paying customer for whom you’re providing a warranty. The fact that you’re providing a warranty means you’ll want the paint manufacturer to stand behind their product, which demands that you follow their directives when using their products. So while you may have figured out tricks to facilitate the blending of clear, it’s not a sound practice. I guess you’ll have to work that out with Grandma.
Increased Production » What we’re aiming for here is increased production through improved efficiency, specifically in the paint shop. So let’s be proactive in anticipating the blends that will facilitate this, rather than creating a mismatch that will force us back into the booth. BSB Carl Wilson has been painting for nearly 30 years, with formal training from the GM Training Center, ASE, I-CAR and multiple product and color courses. He currently works as a technical rep for HiLine Distributors in Oahu, Hawaii. He can be reached at carl@refinishexpert.com.
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Product
Spotlight Ford-Approved Elektron Aluminum Repair Equipment lektron has the equipment shops need to properly weld, braze and remove dents from aluminum. Ford has approved the Elektron MultiMig 511 and MultiMig 522 MIG/MAG inverter welders and the MultiTool Aluminum Dent Repair Station with MultiSpot M22 AL stud welder as part of its 2015 F-150 Collision Repair Program.
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MIG/MAG Welders Elektron’s MultiMig 511 and 522 inverter welders are designed to help technicians weld aluminum as easily as they weld steel. They come programmed with synergic curves that preset welding parameters so technicians can start welding immediately, minimizing setup time. The MultiMig 511 and MultiMig 522 are available with Elektron’s unique push-pull torch. This style of torch minimizes breakage or tangling of soft aluminum wire, which is why the Aluminum Association recommends push-pull torches for aluminum sheet metal repair. Elektron’s small and lightweight push-pull torch features fingertip controls that enable realtime wire-feed speed and current control. For even greater versatility, the MultiMig 522 can be equipped with two separate torches simultaneously.
Aluminum Dent Repair Station The Elektron MultiTool Aluminum Dent Repair Station is a complete mobile workstation equipped with the tools technicians need to properly repair dents in aluminum sheet metal body panels and hoods. The Dent Repair Station comes with the MultiSpot M22 AL stud welder, a 115V aluminum capacitor discharge welder that includes a stud gun and twoclamp grounding cables. The station also features two pulling systems, a hammer kit, a heat gun, an angled air die grinder and other tools.
Trust your aluminum fusion needs to the company backed by more than 70 years of industry experience. Trust Elektron.
chiefautomotive.com/dreamteam vimeo.com/groups/elektronwelders
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ALUMINUM PREPARATION GUIDE
Do you have the equipment it takes to repair aluminum? Here is a range of tools and other products you’ll need. tire career where the whole industry is having to retool,” says Richard ver since Ford Motor Com- Perry, global repair product manager pany announced that the for Chief Automotive Technologies. 2015 F-150 pickup was go- “When I started, every shop had to ing to be made almost en- have a MIG welder to weld steels. tirely of aluminum, and that this Now, steels have advanced or, in vehicle would be hitting showrooms some cases, gone away, and you need by fall of 2014, collision repairers squeeze-type resistance and aluhave been assessing whether they’re minum welders. So shops have had adequately equipped and trained to retool, and with that, rethink how to handle such repairs. to repair the vehicle.” Aluminum is such a different aniAccording to Perry, aluminum is mal than steel. It has tricky to weld because you no memory like steel need to maintain a constant does. Its optimal worktemperature to create the best weld. What helps with ing temperature is that is a push-pull feature 400 to 570 degrees Fahrenheit. It refound on welders from quires its own dediElektron, one of the cated set of tools to brands under the Vehicle Services Group avoid cross contamiwhich Chief is a part nation with steel. There are other difof. This can eliminate ferences too, but the the wire from “birdpoint is that most nesting” inside of the repairers will have welder, which would creto add to their equipate inconsistent welds. ment arsenal to prop“The push-pull gun erly and safely repair also has a thumb switch aluminum vehiwhere you can manually Elektron’s MultiMig 522 cles…because the control the wire,” says Perdual torch welder. use of aluminum in ry. “Let’s say you need a vehicles is only going hot start, and as you’re to grow in the comwelding, the material gets ing years. really hot and starts to fall “This the first time out too much and you I’ve seen it in my enneed to cool it down, you
By Jason Stahl
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can use the switch to slow the current and wire speed to make a cooler weld to finish.” In addition to the Chief frame racks, LaserLock live mapping system and Elektron spot welders that are already available to Ford dealers through the Rotunda Dealer Equipment program, Ford has approved the following F-150 special tools: 䡲 Chief Structural Holding with F-150 Kit – Complete 䡲 Chief F-150 Holding Kit 䡲 Chief Deluxe Chain and Clamping Package with Rolling Cart 䡲 Chief Collet Style Target Attachment Set for Non-Ferrous Vehicle Openings 䡲 Elektron MultiMig 511 Welder with Standard Torch 䡲 Elektron MultiMig 511 Welder with Push-Pull Torch 䡲 Elektron MultiMig 522 Dual Torch Welder Complete with Standard and Push-Pull Torch 䡲 Elektron MultiTool Aluminum Dent Repair Station Ron Olsson, president of Pro Spot International, also expressed amazement at the rapid change going on in the industry, saying it’s something he hasn’t seen in his 25 or so years in the business. “We used to try to knock the OEMs’ doors down trying to get recognition and approval for repair procedures with our products, but now these new metals – aluminum, boron, ultra high strength steel – demand more attention and training and the OEMs are extremely concerned that technicians are repairing these vehicles correctly, which I think is helping our industry move one level up.” Pro Spot has a whole array of equipment specifically designed for aluminum repair, including the SP Series of aluminum pulse MIG welders (approved by Ford for the F-150), aluminum weld stations, PR5 self-piercing rivet gun and fume extractor. “Our aluminum weld station contains all the tools necessary to repair
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ALUMINUM PREPARATION GUIDE » Equip Yourself
Pro Spot International’s SP Series of aluminum pulse MIG welders.
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dents in aluminum,” says Olsson. “It has an AL5 capacity discharge welder than can weld on aluminum studs into dents in panels and also pulling tools to pull the dents out. It also contains a heating element where you can heat aluminum a little as you pull it and measure and maintain the correct temperature with a laserbased temperature gauge. It also has a utility panel with 110 and 220 volts and a compressed air outlet so you don’t have cables and hoses everywhere. Finally, it has a foldable work table so you can set it up anywhere on the shop floor and it becomes a workstation with a work bench. And it’s affordable, too.” The self-piercing rivet gun, Olsson says, is critical in that most aluminum will be repaired by rivets instead of spot welds. In fact, Ford requires selfpiercing rivets and structural adhesive for the F-150. The PR5 is battery-op-
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erated, portable and lightweight. Pro Spot’s fume extractor, designed to take care of poisonous fumes from welding aluminum and other metals, is available in a portable model or one built in to the aluminum weld station. Speaking of heat, Induction Innovations’ line of induction heaters can be used to safely heat aluminum and other metals, minimizing the Heat Affect Zone (HAZ) to the repair and not nearby parts. “Induction heat is ideal for aluminum because it gives the user greater control of the heat than what they would have with torches, heat guns or infrared lamps,” says Steve Gough of Induction Innovations. Spanesi Americas says it has a “complete solution” for all aluminum tools and equipment: clean containment rooms, MIG/MAG welders, riveters, dent repair, stud welders,
ALUMINUM PREPARATION GUIDE » Equip Yourself
Induction Innovations’ Inductor Pro Max.
dust extractors, fume extractors, personal protection, measuring, fixturing, lifting and pulling equipment. “Aluminum containment first is a priority for protecting aluminum vehicles from exposure to steel filings, or dust which can cause galvanic corrosion,” says Tim Morgan, managing director of Spanesi Americas. “Also, the steel and aluminum grindings need to be separated to protect against an explosion, because if they mix together they could create a
volatile situation. So what contacts the aluminum vehicle, including hand tools, needs to be separate from those used on a steel vehicle.” Spanesi Americas is still in discussions with Ford on approval of its equipment, but it has already been approved by Jaguar/Land Rover for their aluminum vehicles. Morgan advises repairers to research all makes and models of vehicles they will repair and make the purchase of equipment with that in mind, not narrowing themselves to a particular model vehicle. “Aluminum repairs will increase as the need for lighter vehicles striving to meet fuel economy demands continues,” he says. Garmat USA has a full line of another type of equipment essential to aluminum repair – isolation stations. They start with entry-level systems such as curtain isolation up to a fully
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enclosed pressurized unit that provides the necessary filtration for grinding. In addition to their standard models, they also offer custom aluminum repair clean room designs for a more enhanced aluminum repair environment. “The AlumaSAFE 50 provides the needed isolation for welding or other aluminum repair processes,” says Debbie Teter, marketing manager for Garmat USA. “The AlumaSAFE 100 Spanesi Americas’ clean containment room.
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ALUMINUM PREPARATION GUIDE » Equip Yourself
Garmat USA’s Aluminum Repair Isolation Station.
and AlumaSAFE 500 expands on the idea of isolation by adding a fan unit that allows both of these models to be used for grinding operations as well. The AlumaSAFE 100 is a nonpressurized system featuring recirculating crossdraft airflow, Fortex spark arrestor panels and three stages
of high-efficiency filtration including HEPA. The AlumaSAFE 500 expands on the design further by pressurizing the unit and adding a fully lit ceiling for an improved working area.” Global Finishing Solutions also specializes in clean areas to protect aluminum vehicles and parts during the repair process. Their Isolation Station is a basic curtain system in pre-determined sizes for easy ordering and installation. Their Aluminum Repair Station has a lighted, full ceiling for added protection and lighting for the technician. The Aluminum Repair Station Plus adds the flexibility of a paint workstation so the vehicle and/or parts can be primed and sealed prior to exiting the aluminum-safe clean area. This station can also be used for additional painting needs when not being used for aluminum repair.
“A major concern of many of the collision centers we’ve had discussions with is losing a stall to aluminum repair until the volume of aluminum vehicles on the road expands more,” says Brandon Lowder, vice president of refinish, Global Finishing Solutions. “By adding the Aluminum Repair Station Plus, the collision center meets the needs of a clean area for aluminum repair and gains the flexibility of additional painting capabilities.” All of GFS’s aluminum repair products are included by Ford for repair of the F-150. Car-O-Liner also bills itself as a “total solution” for aluminum repairs, with an EVO system with adapters and fixturing, bench measuring, induction heat systems, aluminum carts and welders. “The aluminum cart and some of the MIG welders that are set up for the programs are configured for alu-
Aluminum Solutions Pulse Mig Welder ✔ Aluminum Workstation ✔Aluminum Stud Welder ✔ Plasma Cutter ✔ Aluminum Workstation
Aluminum Stud Welder 2154
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Aluminum Pulse Mig 302
ALUMINUM PREPARATION GUIDE » Equip Yourself
Global Finishing Solution’s Aluminum Repair Station Plus.
minum, but they’re also configurable for steel as well so we have that flexibility for all our products,” said Jeff Kern, president of Car-O-Liner. Car-O-Liner’s equipment is approved by Ford and a number of other OEMs. Specifically, the CMI3000II MIG/MAG Pulse Welder, AUTOMIG 273i Pulse Boost MIG Welder, the truck clamping system and EVO universal anchoring system, and the mobile Aluminum Workstation were
added to the F-150 program in March. “One of the things we try to do at Car-O-Liner is work on our OEM and certified approvals,” said Kern. “Shop owners often become very frustrated because the OEMs have a certain recommendation for a welder, for example, and what we try to do is provide aluminum certification approvals for all disciplines so that ultimately we can save the costs for the shop owner if welders are approved for all manufacturers.” Added Doug Bortz, “One of our welders has been approved for a number of years, and it’s very specific to the structural as well as cosmetic repair. The newer requirements for the Ford Rotunda Program have been primarily from a different standpoint because they don’t have any structural rails that are aluminum. But I understand that the structure of the alu-
minum is also considered a structural integral part. We’re not new to the aluminum repair program, and I think that’s a big emphasis.” Repairers may not think the choice of glass removal tool is critical to aluminum repair, but they need to think again. Aluminum is a soft material, and BTB’s tools have safety edge blades designed specifically for Car-O-Liner’s EVO universal anchoring system.
Quality Air Breathing Systems P-20 Belt Mounted $895
id you know that when you are spraying a solvent based or waterborne paint product in a spraybooth or prep deck, the proper personal protection equipment is an air-supplied respirator? Air supplied respirators must be supplied with Grade “D” Breathable Air. Quality Air Breathing Systems are designed to provide Grade “D” Breathable Air from your existing compressed air system, for OSHA compliance when using an air-supplied respirator. Systems are sized from one person to 12 persons at the same time. We offer complete systems, with proper filtration and carbon monoxide monitors, panel mounted, and ready to use. Available in belt mounted, wall mount and portable versions. Plus, we offer a complete line of NIOSH Approved masks and hoods.
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Model 50-P Portable $1,985
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Model 50-SL Single Line $1,445
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ALUMINUM PREPARATION GUIDE » Equip Yourself
Fillers, Putties and Sanding hen thinking of aluminum repair, repairers tend to focus on welders, dent tool stations, aluminum rooms and fume extractors. Not often mentioned are fillers and putties, but these actually can be optimized for aluminum as well. Take, for example, Evercoat’s Rage Ultra and Metal Glaze Ultra. “We built these with aluminum in mind because of their easy sanding,” says Carl Seaboldt, senior product manager at Evercoat. “We know aluminum is softer than steel, and people have a tendency to chase dents across aluminum hoods because of the different hardness. But our new fillers and putties allow them to keep the dent where it is and not worry about it moving.” Seaboldt also says that, with the eco resin they’ve added, the products produce a better featheredge on aluminum than traditional body fillers. “We have enhanced adhesion to aluminum, which right now in the market will be a great thing because
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repairers won’t have to worry about ‘shadowing’ their repair or seeing rings around the repair because of the featheredge.” Speaking of sanding, Motor Guard’s new line of “Rigid” sanding blocks work equally well with steel or aluminum. The advantage with aluminum is that these blocks retain their flat rigid profile, but have just the right amount of flex for slight character lines. “It’s critical to keep these tools in your aluminum repair station and not co-mingle them with your sheet metal tools,” adds Motor Guard’s David Barleen. “The aluminum will react to any ferrous dust and oxidize, destroying the metal.”
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ALUMINUM PREPARATION GUIDE » Equip Yourself
BTB glass removal tools.
cutting against softer materials like aluminum and carbon fiber. Their “V” blade cutting edge is suspended away from the blade surface that contacts the aluminum panel, so it can’t scratch or dig into the soft surface. BTB’s WK6 “winged” pinchweld trimming blades are also designed for aluminum vehicles. “Their radius cutting edge ensures that it not only eliminates scratching the paint, but also won’t dig into the aluminum panel,” said Adam Smith, export marketing manager for BTB Tools. “Technicians are aware it can be difficult to avoid scratching with standard trimming blades, long knives and snap-off knives, as they have a
razor blade style cutting face and sharp pointed corners hugging the aluminum panel and paintwork.” Dent Fix Equipment has been offering the Ford-approved Aluspot aluminum dent repair station to the collision repair industry since 2006. It consists of a lockable cart for tool isolation, a 110-volt capacitor discharge welder to fuse an aluminum stud on the panel, a complete set of hammers and dollies, a heat gun and four different pulling devices for light to heavy pulls. “The lockable cart has a scissor-top lid and three tool drawers to totally isolate and lock the tools away when not in use. Tool migration through the shop and possible contamination from dust are virtually
eliminated,” said Erik Spitznagel of Dent Fix Equipment. “Isolation of the work area and then of the tools is one of the most significant aspects of aluminum panel repair in order to prevent galvanic corrosion. The complete set of tools , hammers and dollies, nylon shaping tools and inline paint remover tool distinguish us further. Second, our weld gun has the ground located at the welding tip. There is no need to The Aluspot Deluxe Aluminum Repair Station from Dent Fix Equipment.
New Rigid Sanding Blocks for High-Performance Blocking of Aluminum or Steel otor Guard has developed three new Super-Rigid Big Block models for fast and aggressive blocking of Aluminum or Steel. Engineered from super-dense yet light-weight materials, these new sanding blocks provide just the right amount of flex to conform to body panels and slight contours, Aluminum or Steel. Super-flat faces result in fast and flawless finishes.
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BGR-1 RIGID BIG BLOCK (1-1/2"x11") Create the ultimate blocking bar by wrapping an abrasive sheet around this narrow, rigid block. Just the right width for power blocking in small areas, this block flexes slightly to follow contours.
BGR6-1 RIGID BIG BLOCK (5-1/2") A super-flat super rigid block for use with 2-3/4" PSA rolls or half-sheets with no waste. Finger recesses on the sides allow for a firm yet powerful grip while tackling the toughest jobs.
BGR12-1 RIGID BIG BLOCK (11") For aggressive, two-handed blocking, this long, rigid sanding block is unequaled. Use with 2-3/4" PSA rolls or full sheets with no waste. Power block large areas with ease.
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ALUMINUM PREPARATION GUIDE » Equip Yourself
Ford F-150 Equipment Requirements to Become a Ford Certified Shop Cebotech’s double pulse, double gun welder.
attach separate ground cables. This ensures that the tech grinds away the least amount of paint, and subsequently there is less painting and less blending. “We also are the only ones to offer our quick-release pulling fingers, which eliminates the need for timeconsuming twisting on and off the eyelets to pull. The time it takes to do that is better spent repairing the vehicle. Finally, we are the least expensive but most comprehensive and easy-to-use unit on the market.” Cebotech USA has been offering equipment for aluminum repair for at least the last 10 years. Their product line includes a pulse MIG welder, two double pulse MIG welders, an aluminum stud welder for dent pulling, a plasma cutter, an aluminum work station and now also a selfpiercing rivet gun. They also have two new products coming out within the next year that are being specifically developed for aluminum repair. A couple of their MIG welders, an aluminum stud welder and a plasma cutter are approved by Ford. “These welders and cutters were developed for automotive repair,” says Bill Berman, president, Cebotech USA. “There are other welder suppliers that just offer an existing industrial unit and want the tech at the body shop to use them to repair a vehicle. A welder developed for collision repair is fine-tuned to the needs of the tech. The power, the size of the welding guns, the software and arc characteristics are meant for collision repair. 64
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䡲 220-volt pulse MIG welder dedicated for aluminum 䡲 Separate hand/power tool kit dedicated for aluminum 䡲 Dedicated aluminum dent extraction system containing an aluminum stud welder, heat gun, pyrometer, aluminum hammers and dent extraction systems 䡲 Dedicated aluminum dust extraction system with wet mix technology – system can be portable or a central installed system 䡲 Have a work separation system that isolates aluminum vehicles from vehicles undergoing steel repairs – separation can be a separate room or curtain system 䡲 Have a specialized aluminum SPR (self-piercing rivet) gun approved by Ford Paint and Body Technical Center 䡲 Optional equipment: a select number of qualifying frame alignment accessories are available for Chief and Car-O-Liner frame systems 䡲 Optional equipment: Fume extraction systems can be permanently mounted or portable
“Under the best of circumstances, the air. This machine will require an aluminum welding is very demand- enclosed room so that the aluminum ing. All the factors that are required dust does not get a chance to mix to produce a good aluminum weld with steel dust. When steel dust mixes need to be present. Equipment specif- with aluminum dust, it chemically ically designed to facilitate aluminum reacts and could ignite and explode. welding can go a long way to making “Our Duster 3000 Downdraft is aluminum welding much easier. It’s perfect for this application and will important for a shop to invest in the require curtains (such as Goff’s Curright equipment for aluminum be- tain Walls),” says Ron Peters of Island cause it will make the job easier and Clean Air. “And curtains will be albetter. The same goes to all the other lowed, according to Ford.” peripheral tools and equipment reTom Wright of Martech Services quired to repair an aluminum body says that even air breathing systems car or pickup truck.” will play a role in aluminum repair. On the dust extraction end, Island “When a person welds aluminum, Clean Air’s Ron Peters states that the need for an air-supplied respirator Ford requires two collection machines: may be required,” says Wright. “When one machine will attach to the you weld aluminum, the gases given sander and source capture off during this process are dangerous larger filings from the to our health. In factories sander. This machine where workers weld will draw large alualuminum parts over minum dust into a and over again, they hose and the dust usually have a system in will go through place to evacuate the gases water at the other from the work station. end. This is the wet However, if any welding mix dust capture. would need to be perThe second machine formed on a vehicle, there Martech’s Personal will be a portable would not be this equipAir Breathing Unit. dust collector used ment in place, so the use of to capture all the an air-supplied welding dust that escapes hood or mask would be from the sander into necessary.” BSB
ALUMINUM PREPARATION GUIDE
Aluminum: Not Difficult, Just Different Years of high-end luxury cars have insulated most shops from having to worry about repairing aluminum. Now, the popular Ford F-150 will be aluminum, and it’s time to get on board and accept the inevitable. By Mitch Becker receive so many calls from people asking, “What equipment do I need for the F-150? How do I MIG braze for the Honda Civics?” First, take a breath and clear your mind. Now, let’s look at what’s happening. New government standards on Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) and End of Life of Vehicle (ELV) have had a major impact on vehicle manufacturers, who have had to make vehicles more fuel efficient and also safer for new crash testing requirements. They also need lighter materials that are recyclable. This allows vehicles to
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be lighter and to account for the weight of new electronics to be added. It turns into a serious game of give and take. This, in turn, changes the repair industry. The new materials automakers chose to use may not be repaired the same as materials we’re used to. The process is called “change.” We may not like it or be comfortable with it, but here it is, and it will continue. With every change comes learning. Learning what equipment you’ll need to adapt to the change. Learning the skills you’ll need to repair vehicles correctly. Learning what your company
and employees will need to know to estimate and plan for repairs. Research and training into the changes become a necessity, not an option.
A Bomb? » Change can be slow, or dropped like a bomb. Years of highend luxury cars have insulated most shops from having to prepare for mainstream models’ change to aluminum. The requirements to be a certified shop were high and cost prohibitive. Many shops also procrastinated. Now, we’re talking about one of the most popular vehicles in the world going through a major change. It’s time to get on board and accept the inevitable. After all, it’s our responsibility. It seems that many repairers think the introduction of the new F-150 is like a bomb. It is not. We’ve heard and seen for years the introduction of more aluminum intensive cars and the increase in aluminum panels. We’ve all www.bodyshopbusiness.com 65
ALUMINUM PREPARATION GUIDE » Technical been working with and on them for years. I find it hard to believe that there is a shop out there that has not worked on an F-150 hood or a similar-in-design vehicle. Also, I believe that many shops ran into the same issue with quarter panel replacements on the new Hondas. The question is, “Did you do it right?” Do you have the capabilities and training for change?
High Strength Steels » Let’s use one example of change. When vehicle manufacturers started using steels that were of incredible strength as compared to the mild steel used in the past, we as an industry had to adapt. Squeeze Type Resistance Spot Welders were brought in, and they were costly, to say the least. Now, ask any technician or shop that made the purchase if they would go back or get rid of their spot welder. Chances are there would be a fight for them. These machines turned into serious moneymakers for shops. The increase in quality and production was amazing. So understand that gearing up for change will have costs associated with it. Being informed is the best way to start preparing. Let’s look at what you need to start: 䡲 Information 䡲 Equipment 䡲 Training 䡲 Cost Information is key to starting and knowing what’s coming and where it will go. It can be gathered from many sources. There is a lot of confusion to date on what Ford is doing and requiring or recommending. Honda has also added to the confusion with their new welding requirements and recommendations. Seek out articles in BodyShop Business and get information from dealers. First, let’s look at Honda and their recommendation to MIG braze on the panels where STRSW can’t reach. I-CAR has an online course that explains MIG brazing and is a great start to gain some knowledge and background on equipment requirements to achieve proper repairs. Amazingly, it’s similar to all require66
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ments for welding aluminum on Ford, GM and others. Next, take a class on aluminum. ICAR has the PRA01 course and ALI01 that cover aluminum repairs extensively. Now you have some idea of what you need to do and prepare for.
Why Aluminum? n my classes, everyone asks, “Why did Ford go with aluminum on the F-150?” They bring up problems from past models and warranty repairs done. But vehicle manufacturers have learned from those mistakes. Most were human error on planning or execution. If proper procedures are followed, corrosion and failures are minimized tremendously. The same will go for repairs. As long as they’re done correctly, the issues will be minimal. Understanding that galvanic corrosion and filiform corrosion occur mainly from improper procedures or materials will help prevent a shop from making those mistakes. Manufacturers have also learned a lot from the trucking industry. How many miles will a semi go before corrosion is an issue? One million miles? Two million? It’s interesting when you look at the big picture. In talking to technicians who work on aluminum-intensive vehicles, it becomes apparent that they prefer them to steel vehicles. The most common thing they say is, “It’s not hard to work with, just different.”
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Welders » Equipment such as welders that are recommended by manufacturers are capable of doing repairs correctly, but just because they offer a name brand does not mean others can’t do the job. Unless you’re aiming to become a manufacturer-certified shop, you can research your options. Make sure the equipment meets capability requirements. Many vehicle manufacturers are recommending
pulse/spray arc welders. These welders have the capability of doing multiple welding tasks on a large variety of metal types such as steel and aluminum, but also can weld on a large variance of gauge or thickness of metal that current welders can’t. These machines can weld a steel frame and exterior panels, and then can be switched to weld aluminum or do MIG brazing. Many have multiple torches pre-loaded for easy switching. The requirements are for 220-volt systems to have all power needed for thin or thick metals and a long duty cycle. The welder purchased will not just be capable of welding vehicles from one vehicle manufacturer or one metal but multiple manufacturers and metals. Check out YouTube for videos by manufacturers on how to use the welders. I’ve personally seen shops purchase these welders and implement them into their operations. Technicians love them, as the quality of welding and speed is incredible. One shop put up its spool gun welders and 110-volt welders for sale shortly after purchasing the new welders, as technicians did not want to use these anymore. I predict that anyone who gives them a chance will agree that they’re the way to go. I recently acquired one myself and use it for demos, and many people have offered to buy mine on the spot. Teaching technicians to weld aluminum and/or MIG braze is not a difficult task if they understand steel welding. Also, make sure the welder you have for steel or aluminum can run the proper diameter of wire required by Ford. Many spool guns currently in use may not be able to. Also, check that the 220-volt welder you have is a pulse/spray arc – it’s a major difference. Also, whether you’re using the welder for aluminum or brazing, make sure it’s a MIG welding procedure using 100 percent argon gas.
Specialty Equipment » Specialty equipment for aluminum may need to be evaluated. The F-150 has extensive use of self-piercing rivets (SPR) and adhesive, or SPR bonding,
ALUMINUM PREPARATION GUIDE » Technical so a self-piercing rivet gun is needed. These tools are expensive, but the plus is that they remove and install SPRs. This gives them more value as there are a lot to work with. They also work with SPRs in other vehicle manufacturers’ vehicles. More vehicle models will be coming, and there are only a few manufacturers of this tool to date. Although other types of rivets and adhesives may be recommended or required, the difference in appearance between different types may be noticeable. Aluminum dent puller. These are a must for aluminum repairs. Never confuse these with steel dent pullers as large holes will appear in aluminum panels. Although a big expense, you will get a great deal of use out of this tool. Proper use of the tool and knowledge of aluminum repair characteristics will make this a fairly easy-to-learn process. Some similarity to steel is an obvious plus, but the training and purchase of tools designated to aluminum repair only is a wise decision. This does not have to be expensive as we’re referring to hand tools mostly. With air tools, we need to establish best practices to avoid contamination of metals. There are many aluminum repair stations currently on the market. Work area. This is where there is a lot of confusion. Vehicle manufacturers had rigid requirements to be a qualified shop, one of which was that a separate room or clean room was needed. Although it’s the best way to prevent contamination, it’s costly or impossible for shops to comply. The recommendations of curtain walls or similar is a more cost effective way to achieve a clean room recommendation. The recommendation of air extraction procedures makes some prep decks a viable solution. We’ll soon see some more ideas as the industry gears up. Watching and listening to solutions will be important to minimizing cost. Understand that all this equipment can and will be recommended and used on other manufacturers’ vehicles; therefore, you’ll get a lot of use out of this equipment for years to come.
Training » Training is an absolute must for shop owners, managers, estimators and technicians. Never before have we seen a change that requires all employees in a body shop to understand the requirements to repair vehicles. I-CAR has long been a source of training and is one of the best sources for equipment requirements and repair needs. The justification that we all
Evaluate Your Shop Can my shop weld on aluminum? What series? What alloy? What gauge or thickness? How thin?
1 2 3 4 5
. Does my GMAW wire feed welder meet Ford, Honda, GM and others’ requirements for steel? . Does my GMAW wire feed welder meet Ford, GM and others’ requirements for aluminum? . Does my shop have the capability to MIG braze for new Hondas and older applications such as Toyota? . Do my technicians have the proper training to repair the new vehicles?
need to be on the same page as an industry will be apparent quickly. Getting your team up to speed will be less of a challenge when all are involved. Vendors and I-CAR have multiple programs available, including the new F-150 course this summer. The NEW14 course has information on Honda and others. The I-CAR online courses offered, such as MIG brazing, are great for learning at all levels.
Paint Procedures » Check with automakers and paint suppliers about the proper procedures for adhesives, seam sealers, primers, body fillers and paint. The ALI01 class from I-CAR also covers this in-depth. Be aware that epoxy primers are required in some instances. I highly recommend that all technicians take the FORD-06
class being offered this summer, which will answer many questions and explain many procedures.
Cost of Change » Cost of change can be a moving target. As new equipment comes on board and becomes competitive, a shop may take the waitand-see approach. This works as long as a 2013 Honda or new F-150 doesn’t come into your shop. If it does, then what do you do? I’ve heard some multi-location shops say that maybe shops will specialize in certain makes. It makes sense, but the problem is that other manufacturers will be following suit and recommending the same or similar procedures for repairs. And that will require all shops to be equipped similarly. Will informing a customer that this shop does Honda or that shop does GM vehicles drive them to a shop that can do all vehicles? Consumers don’t know the difference. A shop advertising that it’s trained and equipped to repair all vehicle makes may be more appealing. You also may be limiting your customer base by exclusively aligning with a particular OEM.
Plan to Adapt » I cannot emphasize enough the value in seeking training on new vehicles. The new FFR01 course will discuss frame repairs on new models of trucks and SUVs. The changes do not occur in just the body of the vehicles. All the aluminum courses offered by I-CAR will give technicians what they need to be aware of and where to find resources to answer their repair questions. Once we accept that change is here again and will be again soon, we can develop plans to adapt. I was once told, “It’s not the biggest or best company that survives; it’s the one that adapts to change.” BSB Mitch Becker is a technical instructor for ABRA Auto Body & Glass. Contact him at (763) 585-6411 or mbecker@ abraauto.com. www.bodyshopbusiness.com 67
MSO FOCUS
Can You Afford to
Expand? Four prominent multi-shop operators discuss how they have financed their growth and the lessons they have learned along the way.
By Kristen Hampshire on Nagy has a big, marked-up whiteboard in his office at Nagy’s Collision Specialists in Akron, Ohio, on which he constantly writes his thoughts, plans and ideas. In the corner of that whiteboard is his favorite saying: “The difference between success and failure is what you do with fear.” “I’ve seen fear paralyze people, and I’ve seen what my brother and I do with it, and that’s succeed,” he says. Nagy is talking about the growth of his family’s collision shop, which his father, an old tool and die maker, started 41 years ago repairing cars next to the house. “Little did he know what we would do with the business when we took it over,” Nagy says. The Nagy brothers first expanded into the Wooster market, financing a $500,000 piece of property through the bank. (Back then, you could “go to the bank and ask,” Nagy says.) He admits there was only
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a skeleton of a plan for this purchase – it was a gut decision backed by pure adrenaline and a desire to grow. They would be the first independent shop in that market, then Honda sent a load of business their way, followed by a tornado that resulted in a barrage of insurance work. “We went from zero to 100 miles per hour overnight,” Nagy says. The expansion was financed with a down payment to secure a bank loan for property and equipment, and today Nagy admits the overall deal involved a scant amount of due diligence. “We did 10 times more due diligence with the small shop we just acquired this year than we did with our first deal in 2005,” he says. Now, nine locations later,
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MSO FOCUS » Can You Afford to Expand? the Nagys mainly finance expansion through owner financing – providing a retirement outlet for owners who are aging out of the business and seeking a buy-out. Expansion has been critical to Nagy’s sustainability over two generations. “This profession has gotten so expensive, and there are many guys
who opened their doors in the 1970s when my father did who are ready to retire,” Nagy says, adding that acquisitions today are “ripe for the picking, but you better know your numbers.” In Nagy’s book, multi-shop operators can finance growth one of several ways: traditional bank financing, own-
er financing and cash. Many have tried a combination of these methods over the years, shifting toward alternative financing options. Bank financing has tightened up, and riling up cash for a 20 percent down payment is tough. “If you put the money down tomorrow, well, it’s gone and you have to build that back up before you can buy another shop,” says Robert Walne of Herb’s Paint and Body in Dallas, Texas. The result of this is gradual growth – which also has its benefits.
Fronting the Cash » Slow and steady growth is the product of financing expansion through cash down payments of 20 percent to secure traditional bank financing. “From a growth standpoint, we’ve had a relatively methodical strategy as opposed to opening stores quickly,” Walne says, noting that the first freestanding Herb’s in 1969 – an off-shoot of the original gas/service station founded in 1956 that Exxon bought out – expanded from that one shop to three locations by 1978. “We didn’t open another one until 1995.” Then, the company gained enough capital to expand again in 2002, 2006 and 2011 – about every three to four years. So far, Herb’s has only relied on traditional financing to grow. “We do a lot of demographic research, including census and market population and number of vehicles per household,” Walne says. “We do our homework before making decisions, which is why we have a more strategic, slower growth.” Strong banking relationships nurtured over the last couple of decades have helped with securing capital for expansion, Walne says. “The banking industry has changed quite a bit during the last five years, and loaning money is not what it once was,” he says. Still, the shop has not sought out alternative financing to acquire property. The challenging part of cash financing is, well, saving the cash. Especially for shops on the grow, Circle 70 for Reader Service
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MSO FOCUS » Can You Afford to Expand? building up capital in lieu of ongoing business investment can seem like mission impossible. “We’ve gone from $1 to $10 million in business in six years because of expansion – we are cash poor,” Nagy says. “Any time we have been able to save up cash, we spend it, and it’s all good investments, but unfortunately we don’t have enough to make a big cash purchase.”
Owner Financing » At Collision Revision in Chicago, Ill., a combination of traditional bank financing and, lately, owner financing has allowed the company to acquire shops from owners who are interested in an exit plan. In the early 1990s, Collision Revision expanded by offering managing partnerships – splitting ownership with the shop owners being acquired so they maintained a vested interest.
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Then, in 2003, Collision Revision brought all of its shops (15, at the time) under a single corporate umbrella, which resulted in beneficial economies of scale for purchasing and a single point of contact for insurance companies.
Ways to Finance Growth 䡲 Traditional bank financing 䡲 Owner financing 䡲 Cash
“They didn’t want to go to Lee’s Collision and Bryan’s Collision and get different results and different management styles,” says Bryan Perino, vice president of business operations at Collision Revision. Today, Collision Revision has 29
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locations and has completed a number of owner financing deals that allow the previous shop owner to retire with a buy-out. The disadvantage to this way of acquisition is that the “onesie” approach can mean slow growth. But that gives the company control when re-opening the acquired shop under its brand. “You can give each shop the attention it needs to become a Collision Revision,” Perino says. “You’re taking over their equipment, staff and history, and sometimes the operation is not what we’re accustomed to, so they need some attention. Just because you put your name on the front of the building doesn’t mean it will be successful. It really takes effort and attention to get a shop to that point.” The last few deals the Nagys finalized were also through owner financing. Nagy likes this method because
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MSO FOCUS » Can You Afford to Expand? it’s an everyone-wins approach that requires a lower down payment – another double win. “The owner generally wants a very small amount down to mitigate business taxes, so we pay a small amount down plus a small amount for a noncompete agreement, plus monthly payments that are spread out along with interest,” Nagy says. Generally, the owner financing agreements Nagy closes involve monthly payments over the life of a 10-year buyout. In fact, this method of financing has worked out so well for the company that Nagy’s is now looking to cut deals with privately wealthy individuals who are interested in supplying financing so they can purchase equipment. They would pay a point higher interest than a bank to get equipment loans with the ease of a phone call – rather than 30 days plus a stack of paperwork and other conditions.
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Still, even though owner-financed deals conducted outside of the banking environment generally require a lower down payment, they call for just as much due diligence.
Building Strong Deals » “All of our deals were a little different,” says Joe Carubba, president of Carubba Collision Corp. in Buffalo, N.Y. The company has used a combination of owner financing, seller notes, paint company loans and cash surpluses from within the company to amass down payments for traditional bank financing. “We always try to find a way to make the seller feel good about the deal,” Carubba says. In two existing shop deals, the owners were provided favorable land and building money and salaries. In one case, the shop owner was granted a piece of the increased sales and profit
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once Carubba realized the return on investment. Carubba’s first expansion was a move in 1999 from its original 5,000square-foot building to a 25,000-squarefoot facility. The property owner was a former dealer who had been doing business with them for some time. “He was moving his location and we got lucky, and so we went to the bank for that financing,” he says. “We were doing $2 million in sales, so our finances weren’t really strong enough to buy a $1.5 million building and do all the build-outs, so we had to come up with quite a bit of cash out of pocket, but it has really paid off for us.” The second Buffalo location didn’t require as much out of pocket. The investment included a build-out of an existing facility, plus equipment. Carubba worked out a deal where the owner retained the property,
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MSO FOCUS » Can You Afford to Expand? Carubba purchased the customer base and equipment, then paid the owner for those assets plus the lease and a handsome salary. The company’s third location in Niagara Falls, N.Y., came about when an owner of an existing shop was struggling with the body shop side of his operation because his strength was on the mechanical side of the business. So, a deal was worked out that included a lease payment plus salary, and they acquired the business and equipment. “We have a great partnership, and we use him for a lot of our mechanical sublets,” Carubba says. Carubba’s partners encouraged the fourth location that was formerly an RV dealership that they ended up retrofitting. “Some of that money came from equipment leasing through our bank,” Carubba says, adding that the banking relationship has made all the difference in the company’s expansion capabilities over the years.
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So has a strong rapport with his paint company. “Paint companies are a great avenue to explore [for financing], and we have been blessed to have a great working relationship with ours,” Carubba says. “Every time we expand or take on a new location, they help us make it a little bit easier with the backing they offer, and in exchange for that, we promise to give them an exclusive on their products. It has to make sense for everyone.” As for the future of financing growth for MSOs, while bank dollars are seemingly more challenging to procure, shops with strong banking relationships have succeeded in growth through traditional loans. Meanwhile, owners who are “aging out” of their businesses are seeking out acquisition opportunities, and owner financing provides cash flow as part of an exit plan. And, financing through paint companies can assist with the setup required to get new shops running. No matter the form of financing to
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fuel growth, solid financials and a strategic plan are absolute prerequisites to expansion. “If you don’t show a profit and you’re not showing a growth trend, it’s going to be hard to get a favorable loan,” Carubba says. “Work on paying down your liabilities and you’ll have cash reserves and assets to leverage. Make sure you’re 100 percent committed to growth because it takes a lot of work, and you have to have your existing shops running right before you look ahead to another one.” At the same time, don’t forget to get out the whiteboard, dream and strategize, and start building. “You must be ready to make a move infrastructure-wise,” Nagy says. “But on the other hand, have fun [with expansion], because it can make you money.” BSB Kristen Hampshire is a freelance writer based in Cleveland, Ohio.
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TECHNICAL
Can You Afford to Wait? Some shops are finding that removing and installing glass themselves is having a positive impact on their cycle time. But there are important technical aspects you need to know first.
removes the glass. There are three likely outcomes that will occur on R&I of a stationary or adhesivebonded glass: 1. The glass breaks or is damaged beyond reusability. This is a 50/50 chance as the glass is designed to Glass Pop Quiz stay in the car during a crash. You By Mitch Becker then must purchase new glass and 1. How is your cycle time? charge for installing it. 2. Could it be improved? ow many times have you 2. The glass is saved with no dam3. Do you remove your own glass waited to proceed with a age to it or the pinchweld. This is for collision repair? vehicle because the glass awesome! The glass can then be 4. Do you install your own? technician didn’t show up installed at a later date. yet to pull the glass? How many 3. The glass is saved but the pinchtimes have you waited for the glass weld is damaged by the removal technician to come and install the glass? process. That’s good for the glass, but now we need These are a lot of questions, I know, but they’re to repair the metal. This may not be an issue if the questions you should be asking. If you don’t have a panel is to be replaced or refinished, but it could add cycle time issue involving glass, congratulations! some work to the repair. If this does happen, check You’re doing awesome. But if your cycle time has the P-pages for times allotted for repair. Hmmm… been negatively impacted, here are some ideas that checking the P-pages for information. That seems like may help. We’ll also cover some procedures to help a good idea! you avoid making costly mistakes. Scheduling » Let’s talk scheduling first. If you sublet Three Scenarios » We’ve seen it many times in the repairs, call the glass tech as soon as possible for the past: the shop calls to have glass removed from a veremoval. We know it’s a two-trip process for R&I of hicle. Some time later, the glass tech shows up and most glass. When the glass is removed, set up an
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TECHNICAL » R&I of Glass It’s not just about installing a windshield properly – this lane change camera has to be recalibrated with a scan tool to complete the job.
appointment for installation. If you’re having morning shop meetings and watching cycle time, you know when the vehicle is scheduled to come out of the paint booth. If the time changes, keep the glass tech in the loop just as you would a customer. This will help them schedule their day better and not wreck your schedule, which will ultimately help you build a good working partnership with them. If you do your own R&I of glass or are considering it, the same three outcomes we discussed earlier are possible. How do you increase the chance of successfully removing the glass and not damaging the pinchweld? Over the past few years, this issue has been a hot topic as damage
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TECHNICAL » R&I of Glass to steels, the cost of repair and the cost of glass has increased. With more aluminum-intensive vehicles such as the Ford F150 being delivered soon, damage to metals and procedures to repair this damage and prep metal will change. Not being prepared for these changes could lead to costly mistakes.
Can It Be Done? » Let’s start with first steps first. We’ve scheduled whomever is to remove the glass. The first order of business is to establish if it can be done. Some windows cannot be R&I’d. An example is the small vent windows in the front and rear of the Toyota Prius. Toyota states they’re one-time use parts and are a structural part of the vehicle. Toyota also has priced them well below the cost to R&I to make it cost prohibitive to R&I.
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This windshield failed in a collision because a body shop painted the pinchweld.
The other glass that cannot be R&I’d is the non-factory installed glass. This would be glass that has been replaced already. As all glass is structural and has liability, the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC) has provided a standard known as the
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Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standard (AGRSS) that dictates procedures for safe installation of auto glass. The purpose of the document is to protect consumers from improper procedures and prevent injury and loss of life. Visit the AGSC website at www.autoglasssafetycouncil. org to see the AGRSS Standard and find shops that are AGSC accredited. The adhesive-bonded glass that is not from the factory may not have been replaced or prepped properly. Because of the unknown products or procedures, urethane adhesive companies will not honor or warranty its installation. This puts an incredible amount of liability on the glass technician. The standard does address the issue, and there’s an interpretation on their website as to why the use of used
TECHNICAL » R&I of Glass or recycled glass is not allowed by the adhesive companies.
What’s the Substrate? » So now we’ve established that the glass can be removed. If the vehicle is an unfamiliar year and model, the technician will need a magnet to establish if the pinchweld or panel is steel, aluminum or plastic. If the magnet sticks, we have steel. If not, we have something else. Most likely it will be aluminum if the glass is on the body of the vehicle. If it’s a metal tailgate, you’ll need to look up what type of metal it is – not just the outer skin but the inner shell also. Lincoln has vehicles such as the MKZ where the tailgate is an aluminum skin on a magnesium shell. If the shop or technician is using induction tools for glass removal, this combination could be a disaster. Also, beware of heat being used on
Knowing the difference between urethanes and primers for steel vehicles and urethanes and primers for aluminum vehicles is critical for installing glass properly and preventing corrosion.
adhesive-bonded panels and high strength and ultra high strength steels. Heat becomes the enemy in these applications.
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If you ever need to establish the difference between aluminum and magnesium, find a shiny spot void of paint or primer, apply white vine-
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TECHNICAL » R&I of Glass gar to an exposed area, then watch for a reaction. If it remains clear, it’s aluminum; if it bubbles, it’s magnesium. This identification process can be done much faster by looking up what the substrate is in repair manuals. If plastic or SMC or even carbon fiber, then you must adjust removal procedures accordingly. Identifying the substrate is a critical process for two reasons. The technician removing the glass needs to know what tools can be used so as not to damage the glass and also not damage the vehicle itself. The second reason is to ensure he uses the correct primers and adhesives for installation. The body shop technician and paint technician will also need to know substrates to correctly repair and paint the vehicle. The goal is to remove the glass and limit damage to both the glass and the vehicle. Admittedly, though, damage is sometimes going to occur due to design challenges or simply because “stuff happens.” We want to limit those issues as much as possible, though, because a shop with a high glass breakage rate could face challenges from two sides: first, a customer may not be too happy to get a phone call saying that the glass broke and there will be an added expense. Second, insurance carriers look at extra costs and wonder who’s responsible. Is it from design challenges, “stuff happens” or a lack of discipline? When the insurer compares what’s happening at your shop to other shops in the area, it won’t take them long to figure out the real reason for the breakage.
Tools » The traditional tools of the past such as cold knives have limited use in the R&I of glass. Encapsulated glass and recessed moldings limit their ability to work. Power tools have an advantage over hand tools as they’re faster and more flexible. Depending on the blades, they will have good reach for better access. In the proper Circle 84 for Reader Service
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TECHNICAL » R&I of Glass This glass is marked for R & I, including the date the task is scheduled for.
hands, these tools can do major work with little effort. In the wrong hands or on glass that’s difficult to remove, the tools can and will do major damage to a pinchweld area, which will involve sanding, priming and painting to fix or, worst case, metal replacement. The damage at the time of removal, though, is only part of the problem. Failure to properly repair the damage can lead to corrosion or glass failure later – a warranty and/or liability nobody wants. There has been a resurgence in wire tools for glass removal, but they’re being used much differently than the old two-man wire method. The design of wire into a square and the much higher tensile strength make these tools easier to operate
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TECHNICAL » R&I of Glass and less able to cause damage, if any. If the steel wire is not the best method to use, some systems use a string in its place. But this is no normal string cord – it’s incredibly strong to cut through urethane adhesive. It also has an advantage over wire as it can be reused. Basic designs have the string or wire placed around the outside perimeter under moldings. The ends are brought inside through the urethane to the interior of the vehicle. There are many systems, but the operations are similar. One end is anchored to a suction cup or tool placed on the interior side of the glass, while the other is anchored to a rotating, winch-style tool attached to the glass by a suction cup that’s also set up on the interior side of the glass. This winch is then rotated by a ratchet power screwdriver or winding crank to pull cord or wire through the urethane at an angle that makes cutting fairly easy. The tools are adjusted periodically to maintain the best cutting angle. The removal process removes glass and moldings together, and damage is reduced or eliminated during removal. Keep in mind that no tool is perfect, but I’ve found these wire tools to be consistent. The learning curve can be a challenge but, when mastered, they’re fast and incredibly efficient.
Damage Done » What happens if damage occurs? Then proper procedures for repairing the pinchweld must be followed. Scratches or damage must be sanded and primed. No grinding! Thinning of the metal in any way is unacceptable for repairs. The structural integrity of the vehicle is the No. 1 priority. Grinding also creates heat, which may release adhesives that hold the panels together. If adhesive is compromised, the panel may need to be re-installed or replaced. If the damage leaves bare metal exposed in excess of one square inch, an epoxy primer must be used. This is an important note Circle 86 for Reader Service
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TECHNICAL » R&I of Glass that can be found in many adhesive manufacturer and vehicle manufacturer instructions. Failure to follow these instructions can cause glass retention failure or corrosion. Ford (F-150), Toyota and other vehicle manufacturers call for this method in their procedures. Epoxy primer is a barrier coat to keep out moisture and protect against corrosion. It’s also the best surface for the urethane adhesive manufacturers’ black pinchweld primer to adhere to. The pinchweld primer used for glass is meant for touch-ups and bonding to epoxy primers. Application by daubers gives inconsistent mil thickness and coverage to be used by themselves to cover bare metal. Urethane cures by absorbing moisture to cause the chemical reaction to cure. If moisture is drawn in and permeates primer to bare metal, corrosion will result.
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This again leads to liability and warranty issues. Painting pinchweld areas is not a recommended practice by many vehicle manufacturers, paint companies and urethane adhesive suppliers. Although vehicles may be painted at factories when assembled, we all know the procedure when painting in the aftermarket is different. Paint cure and adhesion of paint becomes an issue. Urethane adhesives used for glass replacement are solvent-free, and paints and clearcoats contain solvents. When a vehicle is painted by a body shop, solvents are released for months until full cure. A solvent-free product that’s absorbing solvent from the paint will create an incompatibility and lead to product failure. This is why epoxy primer is recommended on pinchwelds, and also why they should be taped off
with 3M ¾-inch green tape. (This is the only tape I know that won’t leave a residue on the primer). Once the refinish is done, the tape is removed and you have a nice, clean epoxy primer surface to bond to. Note that etching primers do not form a barrier coat and are not recommended for this procedure. All you need is a light scuff of epoxy primer, and make sure to follow all procedures recommended by the adhesive manufacturer. I recommend getting body technicians adhesive-company certified. All these procedures are also relevant to adhesively bonding roofs on new vehicles. Knowing cure times and prep procedures on the glass and body of the vehicle is a critical component of auto body repair.
Urethanes and Primers » Be sure your technicians or the company
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TECHNICAL » R&I of Glass you’re using knows the proper urethanes and primers for different materials. The urethane being used on a Honda Civic may not be the urethane required for the F-150 or other aluminum parts. These parts require a non-conductive urethane, as carbon in conductive urethanes may cause corrosion on aluminum panels. Another consideration is that many European cars require a high modulus urethane that’s stiffer when cured to maintain body rigidity while driving.
Cycle Time Impact » Many shops are doing their own R&I, which is great. Some shops want to get into the procedure to save time and improve cycle time, which is great, too. I’ve also seen shops that combine the two. Since the removal requires the most technical ability and experience, many shops will remove the
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easier parts and call the glass tech for the more difficult ones. This usually has little effect on cycle time. The wait for installation can have a major effect on cycle time. Timing could be all messed up, and then the car gets delayed a day. Training a tech for the installation part of the R&I may be more feasible to reduce costs and delays. Once the glass is removed, installation is similar in all vehicles. But make sure to get the technician adhesive-certified before installing any glass. By installing in-house, the vehicle will move faster to delivery. Practice is what makes a technician more proficient in removal, and that will come with time. The nice thing is tools are getting better and faster. Checking out doing your own glass work would be a wise business choice. Being educated about issues is even better.
Certification Pays » I do want to stress a final point in this article. Being an adhesive-certified technician will give you the basics for stationary glass installation. I recommend taking the I-CAR GLA01 and GLA02 courses. Even then, the installation of windshields should be done by AGRSS-certified technicians. The liability in windshield installation is enormous to any company. Many lawsuits get filed over failed installations. If the quarter glass or backglass are beyond the technician’s capability, call an AGRSS-registered company. Your shop’s name and reputation are worth it. BSB Mitch Becker is a technical instructor for ABRA Auto Body & Glass. Contact him at (763) 585-6411 or mbecker@abraauto.com.
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»| Industry Update |« Copart Launches First-Ever Auto Rebuild Challenge Copart, Inc., a global online vehicle auction company, has announced the launch of its first-ever Copart Rebuild Challenge, a contest designed for car enthusiasts and auto rebuilders to show how they restored, customized or rebuilt a vehicle. From April 14 to July 6, car enthusiasts and auto rebuilders may enter the Copart Rebuild Challenge at Copart.com/Rebuild by submitting a three-minute video highlighting their rebuild process. In the videos, contestants must explain how and why they chose their vehicle, and include before and after shots. “We have thousands of members who work on vehicles as part of their jobs or as a hobby” said Copart Chief Marketing Officer Matt Burgener. “This contest is a great way for them to show off their skills and get recognition for their work.” At the end of the entry period, an expert panel of Copart judges will choose up to 10 finalists. Voting will then be open to the public to determine the top three winners. The grand prize is $10,000, followed by a second prize of $2,000 and a third prize of one year of Copart Premier Membership. “Copart has developed a robust marketplace for classic and muscle car rebuilds,” said Burgener. “We currently have over 100,000 cars in inventory, thousands of which present the perfect opportunity for this contest.” To review the complete contest entry guidelines and rules or to enter the contest beginning April 14, visit Copart.com/Rebuild. Copart, founded in 1982, provides vehicle sellers with a full range of remarketing services to process and sell salvage and clean title vehicles to dealers, dismantlers, rebuilders, exporters and, in Copart remarkets the vehicles through Internet sales utilizing its VB3 technology. Copart sells vehicles on behalf of insurance companies, banks, finance companies, fleet operators, dealers, car dealerships and others as well as cars sourced from the general public. Copart links sellers to more than 750,000 members in more than 150 countries worldwide through its online multi-channel platform. For more information, or to become a member, visit www.copart.com.
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»| Industry Update |« State Farm continued from pg. 12 model,” said Bowman. “This is strictly a business decision based on changes to the Select Service program that would require us to change parts vendors. We have great relationships with our parts vendors, and we feel that this helps us provide an exceptional product. If at any time State Farm decides to change or adjust their Select Service program, we may be more than happy to revisit this in the future.” Collision Experts’ parting with
State Farm is amicable, Bowman said. However, some body shops have filed lawsuits or traveled across the country to heighten awareness of State Farm’s changes. For example, BodyShop Business reported that the owner of a Mississippi body shop and his lawyer went on a nine-state tour to educate shops and encourage them to fight mandated parts procurement programs. “We will continue to have a good working relationship with
State Farm,” said Bowman. “It’s disappointing that they may refer customers to different shops despite our high rating because of a difference of opinion. We are willing to work together so we can give our customers the best service at a time when they need it most.”
StopDRP.com Created as Consumer Education Tool By Jason Stahl collision repairer who wants to remain anonymous has created a website called StopDRP.com to inform consumers about their rights when it comes to getting their vehicle repaired. Being a DRP shop, but at the same time being fed up with actions taken by insurers he feels cheat the consumer, he created the site to tell consumers things he couldn’t due to fear of reprisal. And he says that so far, it has been effective. “Now, when a customer comes in and says, ‘I need to release my vehicle to ABC Body Shop because my insurer said so,’ we tell them one simple thing: ‘OK, that’s fine, but it’s our company policy to tell you about StopDRP.com. You need to review this site before you make any decisions with your insurer.’ And then they end up putting a link to it on their Facebook page and the word travels from there,” he said. Scan the below code to read the rest of this story online at www. bodyshopbusiness.com:
A
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Get FREE product and service info from the companies featured in this issue of BodyShop Business. It’s fast and easy! Visit www.bodyshopbusiness.com and click the company you want info from!
ADVERTISER INDEX COMPANY NAME
PG.#
AFC Air Filtration Co. 30 Aframe Spray Booths 25 Airomax/U.S.Body Products 38 Amerex Corporation 90 Anest Iwata USA 31 Atlas Copco Compressors LLC. 77 Automotive Mgmt Institute 87 Automotive Service Equipment 82 Automotive Video/AVI 54 AutoProJobs.com 37 Axalta Coating Systems 5 BASF Corp. 11 Bernardo Ecenarro 76 Blair 4 BTB Auto Glass/Bodyshop Tools 80 Cebotech Inc. 44, 60 Certified Auto Parts Association 7 CJ, Inc. 74 Copart Salvage Auto Auctions Inc. 72 Crash-writeR 40 Dent Fix Equipment 15, 58 DV Systems 46 Dynabrade Inc. 87 Eagle Abrasives 91
RS #
30 25 38 90 31 77 87 85 54 37 5 11 76 4 80 44, 60 7 74 72 40 15, 58 46 104 91
COMPANY NAME
PG.#
RS #
Elektron Inc. 22, 53 Evercoat 3, 62 Excel Tees 89 FBS Distribution Co Inc. 70 Garmat USA 17 Herkules Equipment Corp. 48 Induction Innovations 50, 59 Infratech 16 Innovative Tools & Technologies, Inc. 19 International Epoxies & Sealers 83 Intuit 69 Kaeser Compressors 35 Mac Tools, Inc. 86 Malco Products 9 Martech Services Co. 61, 86 Matrix System Automotive Finishes 43 Maxzone Auto Parts Corp 73 Mobile Spray Technology 89 Motor Guard Corp. 63, 90 Nissan Motor Corp. USA 51 O’Reilly Auto Parts 79 PDR Nation 34 PPG Industries Cover 2-1 Pro Spot International 57, Cover 3
22, 53 3, 62 89 70 17 48 50, 59 16 19 83 69 35 86 9 61, 103 43 73 106 63, 107 51
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34 1 57, 97
COMPANY NAME
Pro-Spray Finishes RBL Products Reflex Truck Liners Rubber-Seal Products S.A.I.M.A. Of N. America Safety Regulation Strategies Sata Spray Equipment Scorpion Truck Bed Linings Sherwin-Williams Co. Shop-Pro Equipment Southern Polyurethanes Spanesi Steck Mfg Co. Suburban Mfg. SULLAIR Corp. Total Automotive TYC/Genera Corp. UniCure Spray Booths Urethane Supply Co. Valspar/Debeer Walmec North America Wizards Products/RJ Star Inc. Zendex Tool Corp.
PG.#
RS #
49 13, 34 52 18 Cover 4 52 45 84 71 33 21 84 85 88 81 23 47, 75 26 39 27 88 41 85
49 13, 99 52 18 98 100 45 84 71 33 21 101 85 105 81 23 47, 75 26 39 27 88 41 102
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Product
Showcase Automatic Spot Welding System TrueAutoMode automatically detects which tools (electrodes and arms) are in use and makes any necessary adjustments as it welds. This saves considerable time over other “automatic” welders that require technicians to stop and program the welder every time they change tips. TrueAutoMode measures weld resistance roughly 1,000 times per second and automatically adjusts current level, weld time and clamp pressure as needed. At the end of a job, it can print out a report that includes parameters of every weld for easy documentation. Elektron www.chiefautomotive.com Circle 150 for Reader Service
5 Micron Compressed Air Filter
Low-VOC Clearcoat De Beer Refinish’s Low VOC Air Dry Clear Coat offers increased shop productivity without compromising finish quality. It applies with seamless wet-on-wet application, requiring no flash time between coats. Other features include superior flow, leveling and glass as well as decreased operation cost and bake cycles. De Beer Refinish/Valspar www.de-beer.com Circle 153 for Reader Service
This two-stage filter is designed to operate most effectively when placed near the point of use. It has a 5 micron rating and is available in sizes with flow ranges from 15 SCFM to 250 SCFM, and pressure ratings up to 250 PSI. It’s ideal for a variety of applications, including surface preparation, paint spraying, powdercoating, air-powered tools and pneumatically-operated equipment. Walmec North America www.walmecna.com Circle 151 for Reader Service
Fuel Tank Strap Sets Comfortable Disc Sander Dynabrade’s line of 2- and 3-inch diameter Disc Sanders are 20,000-RPM air tools designed for sanding and grinding in small areas. Each sander features a 7-degree offset handle for comfort and control, with a composite grip to absorb vibration and reduce cold air transmission. Each sander has a gearless air motor for less maintenance. Dynabrade, Inc. www.dynabrade.com Circle 152 for Reader Service
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Spectra Premium’s nine new fuel tank strap sets cover more than 5 million vehicles. They include latemodel coverage for 2011-’13 Ford F-Series, 2007-’12 GMC Acadia/Chevy Traverse, 2007-’12 Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass/Patriot, as well as 2003-’13 Cadillac CTS/STS/SRX. Spectra Premium www.spectrapremium.com Circle 154 for Reader Service
»| Product Showcase |«
Easily Switch Between Aluminum and MIG Welding
Safely Perform Aluminum Repairs The Technocure Alumaroom seals techs off from contaminants that can ruin an aluminum repair. It’s a well-lit, ventilated, sealed work area that allows shops to store tools separately from those used for steel.
The CEBORA model 302 is a Double Pulse MIG welder designed to accept two MIG guns at the same time: a push-pull gun for aluminum welding and a standard gun for MIG brazing. The operator can easily switch between aluminum and MIG brazing without having to change the setup on the welder. It’s supplied with pre-set welding programs for aluminum (including 5554 alloy), MIG brazing, steel and stainless. Cebotech, Inc. www.cebotechusa.com Circle 157 for Reader Service
Pro Tools & Equipment www.protools.ws Circle 155 for Reader Service
Flexible Vise and Grinder Stand The Herkules Vise & Grinder Stand can swivel up to 360 degrees and locks into position, allowing the vise or grinder to be placed in the most ideal position for any task, and then moved out of the way when not in use. It’s available as either a floor or wall mount. Herkules www.herkules.us Circle 158 for Reader Service
Achieve Grade “D” Breathable Air
The series of SuperStar .01 Micron Filters is designed to operate most effectively within 25 feet of the point of use. By incorporating a charcoal absorption element, the filters offer flow ranges of 50 to 100 SCFM and pressure ratings of 250 PSI.
Martech’s Model 50 Single Line Hose System works with the existing compressed air supply to provide Grade “D” Breathable Air for a NIOSH approved respirator. The four-stage filtration filters the air, and the on-board carbon monoxide monitor continuously monitors the air quality for compliance with current OSHA standards. With the provided 54-inch tool air hose, the system will supply air for a spray gun.
LA-MAN Corporation www.laman.com Circle 156 for Reader Service
Martech Services Company www.breathingsystems.com Circle 159 for Reader Service
Four-Stage, .01 Micron Filter
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By the
Numbers Vital collision industry stats
Approximately What Is Your Shop’s Average Ticket Per Job Performed?
Average Ticket Per Job Performed
If You Are A DRP, Do You Believe You Are Better Off Due To Your DRP Arrangement?
40% 35% 30%
No
72% Yes
22% 20% 15%
15%
9%
10% 4% 0% $1000 or less
Approximately 79% of respondents said “yes” in the 2011 survey.
$1001$1500
$1501$2000
$2001$2500
$2501$3000
Over $3000
Average Ticket
Source: 2013 BodyShop Business Industry Profile
The average is $2,257, while the median is $2,200.
Employee Benefits Offered (Percentage Of Those Offering Any Benefits) 87%
Paid Vacations Paid Training
68%
Uniforms
63%
Medical Coverage
49%
Paid Sick Days
44%
401k
40%
Dental Care
28%
Paid Funeral Leave
24%
Disability
21%
Vision Care
16% 7%
Profit Sharing
9%
Other Benefits 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Source: 2013 BodyShop Business Industry Profile
96
April 2014 | BodyShop Business
Source: 2013 BodyShop Business Industry Profile
Percentage Of Shops
28%
Circle 97 for Reader Service
Circle 98 for Reader Service