Caliber bought the mso I work for, what should I expect, do I jump ship?

I make small carbon fiber car parts and want to start producing and selling more of them.

I recently learned how dangerous 2K clear coat can be, especially because of the isocyanates, and that my regular respirator may not be enough.

ChatGPT told me a proper supplied-air setup could cost around $6,000–$10,000 CAD, which is way too much for me right now. What should I realistically invest in first? A cheaper supplied-air system, booth rental, paying a body shop, or something else?

Thanks.

I work for AirPro Diagnostics which is a company that calibrates cars. Key Collision has an agreement to keep me in the body shop all day. Key pays a plate rate fee for any services provided but airpro pays me buy the hour ( 40 hours a week ) do I need to worry about caliber getting rid of the sublet service and just hiring their own calibration tech. At this point I dont see a person having enough work to calibrate cars all day long if they hired their own tech to specifically do that all day.

So I was an idiot and let bird poop sit on the roof of my car for a couple of days in a heatwave. Cleaned it up and it has left multiple areas of paint damage behind. Surface feels rough to the touch. I used some Autoglym Paint Restorer and a microfibre cloth to try and buff it by hand but has had no effect.

I’ve tried contacting an auto body shop for quotes on getting this fixed but I keep being ghosted. Is there any hope of fixing this myself? I don’t own a machine buffer but would be willing to invest if there’s a decent chance of success!

Thanks in advance

It’s coming to the end of my car rebuild and I’ve got lazy with the prep for spraying. This was my first ever time spraying with a spray gun, I should’ve prepped it better, I know. The engine bay came out great for a first attempt but the bonnet and bumpers didn’t. Ended up with tiger stripe on the bonnet and bumpers weren’t sanded down enough I don’t think?

So the first question is, will the colour match be slightly off because I didn’t sand the primer down enough which has then caused the clear coat to not look as shiny? I think that’s right, as it’s quite bobbly which then takes the smoothness out of it?

Second question is, if I wanted to redo the bonnet and rear bumper. Can I sand the clear and metallic base coat back to primer and go again? Or what would you guys do?
I hope all do that makes sense. Thanks for any replies😎.

I have been painting for awhile, but the majority of my work is for car dealerships. I recently had a customer bring in his car, and he stated it had been ceramic coated. Usually, I use watered down purple clean, then water based wax and grease remover, followed by solvent based wax and grease remover, and that handles all my fish eye issues. What products and process should I use to prep these two panels? I don't want any fish eyes lol....

I want to restore the following car and was just wondering from an expert standpoint. I will bring the car to a bodyshop.

Are there any tips you can give me what should i watch for what should i ask

Would you rather fabricate the small part and patch is or use the full original panel and replace the whole thing?

The following issues are on a VW T5 back tires

I know the tires are bad i bought the car as a project

Hi everyone,

I recently had my sedan (factory alloy wheels with relatively low-profile tires) towed using a front Wheel Lift and rear Dollies.

When I picked up the vehicle, all four rims had new scuffs and gouges along the outer lips/spokes. (The release form was signed acknowledging the damage upon pickup).

However, when I reached out to the towing company, the general manager claimed:

Her argument is basically that because the equipment is designed to contact the tires, it's physically impossible for them to scratch or damage alloy wheels.

I wanted to ask mechanics, tow truck operators, or anyone with experience: Is this true in real-world conditions?

Specifically:

1. Wheel Lift (Front): How do the metal L-arms/scoops, metal ratchet buckles, or chain hooks interact with low-profile tires/wheels during installation, transport, or removal? Can metal contact the rim if the operator is rushed or in a tight spot?
2. Dollies (Rear): How are dollies installed and removed? Does using the metal pry bar/lever to lift the wheels onto the dolly frame carry any risk of scraping the rim face or lip?
3. Have any of you seen wheel/rim damage caused by wheel-lift or dolly setups before?

I'm trying to understand if her explanation is just a "textbook ideal scenario" versus how these rigs actually operate in the field.

Thanks in advance for your insights!

Hi everyone,

Recently bought a Honda Civic EK hatch and noticed a few spots that I'm unsure about. I've attached some photos.
I can see a couple of paint chips on the rear wheel arch and what looks like a small amount of surface rust around the door jamb seam.

One thing I'm particularly unsure about is the area near the top of the hatch opening/trunk jamb (in the second and third photos). It has a brownish line on both sides of the car, so I'm wondering if that's actually rust or if it's just seam sealer, factory adhesive, or something that's meant to look like that.

Does that area look normal for an EK, or is it the start of rust?

Also, based on these photos:
-Would you consider this just minor surface rust?

-Is it something that should be repaired sooner rather than later?

-Roughly what would a professional repair cost if its required?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Just unboxed my folded CAPA bumper, and thought I finished unfolding it when I noticed this dent on the bottom. Think it'll come out with heat, or should I get a new one?

I can't really tell if this is a scratch or scuff marks as I don't physically feel a scratch but I also cannot get anything off even when I put some pretty decent pressure to the area with a wet towel.

Tips on what I can use to get this out or if it's likely paint scratched?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to buy this 2015 CX5 which has some frame rust. It has always been ah Ohio car where they salt the roads.

Will this amount of rust impact structural integrity in the next 5-7 years? That’s how long I plan to keep it.

Would undercoating make any impact here or is it pretty far gone?

Thanks!

Hello, I am a generator technician and my vehicle is a 2025 Savanna Cargo Van. I am removing the passenger seat and am looking for a dongle or bypass for the SRS. I don't trust AI to point me in the right direction. If anyone knows where to purchase one or how to handle this I would greatly appreciate it.

Reason: I am taking out the front passenger seat (I will never have passengers, and building a custom storage/swivel desk area for my packout supplies and speciality tools so that I have room in the cargo area for my larger generator supplies like batteries, load banks, oil containers, and large components.

Hi everyone,

There is a pretty bad rust spot on my Econovan.

I also have a few smaller rust spots (mostly minor scratches) that I’m going to fix with sandpaper, primer and touch-up paint.

This bigger rust spot looks much worse though. Is it possible to fix something like this without using power tools? I also bought a rust converter — would that help in this case?

Thanks a lot! 🫶🏼

Bought used car… shallow dents with discoloration on the doors

Wife hit a deer, damage is done, insurance is handling things. Thankfully the damage wasn’t wild, but I am wondering to what degree folks think they can spin this repair to make it look “new” again. Car is a 2025 and barely has any miles on it. Thanks all.

My son wants to buy this 2020 Hyundai Sonata with rear quarter panel and door damage. He thinks he can get it repaired cheap. I say it’s not worth it.

Today I was driving with the flu and I guess being sick affected my depth perception and I sideswiped my car on a wall while trying to pull into a tiny spot in a parking garage. This is my first accident and I'm not quite sure what to do? My insurance deductable is 1000 and the body shop told me it would be much more than that. I have some family and friends that do body work that can give me some advice along the way. But I was wondering if you think it would be possible to do this repair at home and what materials you would recommend as far as body filler and plastic weld after a trip the harbor freight and getting the right paint? Or if I should just suck it up and pay the money to insurance. It's an older car so it doesn't need to look perfect i just want it to look presentable. I already kinda have been wanting to repaint the bumper and hood anyway so I was wondering if this is something I could do myself if I rent a paintbooth or something? Additionally what would be the additional time commitment if I wanted to just paint the whole thing at that point because then I wouldn't have to worry about colormatching. I dont care if it looks perfect but want better than rustolum quality and I already own a 6 gallon pancake air compressor but don't know if that would be enough?

Hello everyone, my car has 1.5 cm / 0,5 inches thick Bondo on the roof from a previous weather caused damage, it had cracked exactly like this last summer and

I got it repaired but the Bondo is too thick so it cracked again...

Is it possible to fix the metal underneath and ditch the body filler entirely? I can't seem to find any body shops who are willing to do that kind of body work / metal work. I've considered a roof skin replacement but that's gotta come from a donor totalled car and the shops ain't willing to do that work either..

Id really appreciate if you point me in a direction that'll allow me to keep my baby rust free for many more years to come. I'm not chasing cosmetic perfection but durability, Thanks in advance.