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

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

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.

Does anyone work in the autobody and collision repair industry that can inform me of the ups and down of this field?

They teach

welding

automotive painting

What else do they teach?

Would someone go the college route or apprenticeship? Whats the difference? Which one is better?

What are the thing they dont tell you about this field?

Came back to this in a parking lot today. Can only assume someone hit my car and drove off. Hard to see all the damage because of the white paint but is this worth an insurance claim? I have a $500 deductible. I keep my cars really clean and this annoys me. Would it be better to get some quotes from body shops? I have not claimed on insurance in like 20 years but would like to get this fixed. This is a 2022 VW Jetta.

I just picked my car up yesterday from the shop after having quite a few dents and scrapes fixed from my daughter borrowing my car and parking it at the mall while she was working. They had it for about 1.5 weeks, and at first glance everything looked fine, with the exception of some blue bonding compound that was splattered on the hood/grill (we pointed it out and they quickly buffed it off). Today after parking it in the garage, I noticed a weird pattern in the paint on the hood. This definitely wasn’t there before the repairs were made. I only noticed because the light hit it just right - would have seen it when picking up the car if it hadn’t been raining. Does anyone have any idea what this is or how it happened? How do I bring this up with the shop?

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.

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! 🫶🏼

One of the all time off-road greats, I had to fix it!

Sorry this might be a silly question. I am looking at a used car that supposedly has been detailed. I see what looks to be a decal but when I touch it, it is smooth. Does that mean it is permenant ? On the second picture I can’t tell what this is… is this wax or glue? Or is the clear coat damaged?

Any help is highly appreciated

2013 fiat Abarth. Main subframe end that connects to crossmember became bent from an autocross incident. Red line is what it's supposed to look like. Is this a goner? I don't know of any little jack that could get into the ends and push/bend it back out or something similar. Somehow the alignment guys didn't even notice and aligned it.

Should I get it touched up by a paint shop? I was considering trying to color wrap stickers… it’s a bare metal spot and I’m not sure what to do 🫩

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 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 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!

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?

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.