Pro Tips
Technical guides, product deep-dives, and shop tips from our team of refinish experts.
How to Sand Plastic Bumpers and Flexible Parts
Plastic flexes, melts under heat, and tears instead of cutting when sanded wrong. This guide covers the grit selection, tool settings, an...
Fluid Tip Size Selection for Spray Guns
The fluid tip controls how much material leaves your gun and how finely it atomizes. Choosing the wrong size means poor atomization, inco...
How to Remove Buffer Trails and Holograms
Holograms and buffer trails are the marks left behind by poor compounding technique or dirty pads. This guide covers how to identify, cor...
How to Handle Metallic and Pearl Colors
Metallic and pearl colors shift with viewing angle, react to every application variable, and expose technique flaws that solid colors hid...
How to Use a DA Sander — Setup and Technique
The DA sander does the heavy lifting in every collision repair — from filler shaping to primer sanding to blend scuffing. This guide cove...
Self-Etching Primer — When and How to Use It
Self-etching primer gives fast corrosion protection on bare metal, but it's not a replacement for epoxy. This guide covers exactly when s...
How to Mask for a Blend Panel
Masking for a blend is different from masking for a full panel respray. This guide covers where to place your tape, how to handle panel g...
Wool Pad vs Foam Pad — Complete Selection Guide
Wool pads cut fast but leave marks. Foam pads refine but cut slow. Picking the right pad for each correction step is what separates a one...
How to Apply Basecoat for Even Color Coverage
Uneven basecoat coverage shows as shade variation, mottle, and stripe patterns that clear coat locks in permanently. This guide covers th...
