How Augmented Reality Improves Collision Repair
Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a composite view. AR is rapidly being adopted in many industries and RDA Impact recently shared information about how AR can actually improve collision repair. Let’s learn more about how AR will affect everyone…
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Incorporating A Paint Management & Training System: How It Develops Staff & Strengthen Profitability
A well-managed paint system is essential for maintaining high-quality finishes and ensuring customer satisfaction in the automotive industry. At Westside Auto Paint and Supply, we understand the significance of adequately trained staff in the paint department. Our innovative Paint Management System encompasses training in mixing, color matching, and spraying techniques. We are ultimately, eliminating errors,…
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Blending Update: Blending is back in the News!
Beginning in October 2023, CCC / Motor will enable users of its estimating systems to input alternate blend times. This is excellent news for repairers as it follows 2022’s SCRS blending study and initiates the first substantial change in how blending is compensated. However, it opens the door to further dialog and negotiation between repairers…
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Inventory Control For Collision Repair Shops — Why It’s Critical in 2023
Why is inventory control critical for collision repair shops in 2023? As Northeast Ohio’s number one paint, body, and equipment specialist, we’re always looking for products and services that will make our customers’ lives easier. And inventory management and control are at the top of our list. But just how important is inventory management for…
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Evaluating Your Business’s Market Potential
Turning the page on a new fiscal year is a great opportunity for a business to make a fresh start on improving its business plan. Finding fresh insights can be difficult unless you involve new people who haven’t been deeply involved in the business for years. At Westside Auto Paint and Supply, we offer a…
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Back to Basics: The 4 Main Layers of Automotive Paint
In order to make sure your automotive paint job is done right, it’s important to understand the automotive painting process, including the four main layers of automotive paint, the order in which these layers are applied, and why each layer is necessary. No matter if you’re just getting started with refinishing or have been doing…
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ADAS: The Difference Between Scanning & Calibration
In our previous post, What Body Shops Need To Know About ADAS, we talked about what exactly an ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) is and when calibration is needed. So, we thought we’d dedicate this post to explaining the differences between scanning and ADAS calibration because it seems to cause some confusion in the auto…
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Body Shop Cycle Time Killers
Cycle time killers cost your body shop both time and money, especially when it comes to painting and resurfacing your customer’s vehicles. Plus, longer cycle times not only cause your shop to lose money, but they can also really frustrate your customers and may even cause them to go to a competitor. So, we’ve compiled…
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How To Choose The Right Abrasive For Auto Body Repair
Repainting a car or even fixing up a scratch or scrape is a complex task. If you want to avoid frustrating mistakes, ensure quality control, and reduce costly redos, you need to make sure you choose the right abrasive for auto body repair from the start. Things to Consider When Choosing Your Abrasive In order…
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The Importance Behind Compressed Air Line Cleaning
Because compressed air is used for every step of the automotive painting process, it’s imperative that your compressed air lines are properly cleaned on a regular basis. Automotive paint and body shops must rely on compressed air lines in order to apply: Paint or primer Base coats Clearcoat finishes Sanding and more! The Importance of Compressed…
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Best Practices To Reduce Wrinkling or Lifting
There are many different types of car paint defects, including wrinkling, also called lifting. Keep reading to learn what wrinkling/lifting is, how to avoid it, and how to fix it if it does happen to the vehicle you’re painting. What is Wrinkling/Lifting? Wrinkling or lifting occurs when an existing paint layer shrivels during the application…
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What Body Shops Need To Know About ADAS
Nowadays, nearly every new vehicle has some form of ADAS built into it. The more vehicles that are on the road with advanced driver assistance systems, the more important it is that you and your team understand what ADAS technologies are, as well as how to perform ADAS calibration in order to best serve your…
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How Can You Deal With Fisheye When Spraying Primer or Paint?
What the heck is Fisheye anyway? We get that question a lot from our clients. We’ll address that question in this post, and the answer might surprise you a bit. Here’s what we’re going to cover: What Is Fisheye? How Can You Deal With The Fisheye—A Quick Prevention And Remediation Tutorial Where You Can Go…
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Auto Body Painting Maintenance
Tips For Protecting Your Paint Job Long Term When you’ve finally completed putting a new paint or finish on a customer’s vehicle, you need to make sure that it stays in excellent condition before they pick it up. After all, you don’t want to ruin a perfect paint job – or have to do it…
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Spray Booth Maintenance, Tips, and Tricks
The spray booth in your operation is one of the most important tools you own. Just like any tool, if you treat it right, it will do the same for you. The trick is to keep your spray booth maintained and clean, which can be tough to do when it’s getting constant use. Dirt, debris,…
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Cutting Down On Waste Inside and Outside Of The Paint Booth
Start Reducing Redo’s Today When we talk about cutting down on wasted supplies around the shop some things are simple fixes, like switching from a 2 inch masking tape to something more narrow if the job allows. However to see a real impact on your bottom line you have to start thinking about the bigger…
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How to Boost Efficiency – And Save Money – In Your Body Shop
Labor and product shortages – along with creeping inflation – continue to affect businesses of every size in every industry. However, it’s still necessary to service customers and go after projects that can bring money into your operation. While it may be difficult to speed up deliveries and hire new employees, shop owners can take…
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How To Ensure Your Auto Body Painting Perfectly Matches The Vehicle’s Existing Paint
Finding the perfect color match can sometimes be daunting, even for the most experienced auto body technician. Depending on the job at hand there might not be a lot of room for error when it comes to matching up paint for a small repair. Color matching has become an art form, as there are thousands…
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