Lessons, Projects, and More

These lessons are now open to help collision repair students learn from home.

Basic Auto Body and Paint Training

Collision Blast Basic Auto Body and Paint Training Access

Lesson 1, you will be introduced to safety. Taking proper safety measures is a habit you must instill into your mind and at work. Take the time to create productive and safe work habits.

Lesson 2, you will learn a little about how cars have evolved through the years. We have come a long way in vehicle design and how this is making it safer for than the early cars.

Lesson 3, you will learn what a repair plan is for auto body and paint. How this will eliminate many of the problems that arise during the repair process. and how this will save you time and money in the long run.

Lesson 4, we are going to cover metal straightening. There are different types of steel such as mild steel, high strength steel, ultra high strength steel, boron, etc. However, this lesson is going to focus on mild steel, as mild steel is used on many of the body parts. If you restore older cars, probably all the steel that you work with will be mild steel. Many of the other types of steels are used on structural parts and on some of the newer car designs.

Lesson 5, you will learn about the different types of fillers, “body filler, fiberglass filler, glaze, etc.” We are also going to cover the uses of these fillers, application, and sanding techniques.

Lesson 6, you will learn about basic automotive welding, the types of welds used, and the PPE needed to keep you safe.

Lesson 7 we are going to cover why plastics started being used on cars, the two types of plastic, and repair methods to repair plastic.

Lesson 8 we are going to cover how to properly prep a car. This is where much of the hard work is at, but perhaps the most important steps of producing a professional quality paint job.

Lesson 9, you will teach you the basics for adjusting and maintaining a spray gun. You will learn tips and techniques to adjust and use a spray gun so you can achieve a professional quality paint finish.

Lesson 10, I am not going to spend time on the history of paint, as there is not much of it around. The first car I painted was with lacquer and the second was acrylic enamel. It was not long into my career that the industry changed to the base coat/clear coat urethane systems, which are much better and easier to use in my opinion. The industry is currently making another transition to waterborne base coats; however, we’re going to stick to the solvents in this lesson.

Lesson 11, you will learn how to wash, detail, fix runs, buff and polish. Detailing cars in a body shop is a little different than other places because of the silicones in many of the products. You will also learn about silicone free products safe to use in a body shop environment.

Lesson 12, you will learn about some of the most common paint defects and how to repair them. Some defects happen with age, such as rust, peeling, cracking. While others happen during the painting process, such as dirt in the paint, runs, excessive orange peel.

3. Once you have completed basic lessons, then go through the additional resources provided below.

PROJECT VIDEO SERIES

Eastwood Video Series – Watch passionate students transform a Mustang from green to black while transforming their skills to be top performers in the collision repair industry.

Steps To Repair Fender Bender – Integra Project – This video series covers the steps to repair a minor fender bender. This series will take you through the repair process step-by-step from metal straightening to primer. Enjoy the videos and let me know if you have questions.

HOW TO VIDEOS

How To Smoke Tail Lights

Custom Paint – This video series cover the basics to prep, masking artwork and airbrush basics.

DIY Ding Repair – This is a 3 video series showing you how to repair a small door ding and how to spot paint damaged area.

Hammer and Dolly Basics – Learn the basics to hammer and dolly. I have several videos to teach you what a hammer and dolly is, how to select the right tool, and several hammer and dolly techniques.

Rust Patch Repair – This is an older video series. They only show pictures, but I do explain the process of cutting out old rust, fabricating a new patch panel, and welding the patch into place. Another option is to purchase pre-made patch panels that can be cut to fit and welding in place.

How To Spray Matte Colors – This video series will demonstrate how to prep and spray matte black. I also talk about using matte clear coats and give you a few tips for spraying matte colors.

What Sandpaper To Use – This video series talks about what grits of sandpaper to use for body filler, block and final sanding, and buffing.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

DIY Auto Body and Paint Q&A –

I receive a lot of question on my YouTube channel. I always try to respond to them. I’m sure I miss one occasionally, but not intentionally. If I never responded to a question that you’ve asked, please repost the question.

I also decided to take it a step further and respond to several of the questions with a video response. There is no way to create videos for all of them, but below you will find a playlist of the questions I have answered with a video.

Below Lessons Are Still In Progress – New Videos and/or Content Will Be Added To Them

66 Mustang Project – This is a DIY project that I worked on at my house with minimal tools and equipment. This video series is intended to demonstrate how to work on cars without all of the latest and greatest tools.

A Guide To Writing Auto Repair Estimates

ASE Paint and Refinish Review – This video series covers the ASE task expected to know for the B2 Paint and Refinish certification. The videos are designed to help you learn the tasks. They are not intended to guarantee you to pass the exam. There are test prep books if you are looking for additional information at ASE B2 Test Prep Guide

Nissan Titan Project – In the Nissan, Titan Project video series I am going to be working on a 2009 Nissan Titan. This project is not going to be a lot of paint and body work like most of my videos. This series is going to cover installing things like a light bar, tail light covers, hitch, restoring headlights, vinyl pin striping, detailing, etc. I am not exactly sure where all this project may go, but I will have a video of the steps I take