Butler Collision Repair Network

Weldless Car Repair - Structural Repairs Without Welding - New Car Techn...

2012-01-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

Dent Repair: Using Compressed Air and Hair Dryer - Does That Really Work...

2012-01-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

2011-12-01T06:39:00.000-08:00

The final coat of primer is sprayed.

2011-12-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

the dodge dakota is ready to be final sanded and washed, then moved to the paint both for paint.

Interview With Auto Body Shop Owner, Patrick Sampoll - Where Are They Now

2011-11-30T19:03:00.000-08:00

You can also listen to the podcast...

http://EliteAutoBodyKS.com - This is a video podcast with Patrick Sampoll, Elite Auto Body. Patrick attended and completed the automotive and collision repair programs at Butler Community College. Now he owns and operates his own business. Patrick tells us a little about his business, the challenges he faces, and a bit of advice for students that are currently training or considering the collision repair industry as a career pathway.

left bedside

2011-11-30T10:37:00.000-08:00

Making final repairs on lows found after priming. The lows will be repaired and the final coat of primer will be sprayes.

backs of doors

2011-11-30T07:26:00.000-08:00

After all the jambs and doors were completed the paint job should be downhill from here, for the most part.

painting jambs

2011-11-30T07:02:00.000-08:00

After the doors are clean and scuffed tape them off and there ready for paint. I decided to use water borne paint, 3 coats of jet black for the base coat using an air dryer between coats. Then two coats of jc6700 clear with 15 minutes of flash time between coats.

jamb prep

2011-11-30T06:56:00.000-08:00

First the jambs were cleaned with soap and water. Next, scuffed with a red scuff pad, then cleaned with wax and grease remover

2011-11-30T06:50:00.000-08:00

To change the entire color of the truck to black we had to gut the doors and take them off to paint the jambs and backs of the doors. the rubber moldings and plugs had to be removed also.

Chandler's Truck

2011-11-30T06:17:00.000-08:00

Chandler's Truck Bed Primed

01 ford restoration

2011-11-30T06:13:00.000-08:00

Loaded with rust we cut away the old for the new panel to be welded in finding a little more rust then we expected. The wheel well was rusted through and needed replaced also. The inside of the bed panel was sprayed with rust control for future protection. I had trim on the new bed side patch panel so it would match up to the gas cap, it was tacked in using a mig welder ground smooth, covered in fiberglass sanded flush then filler. The bedside has no warpage and all the body lines match up

Window Tinting - How To Tint Curved Back Glass Professionally with 3M Film

2011-11-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

class notes for painting a car

2011-10-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

Wash the vehicle

Take necessary parts off the vehicle

Featheredge scratches with 220 -1/4" each layer as deep as the scratch is

Final sand entire panel with 500 grit with interface pad

Blow everything off with compressed air

Wax and grease remove surface

Clean jams and moldings 4 mask prep

Tack rag everything

If the area you fetheredge has a bare metal area smaller than a fifty cent piece use etching primer if larger use two coats of epoxy primer

Two coats of primer surfacer

Befor you sand let surface dry

Put your guide coat on block with 320

Sand guide coat and look for lows, use scuff pad to clean block sander

If u think you are going to have to re-prime use 220

Go over it with 500 DA after 320 if everything looks good

Clean with soapy water clow it off with air blow yourself off so dirt doesnt come of you

Wipe with wax and grease remover. put into booth and mask off

Less folds in your paper better job

Spray withprimer sealer if needed wait flash time usually 15 minutes one coat will be fine

Tack befor pain

Apply base coat. two coats is usually alright depends on the color let flash clearcoat

Ford Pickup Project

2011-10-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

Washing Before Beginning Repair

This step requires to properly clean the surface for beginning repairs.

2011-10-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

This is the lastest update on the 99 Grand Cherokee that I am working on. It was a complete repaint. so i decided to go with the Orange and Black two tone. Today i will be putting clearcoat on it. Stay tuned for updates.

Car Project

2011-10-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

This is one fo the projects that I am working on in class.

2001 Ford Pickup Project

2011-10-18T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is our team project that we are working on in class. Here is a before photo.

Mid Week Auto Collision Repair Blast (3)...Training, News, Videos

2011-10-13T04:29:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for auto body how to videos, collision repair news, and other automotive articles? Be sure to check out this week's Mid Week Auto Collision Repair News Blast!
This week you will learn about:

Weld On Panels
Window Regulators
Windshield Removal and Instalation
Repairing Bird Dropings On Paint Finishes
Collision Repair Scholarships
Car Review
New Bondo Detecting Tool
and 100's of Auto Body How-to and News Videos

To Learn more visit Auto Collision Repair News Blast

MidWeek Auto Collision Repair News Blast

2011-09-29T05:59:00.000-07:00

Back To School Giveaway Winners

The Back To School Giveaway has ended; however, winners are still pending. We e-mailed the two winners to confirm they were a current collision repair student or instructor, but we have not been able to confirm at this time. We are in the process of randomly select new winners. Check back to soon to see if you may be the winner.

New Vo-Tech Student Pricing Announced For RDE Program at 2011 SEMA Show

New in 2011, students of vocational technical schools who are approved to attend SEMA through the SEMA Show Student Program, as well as their chaperones, will be eligible to attend SCRS’ Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series for a significantly discounted rate of $50.00 per student for a full series student pass. The pass allows for the student group to select a presentation in each educational time slot offered by SCRS, including the RDE Headline Presentation by Afterburner, Inc at 5:30pm on Thursday evening. The pricing structure was made possible through coordination between SCRS and the SEMA Education Institute, emphasizing the focus from both organizations on supporting the future of the au- tomotive repair industry. READ MORE

Butler's Collision Repair Program

It's been busy in the collision repair program at Butler. 1st year class showed up to school this semester ready to learn and work.We have studied vehicle construction and now we are studying paint/refinish. They have already grabbed a spray gun and learning how to paint cars. The second year has been busy as well. We've been studying how to remove and replace weld-on panels and structural repair. To learn more visit our class blog at CollisionBlast.com/BCRN

Success in Collision Repair is No Accident at WyoTech in Sacramento

by Allen B. Ury

Benjamin Franklin once famously noted that “nothing in this world is certain except death and taxes.” To this list we could probably add “auto collisions.” Although the number of motor vehicle accidents (and fatalities) have dropped markedly over the past 30 years, there are still approximately 10.2 million car crashes and collisions every year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2011 Statistical Abstract.*As long as people continue to damage their cars, there will be a need for people to repair them. READ MORE

Are You Looking For an Auto Body Job?

Visit our job listings with current jobs in the collision repair industry. Visit CollisionBlast.com/Careers

Bolt Tightening Torque Significance

There are thousands of bolts in your vehicle that hold together critical components in your automobile. These components must be fastened together correctly to ensure that your vehicle can perform as safely and flawlessly as it was designed for. Many mechanics and do it yourself repairmen do not correctly follow torque specifications or, sometimes, completely ignore them altogether. READ MORE

Vintage Car Interior - Restoration Tips

The best advice you can give anyone who has decided to take on the project of restoring a vintage car themselves is to begin by restoring their interior first. Your vintage car interior is an aspect of the project where you can do all or most of the work yourself and at home. READ MORE

Why Wax Your Car?

By Ron Haugen Whenever you own a car, you are likely to take a lot of pride in the way that it looks. It is the reason why you are sure to keep it clean of all trash as well as making sure that you clean the outside and inside often. Of course, there are some who start to consider whether they actually need to wax their vehicle. This is still as important today as it was decades ago. It is important to take a look at exactly why it is important so that you will not be tempted to go without it. READ MORE

If you liked this mid-week collision repair news blast, share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter!

Auto Collision Back To School Contest Tool Giveaway For Students Instruc...

2011-09-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

3M Auto Boot Camp - 3M New Automotive Product Overview - DIY Car Enthusiast

2011-07-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

Colliison Blast June Update Newsletter

2011-05-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

We've got a lot of updates and changes to share with you in this update newsletter.
New Website
First of all, if you have not checked out our new website, be sure to check it out. It is a all new look and we are going to be adding topics other than just collision repair career information. Your feedback was useful and as a result, we are going to be posting topics about painting motorcycles, restoration, PDR, and of course our main focus, collision repair career information. Check the site out CollisionBlast.com

Be sure to click the Facebook like button on the articles that you like. The more likes, the more that I will post for that topic.
Podcasts
We introduced our podcast last month Podcasts (in 5 min or less). Now you can listen to each new post, rather than read it. To listen just click on the listen button on the top of the post. If it is an older post it may not work. However, I should work for everything posted from this point forward. Try it out...sounds kinda funky, but it does work!
Videos
Our auto body video page continues to get a lot of views, so if you have not been to it, you may find it interesting or useful.
Navigate New Website
If you have not had the chance to watch the video for how to navigate the website take a minute to watch it.
FUN TRIVIA
Test your car trivia and knowledge with our fun quiz. See if you are an official gear head or not. Car Trivia Quiz
Top Content
What are other people reading on Collision Blast? Check out our top content.

Hot Content
This is what people have read most during the past 60 days.

News Around The Web

South Georgia Technical College highlight a few of their outstanding automotive and collision repair students. Several students receive plaques for a job well done. Read more about SGTC.

This kind of news that is not fun to share, but I would like to offer my condolences to the student that was killed in the shop explosion. Read more.

A Check List For Auto Repair Shops - This is a PDF checklist that will help you comply with environmental, fire, and safety regulations. http://www.newmoa.org/publications/auto/checklst.pdf

Information About the Collision Repair Career. May be useful for instructors. http://fmghttp.iriseducation.org/27/365/32775_Repair_Basics_TG.pdf

Sample Collision Repair Course Outline Template http://www.fileaway.info/Read/_vp.d3d3LnNjb2Uub3Jn_vp..sl_docs.sl_rop.sl_auto.sl_auto-body.pdf

Whether welding, estimating, painting, panel replacement or detailing, the project benefits the students, who can perfect their craft.

Six South San Antonio HS students received certificates from Toyota Texas Student Mentoring Program

on May 17, 2011 after attending the company’s workshop earlier in the month at the Career and Technology Education Center. http://www.southsanisd.net/news.cfm?story=23512

Students Presented With American Flags Flown In Afghanistan

Valdosta - Preao Oaks approached the Automotive Collision Repair program months ago about helping her surprise her husband, Lt. Colonel Derek Oaks. Lt. Colonel Oaks was the squad commander of the 75^th fighter squadron serving in Afghanistan. He had always had a passion for cars and dreamed of owning and restoring a 1988 Toyota Land Cruiser. He had located the vehicle to purchase but had not had time to start the restoration process before going overseas.

http://valdostatoday.com/Articles/Community/Students-Presented-With-American-Flags-Flown-In-Afghanistan.html

Tips for Adjusting A Spray Gun - Article on ABRN

http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Tips-For-Adjusting-a-Spray-Gun/blog/3670340/31710.html

ABRN HOW2

- ABRN HOW2 TIPS

Tech High program sends girl on a collision course with her dreams

Katelyn Troxler enrolled in the collision repair program at Washington County Technical High School to set herself on the road to the career she has mapped out.

Troxler, 17, a senior from Knoxville, wants to be a field agent with the FBI. To achieve that, she plans to put herself through college with the earnings she’ll make working in collision repair. http://www.herald-mail.com/news/hm-tech-high-program-sends-girl-on-a-collision-course-with-her-dreams-20110523,0,5963858.story

Tips from Raleigh Collision If You Have been Involved In An Accident.

http://www.raleighcollision.com/Raleigh_Collision_Accident_Tips.pdf

Hopkins Center provides new opportunities

Dirty fingernails? No problem.

That's a good attitude for Bethany Lensink to have. After all, the Sioux City Community School senior is the sole female in her auto technology class.

"I guess getting dirty and greasy just comes with their territory," she said, overhauling an engine on a Chevy Impala. "This is fun for me."

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/special-section/local/education/article_e60e2e33-92b7-51b5-b892-48994284a2b4.html

Jobs - Are You Looking For a Job? Here is a Current List Of Job Openings - Collision Repair Jobs

Quote"If I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse" Henry Ford

TipHave you ever had a problem trying to mask hard things like wiring, racks, rods, etc? Then take for ever to unmask... Use aluminum foil for these items. Takes minimal time to mask and unmask. Give it a try!

Collision Blast May News Update

2011-04-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

It’s that time...time for students graduating high schools and colleges to turn the page in their chapter of life. They will soon be starting a new education or career journey. I would like to congratulate all of the students that are taking the next step, whatever that step may be.

Here is an article to all of the collision repair students, instructors, and potential students.

COLLISION REPAIR CONTEST

You’ve got to enter the Chicago Pneumatic Contest if you haven’t. We’ve had a lot of winner and more to come. CP Tool is giving away tools, shirts and caps, so head on over to enter for free.

Collision Repair Contest

WHAT’S NEW ON COLLISION BLAST

We’ve been up to a lot at Collision Blast. Here are a few things that you want to check out.

Our video page now has videos to Car Warriors, Car Science, and HotRod Tv.

Auto Body TV

Podcast - Quick Tips In 5 Min or Less

Facebook Q&A Discussion

Top Content On Collision Blast

All Time Top Content On Collision Blast

Top Content – Articles To Hit 3000 Views in 60 Days or Less

Building A Strong Social Media Presence While Increasing Search Engine Ranking

Top Content – Articles To Hit 2000 Views in 60 Days or Less

What Non-Verbal Messages Are You Sending Women?

Top Content – Articles To Hit 1000 Views in 60 Days or Less

Recent How-To Training Videos

BCRN Has Moved

2010-11-28T16:55:00.000-08:00

That's Right...

This Is Our Last Post

We'll, Here Anyway!

BCRN Has Partnered With Another Website To Offer More Collision Repair Training and News. We Have A BCRN Profile, Which Makes It Easy To Stay Up With What We're Up To.

Now You Can Stay Updated On:

Featured Auto Collision Repair Shops
Collision Repair Training
Collision Repair Schools
Collision Repair News
Technical, Estimating, Management, and Instructor Jobs For The Industry
Many Different Authors In The Collision RepairIndustry
Collision Repair Tips and Advice
SEO and Marketing Advice
And Much More

AND IT'S SIMPLE

ALL OF THIS AT YOUR FINGER TIPS ABSOLUTELY FREE

All You Need To Do Is Add Your First Name and Email Below....That's It!

Butler's Collision Repair Program Goes Green by Switching To Waterborne Paint

2010-11-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

The Wait Is Over
It has been a long wait, but Butler is going green. The PPG waterborne paint showed up at the school this week.

A Cleaner Environment
This week our PPG rep, Steve Johnson, and our jobber, Danny Hutchins stopped by with the AquaBase waterborne paint. Now we can start teaching students waterborne technology. It is not mandatory to be waterborne in Kansas yet as in a few states, but many shop owners are switching to waterborne paint for the green benefits. A cleaner environment is a huge benefit, however, there are many other benefits to using waterborne paint.

The First
Steve Johnson said that Butler Community College was the 1st collision repair program in his territory to make the switch to waterborne. The school was encourage to switch to waterborne by their advisory board. Mitch Speck, the lead painter at Auto Craft in Wichita was a huge advocate of waterborne paint after making the switch himself. After using waterborne paint, Mitch stated that he would not want to use solvents again….regardless of the green benefit.

Solvent Paints Are Not Forever Gone
There are still many shops using solvent paints so we are going to continue training with solvents in addition to waterborne. The solvents will be taught using PPGs lower paint line called ShopLine.

SEMA

2010-10-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. I'm sorry i haven't posted in a while, but the work is pretty heavy over here on the East Coast. Maybe that's a sign that things are picking up in our industry.

But anyway, I did not get a chance to make it out to NACE, but I will be attending SEMA on behalf of I-CAR. I will be a welding demonstrator for them, demonstrating Aluminum Welding, MIG Braising, Resistance Spot Welding, and Rivit Bonding Technology.

If you happen to be there, please stop by my booth and introduce yourself. I will be at the I-CAR DEMO Booth.

Make sure to check back for my in depth report on new materials, technologys, repair information, and of course the wild SEMA Expos.

Talk to you all soon,

Nick

Butler Students Attend NACE 2010 in Las Vegas

2010-10-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

Richard and Rigo Checking Out A New Paint Booth and Paint Gun Cleaner at NACE 2010

Two collision repair students, Richard and Rigo, and the collision repair instructor attended the NACE training and expo. in Las Vegas, Nevada this year. NACE is a combination of different collision repair industry training events and a show room floor full exhibitors displaying all of the new and cool tools, parts and equipment. This year NACE included OEM auto makers and different scan tool companies to the expo., which was a first for NACE.

The students commented that the training was awesome and they discovered that Las Vegas is expensive, but good place to visit.

Las Vegas Lights From Top of Mandalay Bay

More Exciting News At Butler

While at NACE I also learned that Butler is back on track of becoming waterborne this year. Steve Johnson, PPG Rep, called and said the paint has been ordered and should be here in a few weeks. We're excited about that and we will keep you posted on the progress.

Butler Students Visit Elite Auto Body To Learn About The Collision Industry

2010-10-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

Patrick Sampoll (owner) Discusses Painting With Students

Patrick Teaches Students A Lesson On Buffing

The collision repair students from Butler Community College visited Elite Auto Body in El Dorado, Kansas. The purpose of the class trip was to give the students an contextual learning experience of what the collision repair industry has to offer. Patrick Sampoll, the owner of Elite Auto Body, did a great job of demonstrating and conveying the expectations of the industry. He encouraged the students to show up to class everyday, be on time everyday, and to do their best. Patrick said, "once you complete the program, you either have what it takes or not...I all depends on how hard you try while in school."

We would like thank Patrick for taking the time to help train the technicians of tomorrow.

Learn more about Elite Auto Body on their website. Body Shop in El Dorado For more news visit Collision Repair News

Check Out What We're Up To

2010-09-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

Joe, a second year student painted a motorcycle tank in his spare time. As you can see, the tank looks great. The second year students have been extremely busy performing live work. We are studying weld-on panels, sectioning, door skins, and adhesive so we will be ready for these types of jobs as we get them.

The first-year student just started welding. We spend six weeks performing lap welds, butt welds, butt welds with a backing plate, and plug welds. Each student must perform each one of these welds in a flat, vertical, and overhead position that must pass a destructive test. This sounds scary to many students if they have never welded before, but we have a lot of time to get it right. If the student shows up every day and practices these welds repetitively, they will have no problem when it comes to testing the welds.

Check back and we will keep you posted with our progress.

You Know That You're Old When......You Do Not Know If You're Capable To Drive The New Cars

2010-09-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

I always like to check out the features on the new cars, but I seriously do not know if I would be able to drive this car. Check it out and let me know what you think. It's Different!

Safety First – Says Who?

2010-09-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

You always hear safety first at safety meetings, but many technicians think safety is a lot of hype and ignore the safety policies. So is safety really that important?

Let’s Talk CarsFirst, since we’re all about cars, not safety, let’s talk about restoring an awesome car. Let’s say we have an unlimited budget to build a million dollar ride. You know, a car like Chip Foose at Foose Design would build. Of course, it would take hours and hours of labor and thousands of dollars to get it there, but the end result would be well worth the wait and money. Could you imagine having a ride worth one million dollars? I’m sure that you would take a lot of pride in it. I know that I would. Would you take car of it? What about storage, would you keep it in the garage or put it out back in the weather? I’m sure that you would do everything that you could to protect the car from being damaged.

Another Question

If someone offered you a million dollar car like this, would you exchange it for you eyesight? What about a leg or would you trade your life for it? I am assuming you answered no, as these things are priceless to us. I would not want to even exchange my eyesight or life for a billion dollars. While most of you would agree, we are quick to ignore safety and grab a grinder and start grinding, weld without a welding helmet, paint without a paint respirator, or many other things that could affect our health without thinking twice about it. If you’re willing to take good care of a car, do you think you should take care of yourself?

Over ExaggeratingWell, this is over exaggerated. Is it? There are many eye injuries and painters that have to leave the collision repair industry every year due to becoming sensitive to paint chemicals. It really happens, but the good news is that most injuries are preventable.

How To Prevent InjuriesIt would take a while to explain all of the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) that needs to be used, but I will highlight a few of them.

1. Eye Protection – Most schools require eye protection to be worn at all times in the shop area, but I see a lot of body shops that do not require eye protection. However, I would highly recommend that you get in the habit of wearing eye protection. Eyesight is too valuable to lose.
2. Dust masks – When sanding or grinding wear an approved dust mask. This will prevent you from breathing all of the products be sanded and other debris that is not healthy for you.
3. Respirator – The catalyzed clears and primers that are out there should not be taken lightly. They have chemicals that will mess you up. Wear an approved respirator when spraying any coatings.
4. Gloves – Chemical resistant gloves should be worn when working with chemicals. This will prevent the chemicals from entering your body through your skin.
5. Hearing Protection – You may not need to wear hearing protection at all times, but if there is griding, air chiseling or other loud things going on, protect your hearing.

Say Who….You Do!There are many other PPE and safety procedures to consider before working in a shop area. I hope when you question who is saying safety first, you think of yourself. Forget about the policies and procedures, keep yourself safe……. you’re worth a million dollars after all!

That's The Way We've Always Done It - Not With Today's Vehicle

2010-09-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

For years we have repaired vehicles the same way, but that is not going to work on modern day cars. There are too may variables with all of the different types of metals and composites used, all of the electrical, air bags, and many other things to consider before repairing a vehicle.

For instance, if you try to weld on a radiator support on some of the Ford pick-ups you may find the pick-up on fire as the radiator support is made of magnesium. Many of the parts are made of ultra high strength or boron steel. It is not recommended to repair or heat these steels by many auto manufactures. Therefore, repairing a part made of ultra high strength steel may weaken the part, which could cause an unnecessary injury if involved in an accident.

Using universal methods or “that’s the way we’ve always done it” is not going to work on modern day vehicles of today or the vehicles of tomorrow.

How Do You Know How To Repair Modern Day Cars

Well, it is hard to memorize all of the different parts on every make and model, so what you are going to need to do is find out what the auto manufacture recommends. You can do this with collision repair manuals or with online databases like AllData Collision Connect. They will have all of the information that you need to identify recommended procedures to perform the proper repair or replace method.

Here is a list of some of the materials used to make car parts:

Steel - Mild Steel, High Strength Steel, Ultra High Strength Steel, Boron
Other Metals - Aluminum, Magnesium
Composites - Carbon Fiber, Sheet Molded Compound
Plastics - Many Different Types

Each material has a specific repair or replace recommendation so it is easy to see that you will need to do a little homework before starting repairs.

While were talking about doing it the way that you have always done it, read the end of ham story.

“A young woman was preparing a ham dinner. After she cut off the end of ham, she placed it in a pan for baking. Her friend asked her,"Why did you cut off the end of the ham"?

And she replied ,"I really don't know but my mother always did, so I thought you were supposed to."

Later when talking to her mother she asked her why she cut off the end of the ham before baking it, and her mother replied, "I really don't know, but that's the way my mom always did it."

A few weeks later while visiting her grandmother, the young woman asked, "Grandma, why is it that you cut off the end of a ham before you bake it?"

Her grandmother replied, "Well dear, otherwise it would never fit into my baking pan."

Are you sure why you do all of the things that you do?

The First Week of School at Butler's Collision Repair Technology Program

2010-08-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

We have successfully made it through the first week on class. I am feeling confident that we are off to a good start. The first-year students appear to be eager to learn and ready to absorb everything taught to them. The second-year students are back and in full speed and going strong. We've already started some live work in the second-year class. If both classes keep this attitude, it's going to be a productive, but busy semester.

We have a few updates on the bloggers for BCRN. Samuel Smith blogged for us as a first-year students and he stepped up and agreed to do it again this year. We also have another second-year student, Ryan Pracht, which agreed to post blogs as well. We did not have a first-year students step up, but maybe if we give it a little time one of them will surface and accept the challenge later.

That is it for now, but check back as we will keep you informed on what we're up to.

A Butler Success Story

2010-08-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

A Student from Butler Community College Makes His Dream Become a Reality.

As you can read in the newspaper article below, Patrick Sampoll is living his passion. Starting out as a hobby helping his brother tinker with cars Patrick continued his journey in this career pathway. He attended Butler's Auto Tech program, then he decided to attend the Collision Repair program at Butler as well. Patrick worked at a local body shop while training for this career. After completing the program, he followed his passion and opened a collision repair shop in El Dorado, Kansas. I followed up with Patrick today and he said that he has been busy since he has opened the doors.

Learn more about his business at EliteAutoBodyKs.com

A Few Open Spots In The Collision Repair Program at Butler Community College

2010-08-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

The Collision Repair program hit its limit of 15 before the summer ever started. Therefore, many students were told that the program was full. However, a few spots recently became available. I am just giving you a heads up, as these spots will not last long. If you're interested in the program, you may have a chance to get in for Fall semester. Visit our advising department to learn more.

Fox News Reports On Aftermarket Parts - ALARMING

2010-08-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

This is quite alarming to see the difference between the OEM parts and the Aftermarket parts in this video. I can understand how this could affect the structural integrity of the vehicle and the safety for the passengers. I have used some aftermarket parts, and I was able see the difference between them and OEM parts. However, I did not realize some of the structural parts, as the part demonstrated in the video, could be that much weaker. I think the key to find a good source for aftermarket parts if you are going to use them, as they are not all equal in quality.

Let's Hear From You...What Experience Have You Had With Aftermarket Parts? Any Suggestions or Advice For Others?

On CBS News, High School Student Opens Auto Body Shop...Now Annual Revenue Of More Than $10 million.

2010-08-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

This is a great success story about a high school student that had a dream, opened a collision repair business and persevered to become a multi-millionaire.

We hear a lot of negative news and there will alway be people that will try to crush our hope and give us 100's of reasons why our plan will fail. However, for people like Shawn Moody, they focus on what can be done, not what can't be done.

Moody's business, Moody's Collision Centers, that he started when he was still in high school now has 75 employees at five locations and annual revenue ten million dollars. READ FULL ARTICLE

I read this article and thought it was a good example of the sky is the limit. Whether you become this successful or not, don't ever let other people crush your dreams.

Visit CollisionBlast.com for more Collision Repair News

Elite Auto Body's Grand Opening Set For August 1, 2010 - El Dorado, KS

2010-07-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

Patrick Sampoll, will open the doors to a new collision repair business in El Dorado, Kansas. He would like to invite the community to the grand opening that will be held at his business location on Sunday, August 1, 2010 from 2PM to 6PM.

Patrick has worked for a local body shop and has spent 3 years training in the automotive technology and auto collision repair technology at Butler Community College. He is eager to serve the community by providing top quality work and superior customer service. Patrick understands the hassles of being involved in an accident and he wants to help his customers by eliminating many of the problems associated with an accident.

Elite Auto Body is going to offer collision repair, auto body and paint, auto detailing and boat detailing.

I encourage all of the Butler Family to support Patrick and his new endeavor by stopping by to say hi and to welcome this new entrepreneur into the El Dorado business community.

Business Location:
Elite Auto Body
520 S. Main
El Dorado, KS 67042
EliteAutoBodyKs.com

"Making Your Problems Go Away Is Our Speciality"

BCC Student Demonstrates Block Sanding Primer

2010-07-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

In this video we are demonstrating how to block sand primer surfacer.

1. Apply guide coat to the surface.

2. Using a block and 320 grit sandpaper, cross sand the surface.

3. Sand the surface until all guide coat is sanded off. If you sand through the primer surfacer and the epoxy, you will need to re-prime and block.

4. I all guide coat is sanded off and no filler or metal is showing, then you are ready to unmask.

5. Using a smaller block, sand the harder to get areas and all edges.

6. Using a DA, inter surfacer pad, and 500 grit sandpaper, sand over the surface where sealer and paint will be applied.

Now you're ready for final prep and masking for paint.

Why Do They Always Have Good Luck?

2010-06-29T20:02:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why some people have all of the good luck or why open doors of opportunity open up for some people, but not others? Well, it's true....some people do have have better luck than others.

Every year I hand out paperwork for students to fill out for a scholarship, which may provide a $500 vocational scholarship. In fact, from what I understand, most students do receive a scholarship if they apply for it. As I hand the paperwork to the students I encourage them to apply. It does require them to take a test, which may take a few hours. Here is how I describe it to the students. Even if it takes a full two hours of your time, that is still $250 per hour if they receive the scholarship. However, every year I see most of the applications in the trash can. They don't even try. Then they wonder why they never have the luck like other people do.

Last year I think that I only had two students take the time to fill out the application and take the test. We never heard anything else about it.

Nothing is a sure thing in life, but you will never know if you don't try. If you don't set yourself up for good luck or open doors, then how do you expect to experience it? The two students did not hear back about the scholarship, but this is no reason to give up on trying. If one thing don't happen for you start working on another way to set yourself up for an opportunity.

This blog is not just about perseverance, as the story about the students did not end yet. One of the students messaged me the other day and reminded me about that scholarship, he told me that he just got a letter in the mail stating that he was awarded a scholarship for $1500. I don't know about you, but $1500 for two hours of work is pretty good.

With this said, I encourage you stop watching the doors open for other people and do whatever it takes to be in front of the next door that opens. In other words, start setting yourself up today to have better luck tomorrow. If you're already doing this then I would like to commend you on your efforts. If you have not seen the reward yet, hang in there, you will see it when the time is right.

Hydrocarbon Man

2010-06-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Interesting video that I thought you may enjoy. It's hard to believe how dependent we are on petroleum products!

$180k as a Repair Technician - Myth or Truth?

2010-06-05T05:51:00.000-07:00

After reading your article I completely agree with you. Higher end repair facilities are looking for qualified repair technicians. When they see a younger individual, who has dedicated their time and money to learning a specific trade, they see more potential and ability that they can have on their shop floor. They will be more willing to pay more for an educated technician, because of the educational value that you will be bringing to the whole company. It is simple economics, The “Opportunity Cost” that you have invested in yourself, raises your gross value as an individual, allowing the employer to be able to pay you more because over an elastic portion of time, you will also educate the shop you work in. Knowledge is contagious, and the method of heating and beating, caving and paving are long gone. Technicians with knowledge of metalogy, OEM procedures, and proper repair techniques are needed, and the industry as a whole are searching for these individuals.

As the industry is progressing, the cars are becoming extremely complex. The best advice that I can give is become specialized. Look for companies that offer certification programs with specific manufactures, or certify in advanced materials such as Aluminum or bonding and riveting advanced technology. The sooner you get involved in this material, the more experience you can gain through it.

The income level that was mentioned by Donnie is a reasonable average ( $52,000 ). But I have also come across multiple technicians and painters from all over that country that have earning levels up to $180,000. Yes that sounds like a myth, but extremely possible if you get involved in the right programs and right shops. You should not get tunnel vision and only concentrate on one manufacture, because this will only hurt you in the long run. Also, don’t expect this type of pay straight out of college chair.

If anyone is interested in pursuing OEM training or advanced training programs please don’t afraid to contact me. I am more than willing to point you in the right direction.

Why Choose Collision Repair As a Career Pathway?

2010-06-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

By Donnie A Smith

Why choose collision repair as a career pathway?

Hands-on: Why should your job be boring and dreadful? You can earn income doing the things you like to do. If you're someone that likes working with your hands, a high-tech environment and you enjoy being able to step back and see the results of your work; then collision repair may be a good fit for you.

High income potential: I-Car Education Foundation completed a survey, showing the average income that a collision repair technician earns. You may be surprised that the average income of $51,312 is higher then many other comparable trades. In fact, the top 10% earn $88,460. Although, just like with any career, you shouldn't expect this your first year on the job. These are the incomes you can expect to make with experience and commitment.

Job Security: As roads and highways become more populated with vehicles, the results are more auto accidents. Unfortunately, the automotive industry is not finding enough trained technicians to properly repair these modern day vehicles. This means job security for you.

Work will never be outsourced: Think about it! Could you imagine a damaged vehicle being loaded on a ship, taken overseas, repaired, and shipped back to the customer...it's not going to happen. We need trained collision and paint technicians right here in the United States, in every state and every city to repair our cars. As a technician, you will never have to worry about your job being outsourced.

What are some of the things to consider when choosing a school to attend?

NATEF certified: Make sure the school is a National Automotive Technician Education Foundation (NATEF) accredited. This gives you peace of mind knowing that the school has met the NATEF standards and is a quality school. NATEF is national recognized in the automotive industry and will give you a competitive edge, when you pursue a job. In order to be NATEF accredited, all instructors must be Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certified to teach. This means that you will have competent instructors to ensure your success in the future.

I-Car affiliation: Make sure the school is affiliated with I-Car. I-Car is an organization that helps the collision industry with on-going training. They provide training to technicians already on the job and they provide curriculum and support to colleges and technical schools to prepare students for the world-of-work. I-Car is known throughout the collision industry and will give your potential employer another perk to hire you.

Where do I find a school like this and how do I enroll?
1. Call the school to set up a time you can visit with them and ask to tour the collision repair program.
2. Is the collision program accredited? If so, who are they accredited through?
3. Are they affiliated with I-Car and what curriculum do they use?
4. Ask if one of the program instructors are available to speak with. You can ask them program specific questions. This will give you a better feel of the program and the instructors.
5. What is their student per instructor ratio?
6. Find out what requirements, tools, tuition,and fees are required.
7. Have them explain the difference between a certificate and an associates degree. (some technical schools do not offer associates degrees)
8. Does the college have any articulation agreements with any other schools, which allows the student to transfer into a four-year university?
9. Once you feel you have made the correct decision, ask them to direct you to an advisor. The advisor will walk you through the steps to get you enrolled.

Why choose collision repair as a career pathway?

Hands-on: Why should your job be boring and dreadful? You can earn income doing the things you like to do. If you're someone that likes working with your hands, a high-tech environment and you enjoy being able to step back and see the results of your work; then collision repair may be a good fit for you.

High income potential: I-Car Education Foundation completed a survey, showing the average income that a collision repair technician earns. You may be surprised that the average income of $51,312 is higher then many other comparable trades. In fact, the top 10% earn $88,460. Although, just like with any career, you shouldn't expect this your first year on the job. These are the incomes you can expect to make with experience and commitment.

Job Security: As roads and highways become more populated with vehicles, the results are more auto accidents. Unfortunately, the automotive industry is not finding enough trained technicians to properly repair these modern day vehicles. This means job security for you.

Work will never be outsourced: Think about it! Could you imagine a damaged vehicle being loaded on a ship, taken overseas, repaired, and shipped back to the customer...it's not going to happen. We need trained collision and paint technicians right here in the United States, in every state and every city to repair our cars. As a technician, you will never have to worry about your job being outsourced.

What are some of the things to consider when choosing a school to attend?

NATEF certified: Make sure the school is a National Automotive Technician Education Foundation (NATEF) accredited. This gives you peace of mind knowing that the school has met the NATEF standards and is a quality school. NATEF is national recognized in the automotive industry and will give you a competitive edge, when you pursue a job. In order to be NATEF accredited, all instructors must be Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certified to teach. This means that you will have competent instructors to ensure your success in the future.

I-Car affiliation: Make sure the school is affiliated with I-Car. I-Car is an organization that helps the collision industry with on-going training. They provide training to technicians already on the job and they provide curriculum and support to colleges and technical schools to prepare students for the world-of-work. I-Car is known throughout the collision industry and will give your potential employer another perk to hire you.

Where do I find a school like this and how do I enroll?
1. Call the school to set up a time you can visit with them and ask to tour the collision repair program.
2. Is the collision program accredited? If so, who are they accredited through?
3. Are they affiliated with I-Car and what curriculum do they use?
4. Ask if one of the program instructors are available to speak with. You can ask them program specific questions. This will give you a better feel of the program and the instructors.
5. What is their student per instructor ratio?
6. Find out what requirements, tools, tuition,and fees are required.
7. Have them explain the difference between a certificate and an associates degree. (some technical schools do not offer associates degrees)
8. Does the college have any articulation agreements with any other schools, which allows the student to transfer into a four-year university?
9. Once you feel you have made the correct decision, ask them to direct you to an advisor. The advisor will walk you through the steps to get you enrolled.

I am the lead collision repair instructor for a community college. I invite you to my free online training to learn how to perform car paint jobs. There you will learn more about the collision repair as a career or learn enough to do it as a hobby.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donnie_A_Smith
http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-Choose-Collision-Repair-As-a-Career-and-What-to-Look-For-in-a-School&id=4099516

It's Summer Time...A Little About My Summer and the Upcoming School Year

2010-05-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

It's Summer Time
So what's up for the summer? I enjoy the summer breaks to spend with my family, but it goes by fast. I'll still be at the school some working on outlines and lessons for fall and I've also have to get trained for the new PPG waterborne paint that we will be using with the new school year. However, I will be spending some of the summer with my boys.

Collision Hub Sponsors Baseball Team
We'll probably pick up on Mustang and work on it some this summer and spend a lot of time at the baseball park. They are playing in a new league this year. We attended the first practice to learn that the team had no name and no sponsor. Well, not to worry, I contacted our friends at collisionhub.com and they hooked us up. They will be the team sponsor.....not sure about a name! I would like to give Kristen at Collision Hub a Big Thank You for helping us out.

Full Enrollment
If you're interested in the collision repair program at Butler, you may want to enroll fast. There is only one (1) spot open. So out program will be maxed out very soon.

Waiting List
You may ask out our waiting list. If for some reason one of the students drop out or miss the payment deadline, you will be the next in line. After one more enrollment in the collision repair, we'll start a waiting list. In welding and automotive technology, they are already completely full and have started a waiting list.

Enjoy Your Summer
I would like to congratulate all of the new students that will start in the fall. Enjoy your summer as we are going to hit it full throttle when school starts. Also, be sure to check into the student connect class that I will be teaching for the technical students. This class will be the first part of August, which will allow you to have this class out of the way before you ever start school.

Check back, I will keep you updated with what I'm up to this summer. You will hear from other authors of this blog as well.

Collision Hub Discusses SEMA 2010 With SCRS

2010-05-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

Do you know how your car saves your life? Part 2

2010-05-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

Alright guys, I’m sad to see no one came out swinging with some guesses, but there will be more mini quizzes to come.

So my question to all of you was, do you know the difference between “Collision Energy Management” and “Collision Transfer Management”? These terms seem very similar, but in reality, describe to very different effects.

Collision Energy Management describes how a vehicle absorbs energy in the event of a collision. Through the design of different steel, collapse zones, kick up areas, crush holes, and built in kink spots. This allows for the blunt force of the collision to dissipate before reaching the occupant compartment.

Collision Transfer Management describes the ability of the vehicle to transfer the energy throughout the vehicle, and around the occupant compartment. This is possible by constructing unisides out of dual phase steel and boron steel. The energy from a frontal impact is absorbed and transferred through the frame rails up the A-pillars, down through the rocker panels, and around the occupant compartment. It is not uncommon to see kinks in the sail panel of vehicles in a heavy front hit. Also I have seen kinks in the A-pillars in a heavy rear end hit.

Every one knows the common “well my tail light worked before the accident” bit, especially when the collision was in the front of the vehicle. But in this day and age, with all the new forms of energy management and transfer, a tail light burning out is very feasible. The energy from a frontal impact will transfer throughout the vehicle and possible affect the tail lights and bulbs.

I have included two links of videos. I would like everyone to watch them and comment back on your thoughts. They demonstrate two very different vehicles constructions. It will make you think twice about how your car should and could save your life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB0araA0T_k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBzbpiuiA30

What I have learned this year

2010-05-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

By: Jason Gulick

We started out by learning about shop safety, welding, estimates, frame measurements, spray adjustments, how to use a paint gun, spray techniques, SMC (Sheet Molded Compound), and a few other sub-categories. The first thing we learned about was shop safety. ALWAYS wear your safety glasses, gloves, and boots while in the shop. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. You must know where the fire extinguishers are at all times in case of a fire. When you are welding, sanding down filler or primer, or painting in the booth, you should also be wearing a respirator. The particles can really damage your lungs and it is not like cigarettes, 5 years later your lungs WON'T get better, so you gotta take care of your body because that's what is making your income. When welding you should wear the welding gloves, because I personally have seen little flaming balls of metal roll right down peoples sleeve and make them jump higher than I thought was even possible.

Now, moving on to my second favorite subject we studied, welding. We learned quite a bit about welding as far as MIG, (Metal Inert Gas) in the automotive industry. ALWAYS wear a welding helmet, and never look into the flame while you or someone else is welding. It can cause serious pain to the eyes commonly known as, "welders burn". You should wear gloves and a respirator as well. I believe I accomplished a smooth technique throughout the class period. We practiced over and over again until we felt we had a the basic knowledge to move on in the industry. We also learned how to maintain and operate a MIG welder.

Estimates were my least favorite study this year. We gained the knowledge to go out and right an estimate for a customer needing body repairs to their vehicle. Some sub-categories are deducting for overlap and knowing how much labor costs are going to be. Knowing how to add onto the estimate for clearcoat and supplies is another must know. the only reason you would really need the knowledge to do an estimate is if you were trying to start your own business and work from the ground up.

We have not got to far into the frame adjustments yet, but i'm sure we will have more studies on it. We also got a pretty good knowledge of how to maintain and operate a spray gun. Pretty simple to maintain and adjust. Just use lacquer thinner and the utensils to clean the line after you use it. As far as adjusting there are 3 knobs to turn for adjustment and the tip needs adjusted according to what you are spraying. This is my personal favorite subject of the class this year. I have a great desire to become a customer painter, fabricator, and airbrusher. I've been searching for my spray technique that helps me apply the best results possible.

Needless to say, I have learned quite a bit about this industry so far and really looking forward to continuing my training at Butler CC. I look forward to next year and what its going to bring after the summer.

Congratulations to the Class of 2010

2010-05-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

The Class of 2010

Do you know how your car saves your life?

2010-05-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

Alright everyone out there in blogger land. Regardless if you’re a flat rate technician, backyard body man, or enthusiastic motorist, how well do you know cars? When we look at the industry, new designs as well as new materials are coming out faster then we can pronounce most of the vehicles names. New designs equal new terminology.

My question to you is, do you know the difference between “Collision Energy Management” and “Collision Transfer Management”?

All of you out in blogger land are on your honor. I do not want you searching the wide web in exploration of these definitions. I don’t care if it’s one sentence, or 3 pages. Phrase it however you want to get your point across. Please comment back and let me know what you think each of these definitions mean in the collision and refinishing industry.

I will be reading all your comments, and on May 17, I will be posting an extensive definition of each term, and how it affects each and every motorist.
Best of luck to all of you.

I’m looking forward to seeing what you think.

3M Dynamic Mixing System Review - Mixed Emotions

2010-05-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

by Nicholas Brown

Donnie did a great job at explaining the product, and the benefits of this new system. This system is a new design to my knowledge, and it's helping push the boundaries of what is possible to speed the process in the automotive collision world. Linking this new product and gun with the WURTH SIS inventory system aids in the ability to recoup much lost inventory revenue that insurance will not pay for without an individual invoice. But, I have found in a real world application, there are some consistency issues with the product. After going through over a dozen tubes, there are a few things that caused me to raise my eyebrow.

I had the same results as Donnie, in the respect that the product was extremely friendly to use. I am a SMART product veteran, and once a technician gets hooked on a line of product, it's hard to steer him/her in any other direction. You know the limitations and abilities of the product, and when time is money in the shop, why waste your time experimenting with something new.

I found that the product had a good weight and consistency. It fell right in the middle of a heavy weight and mid weight filler. I also found it applicable to use it as a final skim coat before blocking and sending it to primer and prep. The product lays out extremely smooth and blocks even easier. The ability of the gun to apply the proper harder to the filler gives this product a big advantage. It allows for timing issues to be consistent, especially when you are a flat rate technician, and every minute counts.

One of the biggest issues I had was the hardener not being properly mixed. I followed the directions, dispensing the product until I was able to see a consistent mix of hardener and filler. Even during the use of the later tubes, I dispensed twice as much just to make sure I was allowing for the tube to reach proper working conditions. Regardless of how much I dispensed, I found that 50% of the time it would mix properly, and the other 50% I found myself grinding the product of the panel. This caused for a lot of lost time.

I found the best process for this product is to expel the product until it mixes consistently, and then expel the desired amount onto a non-porous mixing board. Continue by folding it on the board in until you have a consistent mixture of hardener and filler. The next step would be to apply it to the desired location on the vehicle. This process defeats the purpose of a pinhole free product, because you are folding air pockets into the product. But with anything, there is give and take.

Overall, I feel that this product and system is a big step in the right direction for this industry. But there is still some fine tuning that can be implemented. Such as the construction of the tip can be changed from a clip on, to a twist on, and the bulkiness of the gun could be downsized. Other than that, two thumbs up to 3M for pushing the limits, and starting to become extremely creative. I am looking forward to their new innovative ideas coming down the pike.

The Champions in the Collision Repair Industry

2010-05-07T13:00:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe it, but another school year has passed at Butler. The students in the 2nd year class have completed the collision repair program and now are prepared to continue their training journey. I tell the students from the beginning that there will still be a lot to learn after completing the training here at Butler. We have built a solid foundation to help the students take the next step on their career pathways. We sprinkle work ethics, accountability, integrity, and pride into the daily training in this program, but now it’s your (the students) turn to use what you’ve learned to enter into the world of work. Remember to always do your absolute best in everything that you do and you will do fine.

You all have done a great job and several of you went above and beyond my expectations. That is what it’s all about. Helping students succeed and achieve their goals in life. I don’t believe my job as a teacher is to teach you what I know and set the bar there. My job is to teach what I know and use that as a bar for you to jump over and continue your rise to success. I hope you all achieve every goal that you set when you enrolled into the class. Good luck in your careers and remember that you are “The Champions in the Collision Repair Industry.”

Steel 101

2010-04-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

Steel 101
Butler CC - 04/16/2010
By: Jason Gulick

In the autobody industry there are many types of steel. They range from the most formable grades with a low yield strength of 140 N/mm to ultra high strength steel with a strength of 2500 N/mm.

Some grades have special processing for a specific use, such as super-clean steels used in fuel injection systems, forging grades such as a camshaft and connecting rods. A key requirement for sheet steel intended for use in automotive pressings is that it is formable, so that it can be stretched without undue thinning in a press to form complex shapes. Softer grades of steel, having low yield strength, tend to be highly formable but lack the strength needed for the main loadbearing members of a vehicle. Higher-strength steel parts may be more difficult to form, since they do not stretch so easy, but it is better for the economy for weight reduction.

Ultra High Strength steel is used specially for safety critical areas on the vehicle such as the passenger compartment to ensure the safety of the passenger in a crash. It varies between 900 and 1200 N/mm. High Strength Steels, with a good balance of strength, formability, energy absorbtion, and durability, is used for a lot of the support in the body. HSS acts as support beams in the body and is normally between 600 to 800 N/mm. Steels that vary between 100 and 300 is normally the skin of your vehicle. The body is made with these steels.

Boron is the strongest steel currently being manufactured in the autobody industry, followed by Martensitic. Boron is not easily formed or forged. It is mainly in the passengers area of the vehicle. It not that common to find this steel yet due to its recent discovery, but it is now on the manufacturing line and in the new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. Martensitic varies in strength from 650 N/mm to 1200 N/mm, and is also very difficult to forge or mold.

Steel manufacturers can use a range of techniques to make higher-performance steels. These techniques include grain refinement, work hardening, precipitation hardening and heat treatment. Grain refinement is a method of strengthening materials by changing their average crystallite (grain) size. Work hardening, also known as strain hardening, is the strengthening of a metal by plastic deformation. This strengthening occurs because of dislocation movements within the crystal structure of the material.

Any material with a reasonably high melting point can be straightened in this fashion. Precipitation hardening, also known as age hardening, is a heat treatment technique used to increase the yield strength of malleable materials. Heat treatment is to treat metal by alternate heating and cooling in order to produce desired quality.

Going Green - Shops and Schools Transistioning To Waterborne Paint

2010-04-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

Going Green has been the topic at Butler Community College as we are in the process of switching to PPG's Waterborne Paint System.

This week's featured shop on I Saw It On Google also talks about waterborne paint as they are interviewed. Be sure to watch the video as they educate us about their experience of switching to waterborne.

Butler also hosted a waterborne paint class Friday 4/9/10 for other schools to learn more about waterborne paint and going green. At the training event we had Steve Johnson, PPG Representative, attend and help with questionsin the classroom. Steve also demonstrated how to use the waterborne paint in the lab. The instructors from the other schools were impressed with the fact that the waterborne paint does not need to have a mixing bank, the fast 2-4 minute flash time to sand, tape for tow-tone, or clear that the paint offers. The other schools are considering making the switch as well.

There are many impressive benefits the waterborne paint has to offer, but the biggest benefit is that we will be helping our environment by allowing less VOC's to escape into the environment. This will create a safer working environment for our students and everyone else as well.

This is just the start of our transition of switching to waterborne, but we plan to be ready for the start of Fall 2010 classes in August. I will keep you posted on every step of the way so check back to learn more about waterborne paint.

Have you already made the switch? We would love to hear your stories about water borne paint as well. Leave us a comment with you advise, concerns, or comments.

3M Dynamic Mixing System Review - Finishing Glaze

2010-04-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

Mixing and Waste
I recently used the finishing glaze that 3M has for their new Dynamic Mixing System and was well pleased. The product mixed instantly as it exited the tip. I purged the glaze, but all product fully hardened on the paper towel. I concluded that a technician could use this product with minimal waste. The product mixes instantly, which will require minimal purging and you can apply only the amount of glaze you need to the surface that you are working on. Therefore, I found the mixing capabilities to be excellent and wasted product to be minimal.

Spreading
The glaze was easy to spread and produced a pinhole free layer of glaze.

Drying
The 3M glaze tended to heat up faster and dry quicker than other glazes that I have used. Works great and will increase repair time. However, do not try to over work the glaze. Apply the glaze with a tight coat followed with looser pass while leveling the glaze. If you move too slow or try to over work the glaze, it will start to harden and cause problems

Sanding
After allowed the glaze to fully dry I knocked the highs lightly with 80 grit sandpaper. Then I guide coated the glaze and finished it out with 150 grit sandpaper. The glazed sanded easy and produce a defect free surface that was ready for primer.

Satisfaction
I am satisfied with the 3M finish Glaze and would recommend it to others. If you do not use the product daily or weekly, the cost of the application gun may not be worth your investment. Therefore, this is an excellent system for a body shop, but not for the DIY enthusiast that only uses fillers once or twice per year.

Is Your Body Repair or Automotive Shop Female Friendly?

2010-04-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

Is your body repair or automotive shop female friendly? Here are a few helpful tips from Jody DeVere, the CEO of http://AskPatty.com

BCC Students Spraying A Tri-Coat Paint Job

2010-03-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Butler students spraying a tri coat paint job.

Butler students deonstrate how to paint a three stage paint job. This is the base coat, mid coat and the clear coat. The mid-coat on this paint job is a tinted clear. This allows you to be able to see through the tinted clear and see the base caot color. This adds depth to the paint job. If you remember the candy colors, this is the same concept.

After the Mustang was repaired, snaded and prepped for painting, the following steps were taken.

1. Pulled in the paint booth and masked off.

2.Wiped down with wax and grease remover.

3.Tacked off with a tack rag.

4.Primer sealer sprayed on the entire car.

5.Sprayed black where needed for stripes.

6.Masked black off.

7.Sprayed one light coat on the over masked off black areas. This is the remaining black paint that was not masked off. This will help achieve hiding.

8.Spray 2 medium wet coats base coat - this is the color

9.Spray 2 medium wet coats mid-coat - this is the tinted clear

10.Unmasked stripes and areas that are black

11.Spray 1 tack coat of clear coat - this is a thin coat of clear to allow the full wet coat of clear to stick without running. This step is not required, but works well when custom painting. Eliminates clear from running on paint stripe edges.

12. Spray 2 full wet coats of clear coat.

Now ready to unmask and put back together. All of the part were painted separately off of the car. Bumper cover, rocker moldings, etc.

They did a great job on the car. Sorry for the poor video quality....that is my bad! I’ve learned to stay very still if I am going to speed the video up.

Paint code is E9 - The code will give you the base coat and mid-coat formulas

We used PPGs Sealer, Paints and with PPG 2021 Clear Coat

Butler Student Helps Educate The Collsion Industry At Vision

2010-03-06T05:21:00.000-08:00

Zan, a Butler Students, Role-Playing With Kristen Felder of Collision Hub Demonstrating How To Use Social Networking In The Collision Repair Industry

Three students, Zan, Patrick, and Brandyn, and the instructor of the collision repair program at Butler Community College attended the Collision Day training at Vision 2010 in Overland Park. The training was excellent and the students expressed that they were impressed and learned a lot while attending the training event.

Vision is an ASA training event held every year. This is only the second year that they have included the collision repair industry, but with the quality of training provided, I believe that it will grow as the automotive training has grown over the years.

If you did not attend the training this year, you missed out. We learned what it take to make money in this industry and how to promote your businesses.

Mike Anderson
Mike taught two classes. The first class was a three hour class on estimating. As I mentioned, we had students and instructors from several schools, shop owners, insurance adjusters, and vendors attend the class and I overheard all of them expressing the value and what they absorbed in the classes. Mike also taught another three hour class on marketing your business. Again, this was a very informational class, which was packed with value for everyone in the room. You can learn more about Mike at WagonWork.com

Kristen Felder
Kristen with Collision Hub taught a class on social networking. She presented us with alarming facts about the importance of getting your business exposure with social networking. Kristen also presented a few tools available of how to do it. If you are not currently using tools like Facebook and Twitter to promote your business, you may find your customers going to someone who does. Kristen mentioned that the Collision Hub searches Twitter and helps people inquiring about having their vehicle repaired and helps them by recommending repair shops that are a member of the Collision Hub. The Collision Hub is free to join and it may result in free leads for your business. You can join this network by visiting CollisionHub.com

Vision also had the insurance commissioners from both Kansas and Missouri speak and inform us how each state works and the steps to take if you feel an insurance company violated the rights of your customer or your repair shop.

Vision is held every March in Overland Park and I highly recommend it to the entire collision repair and related industries. It will definitely be worth your time and you will leave the training with more knowledge than you came to the training with. I had the opportunity to network with several different instructors in Kansas and Missouri and hope to see more of them next year.

Butler Community College Collision Repair Program Interviewed by Parts and People

2010-03-01T06:48:00.000-08:00

Matthew Sevart with Part and People contacted me recently and set up a time to have an interview in regards to the Collision Repair program offered at Butler. Matthew traveled to our facility and spoke with several students and the instructor about the program.

To read the full article visit Parts and People.

I would like to thank Matthew and Parts and People for taking the time to include us in their publication and for helping us educate other people about our program at Butler Community College.

Butler's Collision Repair program receives a Kudos from 3M and Collision Hub

2010-02-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

BCC students recently produced a video demonstrating how to use the 3M Mixing System Body Filler Gun. This was a student led assignment and video, which was uploaded to YouTube. All students are required to prepare a classroom presentation with visuals, such as a PowerPoint and a lab demonstration on varies tools and techniques. We video all demonstrations so that we can critique them in class together, but adding it to YouTube is optional. I encourage the students to add the videos to YouTube, but it is not a requirement. However, I comment the students that choose to go above and beyond by educating other people about what we do.

The 3M video was uploaded to YouTube and to our surprise Jason Scharton, 3M Global Marketing Manager and the Collision Hub gave us a kudos. 3M also asked for our mailing address so they could send us some new filler and glaze to try in our 3M Dynamic Mixing System. I would like to thank 3M for all they do for our program and for the entire collision repair industry.

Our Territory 3M Rep, Bob Rech, provides respirator fit test each year for the students and provides training to our students with their new 3M products. We use many 3M products. Everything from sandpaper to polishes.

I would like to thank 3M, Collision Hub, and the Butler students for their support and efforts and for helping produce the Champions of the Collision Repair Industry.

3M Dynamic Mixing Body Filler Gun Demonstration

2010-02-18T17:12:00.000-08:00

BCC Collision Repair students demonstrate how to use the 3M Dynamic Mixing System. One small critique that I have as an instructor is the zig zag motion when applying the filler. I understand that it works better to apply the additional filler in a single straight pass. However, I commend the students for researching the 3m Mixing System, giving a classroom PowerPoint presentation and producing the video shown below.

ASA Wichita Collision Repair Chapter – The Game Plan

2010-02-17T10:36:00.000-08:00

Wichita ASA Collision Repair Chapter
Two Butler Community College Collision Repair students, Brandyn Hart and Patrick Sampoll, and I attended the Automotive Service Association (ASA) MOKAN (Missouri and Kansas) Collision Repair chapter meeting in Wichita, Kansas Tuesday night 2/16/10. ASA is devoted to the automotive and collision repair industries, helping train and support the industries. All business leaders in the collision repair industry are welcome and encouraged to join ASA and attend the monthly meeting.

Earning Rebate Money To Use OEM Parts
Brad Shelton, Chapter President, opened the meeting explaining how the GM rebate program is providing him an attractive rebate check for using OEM parts. With minimal paperwork there are two ways to get rebates for using these programs. I don't know about you, but you can pay me extra to use OEM parts all day long. They also discussed that many of the OEM suppliers will match the aftermarket price on many parts. One member said, "an insurance company just generated and estimate on a 2008 vehicle using all aftermarket parts. Fortunately, he was able to convert two-thirds of the parts to OEM due to this price matching method." Would using OEM parts instead of aftermarket parts and getting rewarded with rebates interest you? Well, Brad is not going to hold back, he is going to tell us exactly how to get paid using OEM parts at our next meeting on March 16, 2010. Be sure to attend this meeting to learn how.

Who Knows It All?
This is the point that Dennis made at the meeting. He stressed the importance of attending these meetings to learn from each other. By having the different speakers come in and by collaborating with each other is how we can all excel in our businesses. I fully agree with Dennis Allison. I certainly know that I do not know it all and if someone thinks they do; I believe that they are mistaking. Those are the people that are going to keep doing what they've been doing and getting what they've been getting. Maybe they have good results, but there is always room for improvement and being an ASA member is where it all starts. Working together to reach a common goal is what will produce the optimal results.

HHHHHH Compliance
All body shops should have filed their initial notification with the EPA or their state identifying the shops compliance status. However, many shops have not filed or may not be certain what all of this means for their business. To help clear up many of the questions and help shop owners understand what all they must do, we're looking to have a speaker for our April meeting to address all of the questions. There are a lot of issues heading towards body shop owners and if you do not stay in front of it all, you will be trailing behind trying to catch up and possibly be fined penalties.

Get Involved
We encourage all business leaders in the collision repair industry to get involved in our Wichita ASA Collision Repair Chapter. This is a way for your opinions to be heard, ideas to be shared, new trends in the industry, and much more. It also helps me and our Butler students to understand what all is happening in the industry, the opportunity to network with business owners and what to expect in the industry. This is a win/win for everyone.

For More Information About How You Can Get Involved With ASA Wichita Collision Repair Chapter You May Contact:

Chapter President
Brad Shelton, Shelton Collision Repair
(316) 788-1528 / brad@sheltoncollision.com

Bob Smith, Collision Division Coordinator
(816) 519-9335 / bob.smith@asamokan.org

Sheri Hamilton, ASA MoKan Executive Director
(816) 781-5801 / sheri@asamokan.org

Auto Market Weekly: Feb. 12, 2010 - North Olmsted, OH, United States, 44070 - AutoPro Workshop Video - Where Professionals Gather for Better Business

2010-02-12T14:07:00.000-08:00

Auto Market Weekly: Feb. 12, 2010 - North Olmsted, OH, United States, 44070 - AutoPro Workshop Video - Where Professionals Gather for Better Business

Switching To Water Borne Paint - The Transition To Green

2010-02-08T18:19:00.000-08:00

College classes were canceled today at Butler Community College due to a snow storm. However, training continues for the collision repair program. Well, for the instructor, not the students.

Our advisory board members recommended that we teach our students how to spray water borne at our last meeting. Therefore, today I traveled to Kansas City, Missouri to learn more about water borne paint at the PPG training center. After learning more about the benefits that water borne paint offers, I agree with your advisory board; water borne will benefit the students and the environment to make the switch. Therefore, I spoke with Steven Johnson, the PPG territory manager, and discussed the necessary steps it will take to switch to water borne. It may take a little time, but Butler is on board of making the switch, which will help Butler be a more environmentally friendly college.

Butler is offering a class for other instructors in the state of Kansas to discuss the water borne transition in April. We'll give you more details about the class and about water borne paint so check back.

Since we're talking about going green, did you see the green police commercial during Super Bowl 2010? If not, here it is below.

Adding Not Included Operations To Your Auto Estimates

2010-02-01T07:11:00.001-08:00

First Year Students
The first year students are currently learning how to write auto repair estimates. One of the things we are focusing on is not-included items. The reason this is important is because many estimators in the industry are missing a lot of the not-included items. After researching and asking the industry for feedback from different websites like collision hub, I decided to focus more on the not-included items this year.

Second Year Students
The second year students are performing a lot of live work this semester. They need to understand the basics thoroughly this semester; after this semester they will be out in the industry. We are currently working on a Dodge Charger, which needs two door skins and and some bodywork. This is a great job, as they will do a lot of door skin in the industry. However, as we mentioned in class, many shops do not like to skin doors. This is because skinning a door skin does not seem to pay well. This actually aligns with what were doing in our first year class, which is looking for ways to get paid for everything we do.

For example, the estimating guide gives 6.0 hours to skin the door on the Charger. The CCC Pathways database state the included operations are:

INCLUDED:
• Adhesive application if required (all types)
• Applique
• Belt molding
• Caulk / seam sealer
• Cutting & welding as necessary
• Door R&I
• Flutter material application if required
• Grind, fill and smooth welded seams (up to 150 grit sandpaper)
• Inside handles & bezels
• Lock and cylinder assembly (if necessary)
• Outside door handle
• Trim panel R&I
• Water shield
• Weatherstrips (if attached to door)

That is quite a bit to do for 6.0 hours of time. However, there are a lot of additional operations that you must do as well. If you just point and click to skin the door, you will be leaving much of the necessary operation off of the estimate. Let's take a look at the non-included operations listed in the CCC Pathways database.

NOT INCLUDED:
• Back glass wiper or washer
• Body side moldings
• Clean up broken glass
• Emblems & nameplates
• Glass
• Hinge
• Lock cylinder recoding
• Mirror
• Moldings
• Passive restraint system
• Power lock option
• Power window option
• Reinforcement bar
• Straightening of door frame
• Stripe tape, decals or overlays

You also need to remember when you're generating auto repair estimates that the time given in the estimating guides are for new undamaged parts. If you are dealing with rusted or corroded bolts, or straightening damages parts to get to the blots, you will need to add additional time. An estimator needs to check the not included operations list for every part they replace. This will help pay the technician for everything they must do to repair the vehicles back to its pre-accidental condition.

Good Advice From Nickleback

2010-01-29T13:04:00.000-08:00

This post has nothing to do with collision repair, but it sounds like some good advice to follow.

This is the first year since I have been teaching at Butler that I am seeing some friction between students. When I taught in Texas, dealing with friction in the classroom, gang issues, fights, and disipline was a daily thing. I am thankful that we have a friendly enviornment at Butler. However, I believe that even the smallest traces of friction should be eliminated from the friendly Butler learning environment. This is how we will excel with our learning and become the Champions in the collsion industry.

Here are a few word to the lyrics to the song "If Everyone Cared".

"If everyone cared and nobody cried, If everyone loved and nobody lied, If everyone shared and swallowed their pride." I know we do not live in a perfect world, but I think everyone including myself could work on improving in these areas, we'd all be better off.

Starting Out Second Semester in Auto Tech

2010-01-25T09:51:00.001-08:00

Starting Out Second Semester
by Michaelene Lucas
1/21/10

Forget review....dive right in! In engine performance and suspension & steering we went over chapters 53 (EP) & 83 (ST).

There are several projects going down in the lab. Auto tech instructor Mike had me replacing an alternator and we had to repair an air filter box that was broke as well. The clasps holding it on had broken off so we drilled holes in it to attach the spring clasp to hold it together.

Next, week we'll delve deeper into tires and computers and their aspects. Good, bad and filthy fun!

Advisory Meeting - A Few Notes To Share With Students

2010-01-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

Auto & Collision Repair Advisory Committee

NATEF Review
The Automotive and Collision Repair held their advisory meeting last night 1/22/10. At this meeting the program had to conduct a NATEF review for the program. This is a review that may be requested by NATEF at a 2 1/2 year's during the accreditation period. Every five years the automotive and collision repair programs are required to have a full on-site evaluation to keep the NATEF accreditation.

Water Borne
We also discussed water borne paint. A few of the members expressed their opinion about water borne and gave it a very good rating. They said that they would hate to go back to solvent now that they have been using water borne. They mentioned how the paint lays down better, the metallic lays even, blends are easier to perform, and the color matches seems to be better. From this discussion, I believe the the transition from solvent based paint to water borne paint is going to be a smooth.

Industry Trends
We discussed how shops were performing certain tasks to determine if they way they are doing it aligns with the way we are teaching the students in the collision repair program. Most of it aligned, but there were a few suggestions that we may try at the school. The way we prepare a panel for blend was a little different, as we used a finer grit sand paper. They also described a new way of masking jambs that is working better for them. I excited to try this method on our next job. This is what helps programs like ours excel. It will also better prepare the students with the current trends in the industry. We really appreciate the help of our advisory board, as they are a vital part of a successful program.

Student Motivation
The subject of student motivation, or the lack of it was addressed. Shops are having more problems with unmotivated employees that show up late to work. This is a big problem. Employees must get to work on time and stay off their cell phones texting. Leave the phones in the car before you enter the work place. This was a few of the comments addressing work ethics. We put a lot of effort in the automotive and collision repair programs to instill the importance of good work ethics to the students. However, some students get it and some do not. Therefore, I challenge every student to be at school on time every single day at Butler. Do not settle for meritocracy. Be the champion of the industry that you are going into. And remember to keep your cell phones put away. Good work ethics is what will put you at the top at your work place. As we might say at Butler...If You're Going To Be A Bear, Be A Grizzly Bear! In other words, if you're going to do something, do your absolute best.

Meguiar's Demonstrate How To Remove Swirl Marks at SEMA 2009

2010-01-19T18:50:00.000-08:00

I took a short video clip at SEMA 2009 of how to remove swirl marks. Swirls appear in paint surfaces from improper washing and/or drying. On dark colors it is almost impossible to eliminate swirls after time, but thanks to products from companies like Meguiar's and 3M, you can produce a swirl free auto paint finish.

I-CAR Offers Scholarships For Students in Collision Repair

2010-01-16T06:11:00.000-08:00

I-CAR has several scholarships for students to apply for. If you are a student in our collision repair program or you are going to be enrolling, take a few minutes to explore the scholarships offered. The scholarship requires that the collision repair school be NATEF certified or a member of the I-CAR Industry Training Alliance. Butler Community College fully qualifies, as we are both NATEF certified and a member of the I-CAR Industry Training Alliance. We also use CCC estimating system, which is the qualification for one of the scholarships.

To determine is you qualify for one of the scholarships please visit http://www.ed-foundation.org/ foundation.org and click on the 2010 scholarship PDF file.

"The applicant criteria for each scholarship are included within the application. All entries must be received by the I-CAR Education Foundation by February 24, 2010 to be eligible. Winners will be chosen in April 2010 and notified by mail and phone. For more information, please contact the I-CAR Education Foundation at 888.722.3787, Ext. 282 or melissa.marscin@ed-foundation.org"

Finding The Cheapest Repair Shop and Negotiate Every Dime.

2010-01-15T13:04:00.000-08:00

I have been researching auto repair estimates as I prepare for our class about to start. I've noticed a lot of articles pop up advising people how to negotiate with repair shops. I am not sure who these people are, but their advice it not very good in my opinion. I've read articles informing readers not to trust the repair shops and do not tell them anything. Anything you tell them is going to trap the customer into buying more un-needed repairs. I've also read that the customer needs to question the shop about every repair item to determine if the repair really needs to made or if it can wait. The articles go on to say to wait on every repair until absolutely needed. It goes on and on about how shady repair shops are and how you can not trust them.

Here is my input. If this was your life....let's say a heart bypass, how would you handle this? Would you not tell the doctor anything in fear that you may be charged more? Or would you tell him or her everything in hopes that they find the problem and properly diagnose you so you can recover from the operation safely and healthy? I'm thinking that you want to recover from the operation. We need to think of our vehicle the same way. We need to communicate with the repair shop so they have all of the necessary information to properly repair your vehicle. You may be thinking "why is he comparing my life to a car? We all know the life of a human is more important than a car." That is my point, according to the US Federal Government National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as stated on caraccidents.com in 2005 there were nearly 6,440,000 auto accidents with a financial cost of more than 230 billion dollars. More importantly, 2.9 million people were injured and 42,636 people were killed. That averages 115 people who die per day, which is one every 13 minutes. My point; I don't think that many people die going to the doctor everyday. Not only does an unsafe vehicle put the driver at risk, you're also putting other people at risk too. No one else is going to die because you picked the cheapest surgeon or did not give them enough information to make a proper diagnosis.

Therefore, I suggest selecting shops that have a good reputation and allow them to do what they do best, which is repair your car. This is my perspective of of vehicle repairs and I encourage you not to listen to these folks out there trying to give advice about shady repair shops. You need to see us for the professionals that we are.....literally, your life is in our hands.

Good-Bye 2009 and Hello 2010 - A New Semester At Butler

2010-01-06T06:54:00.000-08:00

It was great to have a break, but the holidays are over and it is time to focus on the new semester here at the Collision Repair Program at Butler. The first year students are going to start with one of my favorite subjects, which is auto estimating. The second year student are going to continue their paint gun and spraying techniques. It is going to be a very busy semester for the 2nd year students. We already have enough live worked lined up for the entire semester. We will continue writing estimate so they can gain the experience of estimate writing, but I do not see how we could possibly fit another job in at this point. We have some really good jobs lined up. Dodge Challenger with door skins to be replace, Dodge Pick-Up with front end damage, S-10 with front end damage, Mustang, Ford Pick-up.....it's going to be busy. I see this every year. We get busy and before we know it, my class will be walking across the graduation stage.

With that said, enjoy the rest of the break, as when you all return, we're going to hit the floor running. See you all on January 19, 2010.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2009-12-23T06:55:00.001-08:00

WISHING ALL OF OUR FOLLOWERS A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! I HOPE 2010 BRINGS MUCH SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS TO YOU.

Actress Brittany Murphy dies at 32 - It’s Been A Tough Year For The Celebrities

2009-12-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

It’s sad to see many of the celebrities that we grew up with have passed away.

I remember as a young kid watching Charlie’s Angels, which stared Farah Fawcett. Although Michael Jackson turned out very strange, he was actually cool when I was in middle school. He was the birth of the moon walk, which resulted in everyone spending hours trying to learn it. I remember Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing, Ghost and many other movies. I’m sure we all remember the voice of Ed McMahon, “here’s Johnny” on the Tonight Show.

There are around 37 celebrities listed that passed away this year. We just watched a movie with Brittany Murphy and Ashton Kutcher last night and learned today that she died.

These were some of my favorites and they will be missed by many people. hopefully 2010 is a better year for Hollywood.

Farah Fawcett

Michael Jackson

Patrich Swayze

Brittany Murphy

Ben Bernanke - TIME 2009 Person of the Year

2009-12-16T07:07:00.000-08:00

Time has named Ben Bernanke as the Time 2009 Person Of The Year. We have had a rough year with the economy, but they claim that he kept us from going into a depression. Below is a video; let me know what you think!

UFC 107 Fight Results - BJ Penn vs Diego Sanchez

2009-12-13T05:13:00.000-08:00

Several of my students and myself are UFC fans. Therefore, I thought I would post the UFC 107 results. Penn defeated Sanchez via TKO (cut) at 2:37 of round 5 to retain the UFC Lightweight Championship. Read More

Who were you wanting to win?

iPhone vs Google Phone - Too Many Choices To Make

2009-12-12T05:51:00.000-08:00

I am considering purchasing a new cell phone so I went to Walmart and looked at their iPhones. However, I decided to come home and search online to see what all was available. That may have been a mistake, as I am indefinite of what choice to make now. I discovered that Google is coming out with a phone called Google Phone, which is supposed to be better than the iPhone. There are way too many decisions to make in the technology world today. Therefore, I would like feedback on which cell phone you prefer. Is the Google Phone worth waiting on? I will be stuck with the phone for awhile, so I might as well think about it before deciding what phone to go with.

Now that I have that out of the way, I can get to the serious stuff. lol We completed our finals and have all of the projects out on time. (kudos to the students) The semester went by fast as usual and we're now on a needed break. Classes will resume Tuesday, January 19, 2010.

I want to thank all of the Collision Repair students at Butler Community College for all of their hard work and effort to make Butler a success. I am confident that we currently have some the most talented students anywhere, and they will provide the proof that we do produce Champions in the Collision Repair Industry.

Enjoy your break and I will see you all back in class next year.

Donnie

ASA Wichita Collision Repair Chapter – It's Time To Get Involved

2009-12-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

November proved to be another successful meeting at the ASA Wichita Collision Repair Chapter. We had the privilege of having David McCreight, a consultant with Collision Resources Inc., as our guest speaker. David traveled to Wichita and led a very informal lesson about the lean process and what it means to the collision repair industry. He opened our minds to a few new ideas and provided a few suggestions for us to consider.

If you’re interested in improving your business skills and providing stellar service to your customers, then I highly suggest that you get involved with this ASA chapter in Wichita. I have learned something at every meeting and feel the information is crucial for industry leaders to know.

The meetings have been rewarding to attend, as we have had some great speakers. Several of my students have decided to join me at the past several meetings. They find it very useful to learn more about current trends and it also gives them the opportunity to ask questions to the industry leaders. And I am certain that the networking is a win/win for everyone.

The only thing that I can think of to improve the chapter is add more members. You’re missing out if you are not attending. If you want your voice heard in the industry, this is the place to do it. Again, I encourage all industry leaders to get involved and join us at our next meeting.

We decided to cancel the December meeting due to the holidays. However, we plan to get the year off to a good start in January. I am not sure of the date yet, but you can check with Chapter President, Brad Shelton. His information is at the bottom of this post.

I would also like to offer my condolences to ASA MoKan Executive Director, Sheri Hamilton for the loss of her father. This is a difficult time and our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family.

For More Information About How You Can Get Involved With ASA Wichita Collision Repair Chapter You May Contact:

Chapter President
Brad Shelton, Shelton Collision Repair
(316) 788-1528 / brad@sheltoncollision.com

Bob Smith, Collision Division Coordinator
(816) 519-9335 / bob.smith@asamokan.org

Sheri Hamilton, ASA MoKan Executive Director
(816) 781-5801 / sheri@asamokan.org

Wishing All Of The Followers Of BCRN A Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T12:17:00.000-08:00

I appreciate all of you that take the time to read this blog. I would like to extend my appreciation by wishing each one of you a Happy Thanksgiving.

As I posted on Facebook earlier, I am thankful for my failures. What I mean by that is that I am thankful that I have the health and ability to try new things. Whether I succeed or fail, at least I have the chance and opportunity to try.

What Are You Thankful For...?

I will end this post with a quote that one of my Facebook friends shared with me.

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." ~Henry Ford

Have A Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Holiday.

Donnie

Connecting With Champions in the Collision Repair Industry

2009-11-24T04:50:00.001-08:00

Skills USA National Winners. From Left is Jennifer, Kayla, Rachel

I had the pleasure of meeting some of the National SkillsUSA winners while at NACE. Collision repair has been a male dominated industry, but more women are showing an interest and becoming recognized as champions in the collision industry.

I asked Gold Medal winner, Kayla E. Toncik to tell me a little about herself while at NACE 2009. Kayla was born and raised in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. She recently graduated from Nazareth Area High School and The Career Institute of Technology. While at CIT, Kayla studied Automotive Refinish Technology for the three years that she was there. Kayla participated in SkillsUSA placing second in all of the competitions she competed in. That is until her senior year. She had one last shot at trying to place first. This time she made it through local competition, which allowed her to move on to district competition, where she took first as well. Kayla was named the first female in the state of Pennsylvania to take first in the Automotive Refinish Technology competition in SkillsUSA history. This allowed Kayla to move on to National where she competed with students from all 50 states in America and 3 US territories. There Kayla took first place in the nation and the first female in the history of SkillsUSA to take first in non-traditional auto refinish competition.

Kayla plans to compete in SkillsWorld, 2011 in London, England, where she will be representing the USA. That is awesome and I wish Kayla the best of luck at this competition.

I asked Kayla what her future career goals were. She replied that having a family is important to her and she wants to become a Collision/Refinish teacher so she can help others succeed in life.

After meeting Kayla, I believe that her sincerity and desire to help others will allow her to reach any goal that she set for herself.

Charley Hutton and a PPG Trainer Demonstrate How to Woodgrain Using Waterborne Paint

2009-11-21T04:54:00.001-08:00

It is funny how some things happen in life. For instance, do you remember the commercial where these people were at the movie theater and someone drops their chocolate bar in someone else's peanut butter? The point the commercial was implying is that Reese's was discovered by an accident. If you don't remember, I included a video of the commercial below.

The reason I bring this up is because Charley Hutton from the television shows American Hotrod and Overhaulin', said he discovered this wood graining technique by accident. They sprayed some paint on an area, but did not like the way it looked. Therefore, he started to wipe it off to start over. However, after wiping the paint he noticed how the waterborne paint smeared and streaked when wiping it. This created the wood graining technique they are demonstrating in the video.

As I mentioned before, always be open minded and look from way to learn from your mistakes. Mistakes have created many of the things we use today.

Wood Graining With Charley and Paul

The Reese's Commercial

Here is a LINK to a blog listing the top 10 accidental inventions in the world. What have you discovered by accident? Leave us a comment with your story.

Positioning Yourself in the Collision Repair Industry.

2009-11-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

Mike Anderson presented a great presentation at NACE 2009 about how jobbers can better position themselves in the collision repair industry.

As a jobber, the success of their customers is a curtail part of the jobbers success. If the shop is not doing well or goes out of business, this means the jobber is doing less business or will not be as successful either.

Mike explained that a jobber of the future is going to do a better job of serving their customers. With a shrinking industry and increased complexity of the vehicles being produced, this will be a challenge for the jobber and shop owners. The jobbers will position their customers to recruit and retain quality employees. They will position their customers to be coached to success. The jobber will become auditors for quality of repairs, estimates, waste, lean process, customer service, and much more to assure the shop is running effective and proficient. Shops that do not take hold and embrace the changes coming may be looking at closing their doors. Therefore, it is in the jobbers best interested to help the business owner avoid any problems the future may hold.

Mike also conveyed that shops are going to have to be more careful with material usage and find ways to charge for all of the materials used. Shops are going to have to dig a little deeper and assure that they are charging for all of the line items that are not included in the repair operation.

The jobber will need to become more resourceful and able to point their customers in the correct direction. They must know what websites are out there to help the shop owners. The jobbers will need to help with accounting issues, website designers, it experts, and marketing strategies.

In a nutshell, jobbers are going to need to position their customers to be coached to success and the shop owners are going to have to be open-minded and be coachable. This will be required to survive the futures competitive and complex times.

Mike gave an excellent presentation and this just touches on a few of the topics that he discussed. For more information you can contact Mike Anderson ckneip@wagonwork.com or you can visit his website at www.wagonwork.com

Donnie Smith

Learn By Teaching - How To Use A Stud Nail Gun

2009-11-12T03:44:00.000-08:00

Butler students lead a student led lesson on how to use a stud nail gun. This lesson was developed by the students. It required research using our computer lab, I-CAR CD's and hands-on practice. The lesson requires each team to prepare a lecture presentation using visuals in the classroom and a short demonstration as shown in the video below. The students are still learning these skills, but are on their way to becoming top notch technicians in the collision industry.

I-CAR Provides Free Training At NACE 2009

2009-11-10T18:43:00.001-08:00

I-CAR was at NACE providing free classes conveying the importance of finding the recommended procedures to repair modern day cars. In years past a technician had a lot more flexibility of sectioning parts. However, with all the new metals being used, sectioning in the wrong location may result in an unsafe vehicle.

They had a new Camaro on display showing the different metals. The I-CAR instructor also explained a few locations that sectioning was allowed and other locations that were not. Modern day cars are made from: mild steel, high strength steel, ultra high strength steel, boron, aluminum, etc. More composites like sheet molded compound and carbon fiber are being used as well. Therefore, it’s easy to see that we can’t continue doing the repairs the way that we always have in the past. It’s crucial to get the training to learn the new techniques required to repair vehicles that will be safe if involved in another accident at a later time.

With the complexity of cars being produced, it would be a good investment to make sure your technicians are properly trained and up-to-date with the changes. Like I heard from Tony Molla, “The only thing worse than investing in your employees training and them leaving to work for someone else, is not training them and the employee staying.” Think about it!

Check I-CAR.com or look into other training to assure that you are employing a qualified collision repair technician. You will have happier employees, produce high quality work at your shop, and customers driving properly repaired cars for their safety, which will result in a satisfied customer for many years to come.

Skills USA Champion Rachel Fonseca

2009-11-09T11:04:00.001-08:00

I had the opportunity to meet Rachel Fonseca while at NACE. After meeting Rachel, it was easy to see how she was a Gold Medal Champion at Skills USA state and Silver Medal Winner at Skills USA Nationals. Rachel’s perseverance to make things happen and favorable personality has opened many doors for her in the collision repair industry.

Rachel has loved cars for as long as she can remember and working on them is her life. She graduated from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational High School, in New Bedford, MA, where she majored in Collision Repair.

While at Voc, Rachel participated in SkillsUSA, and then became the first female in the 34 year MA state history to win Gold in Collision Repair. She was also the only student ever to win double Gold in Collision Repair & Automotive Refinishing. She then moved on to place second in Collision Repair at the SkillsUSA 2008 Nationals.

Currently, Rachel is employed as an Adult Education Instructor (teaching Collision Repair and Small Engine Repair) at Voc and also an assistant manager at an ice rink. Most of her free time is spent volunteering with Voc's Collision program on the Curriculum Advisory Board and training current students for the SkillsUSA competition. Rachel is also attending the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth to obtain a business degree.

It was a pleasure to meet Rachel and I wish her well on her bright future and endeavors. I would also like to thank Rachel for showing the other women out there that may be interested in technical education that it is possible to be successful in a male dominated industry.

Interview With Rich Evans at SEMA 2009

2009-11-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

I just returned from NACE and SEMA in Las Vegas, NV. I had a lot of fun and met many people that I will be blogging about over the next several weeks.

The first post is an interview that I had with Rich Evans. Rich is a custom car builder in California at Huntington Beach Body Works. I asked Rich to share a little advice for students that are in a collision repair career pathway or for students that may be considering collision repair or related careers. You can watch the interview below to hear what he had to say.

Rich is not only a very known and successful custom car builder, he is also the face for our friends at Chicago Pneumatic Tools. CP Tools is a huge advocate for education, as they support the School Of The Year award every year, which awards 1000's of dollars in tools to technical schools.

I would like to give a special thanks to educational supporters like Rich Evans, CP Tools, Tomorrows Technicians, and CollisionHub.com for their support to technical education.

Check back later to see who else I ran into while I was there.

Happy Halloween from The Butler Blues Sisters

2009-10-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

The Butler Blues Sisters (Butler President and Vice President) Wishing Butler a Happy Halloween!

It's Great To Be A Part Of Butler!

It's That Time of Year - SEMA & NACE

2009-10-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

It’s that time of year again. You car enthusiast know what time that is…that’s right, time for SEMA and NACE in Las Vegas. Only a few more days and I’m getting excited.
I attend NACE to get the training that I need as required by NATEF. All schools that are NATEF Accredited must have ASE certified instructors. They are also required to maintain a minimum of 20 hours of training each year to stay up-to-date with what is going on in the industry.

It’s not all about training! This also gives us the opportunity to network with leaders in the industry, which also keeps us on track with our curriculum. The expiations of the industry are important to me and I try to incorporate that into our program. This year, Rachel Fonseca and I will be videoing a few interviews with leaders in the industry, hot cars, and hopefully a few celebrities. The Collision Hub will edit the videos and add them to CollisionHub.com on a daily basis. So to get the latest news and updates from SEMA and NACE, be sure to visit the http://www.collisionhub.com/.

If you’re going to be there, please let me know. I would like to have the chance to meet with you.

Talk to you soon,
Donnie Smith

BCC Students Demonstrate How To Replace Gas and Wire on MIG

2009-10-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Each student is required to Disassemble and Re-Assemble GMA (MIG) Welder's, And Oxyacetylene equipment. The students are also exposed on how to troubleshoot and fix potential problems which may occur with everyday use.

Here Me, and Douglas "Chicago" Change the gas and wire on a GMA (MIG) Welder.

~Samuel

Students Demonstrate How To Paint and Blend

2009-10-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

Below are a few videos of students demonstrating how to paint.

Brandyn demonstrated how to repair and paint a bumper cover. He will blend within a panel to provide a good color match for the vehicle.

ide a good color match for the vehicle.

===================

BCC Students are repairing, painting and blending on a s-10 pick-up. Black is normally an easy color to match, but were practicing blending methods. On this job we performed a traditional blend on the adjacent panel and a traditional blend within a panel on the right front fender.

Check Back To Stay Updated With What Is Going On At BCRN

First Year Students Welding Progress

2009-10-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

As we come into the last two weeks of our welding class most of the students have already passed several of the tests. We have already learned how to set up and operate GMA MIG and Oxyacetylene equipment. The following are the welds we will be tested in; plug welds, lap joint, and butt joint welds all done in the flat, vertical, and overhead positions. In the last two weeks students are expected to pass all tests and will have a good knowledge of welding and the welding equipment.

~Samuel

Challenges Produce Champions

2009-10-01T05:44:00.000-07:00

The Challenge

The challenge is not just to enroll into the exciting collision repair technology programs, which offer a rewarding, lucrative and challenging career, but to enroll with the intentions of learning and applying what you learn to become a top performer in the automotive industry. I read a quote by Laurence J. Peter that makes a lot of sense to me. “Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to the garage makes you a car.” The same stands true for education. Simply knowing how to do something is useless if you’re not willing to use what you know to do it. Another example is like looking at a road map. You can look, read and study a map all day or even all year on how to travel from here to Texas. You may discover all the alternate routes you could travel, but unless you get into your car and drive there, you are still here in Kansas. Just knowing the information will not get you there, just like reading the Atkins Diet book will not make you loose weight. You must apply what you learn to reap the benefits.

The challenge is to enroll in this class, have an interest in automotive or collision repair technology, have good attendance, have a good attitude, be a team player, and be willing to learn and apply what you learn in order to become the champion of your trade. You may be saying “Yeah right!” Well, if that’s your attitude that is what will always separate you from the doers, leaders and champions. The world is full of half doers and slackers. When they see a challenge they turn the other way and run. They show up to class just to receive the minimum grade to slide through or go to work just to receive a paycheck. However, top performers have a different mindset. They understand all the efforts they apply will reward them for the rest of their life. They are willing to stay focused on a goal until they have reached it. They fight hard for what they believe in, but pick their battles wisely. They see limitations and obstacles as challenges to overcome, not excuses to fail. They get back up when knocked down, instead of claiming that the challenge at hand can’t be done. They base their future goals on what can be done, instead of focusing on their past failures. And they’re always willing to help others up instead of laughing at them while they’re down. These are the individuals who will be at the top of their careers, with the successful jobs, earning a lot of money, and having enough income to do all the things they desire.

According to I-Car the national average income for a collision technician earns over $51,000 and the top 10 % of technicians make over $88,000 a year. Many technicians even decide to start and operate their own successful business leaving the earning potential unlimited. Are you going to be successful or are you someone that will scrape by to make ends meet? The choice is yours. The things and values you consider success are up to you. Your teachers, parents, or friends can’t make these choices for you. It’s all up to you. If you’re a slacker you can change. If you were not an honor student in school, you can improve and still become successful. If you have limitations you can overcome them. However, no one can help you if you are not willing to let them. If you’re not willing to learn, to work hard, to complete assigned tasks, to help others, be present and on time, or to stay up with the fast paced changes and challenges of technology, than this class is not a good fit for you. This class will be a waste of your time and a waste of our time. You may need to consider another career that does not require the physical application and challenges this industry requires. However, if you are willing to enroll in this career with the mindset of a champion, then we dare you to take the ultimate challenge that collision repair technology has to offer you.

~Donnie Smith

Dare to take the challenge!
"Challenges Produce Champions"

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