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Caught a tech at a local shop using a grinder on a quarter panel with no heat control
I was picking up a part from a shop in Bakersfield and saw a guy going at a new Honda fender with a 4-inch grinder, no backing, just freehand. He was holding it in one spot way too long. I asked him about heat warping and he shrugged, said 'it's just metal.' That panel is going to be a nightmare to finish. Has anyone else had to fix damage from a tech who didn't respect the heat? What's your go-to method to keep things cool on thin sheet metal?
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jesse2901mo ago
Look, sometimes you just need to get the work done. That fender isn't going to fix itself, and a grinder is the fastest way to knock down that filler. I've seen guys spray a little water on it between passes and it turns out fine. People worry too much about perfect metal. Most of it gets covered in bondo and paint anyway. If it warps a little, you can just hammer and dolly it back.
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shah.ben2d ago
Lmao jesse you are way too chill about this. Water between passes does help but if you cook the metal you're just creating more work for yourself. That heat distortion sinks into the grain and hammer and dolly only gets you so far when the metal is stretched out from one spot. I've had to fix panels where some guy did exactly that and the bondo cracked three months later because the metal underneath was trash. It's just faster to go slow with the right tools than to fix a warped mess afterwards.
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