Whenever you buy new products take a black marker and write the date on them... This is very helpful in keeping up with how old products are... I do it on everything... reducer, hardener, base, primer etc..... This is more helpful for the hobbyist than a body shop that runs through gallons a week of product....

BK

Very good Burger King ("BK" get it? ) I have never done that and it makes a lot of sense.

I do however date every tool I buy when I engrave my name and CLN in it.

Brian

So that's what that date was I saw written on your wife...
You're right, you do it on everything

PS I'm on vacation next week so BK is responsible for
the next tip. Please, all of you, watch him for me so he
doesn't go and do something stupid (again)

And, I write the mix ratio as after a couple of paint runs down the can,it's usually gone or in some cases isn't even on the can.
You seen my Tech Sheet?
Oh, I spilled a Coke that was sitting on it.

Brian, we need to talk.. about your social life......


Jeff

Very good stuff here. I have a number of sharpies in my box. When you are taking apart and putting together different cars every day you need something to "store info" on instead of trying to store it in your head. I write on a piece of tape and then stick it to a part. When you go to put together a car a few days later and you have sense pulled apart two others, it REALLY helps to have these little notes. I will also write right on parts like the old deck lid, I'll right arrows showing where wireing may go thru a hole. I have a whole "code" system where I right a "W", "WI", "C", "P" and so on where wire looms, or cables, or plugs are attached with a clip.

All small parts and nuts and bolts and clips are in bags together for each particular assembly like a door, front bumper, rear bumper and so on.

Brian

I do similar to brian with parts. After working at too many places that would have someone else dissassemble a car and throw all the bolts together in a box and being asked to reassemble something I didn't take apart, on stuff I do on my own, I try to be more organized. A little extra time spent when taking a car apart can help a ton when it comes time to reassemble weeks or months down the road. I carry a roll of masking tape with me when dissassembling parts and tape the bolts in the holes the go in or if it has a nut on the bolt also, put the bolt and nut together on the part. Sometimes I won't go that far if the bolts are all the same or can easily remember where they go. Then I will tape the bolts all together and then tape them to the part and label what they are for with a marker in case It somehow it doesn't stay taped to the part after its moved around the garage. I haven't labeled my supplies with dates yet, but that is a good idea.

I ended up marrying my dishwasher....

Brian

Ended up marrying your dishwasher? I guess she really cleaned up your tool-s.

Brian you stole my next tip of the day... When I tear something down i take ziplock sandwhich bags that you can get for like 50 cents for a hundred of off brands, put a piece of masking tape on the front and write what part it is or what screw/bolt/nut etc that is belongs to... I do the same with the parts, right side, left etc... Great tip

Double Whopper

“Basics of Basics” disassembly and reassemble tips.

It is common in the body shop to have three or four or more cars disassembled at once. Sometimes they could be disassembled for weeks waiting on parts, insurance, etc. When doing a restoration they could be disassembled for years!

I use a very straight forward process on every single car. That is one of the tricks, to do exactly the same on every car.

First off, I have a stack of those trays with a handle on top used for cleaning house. You can get them at the supermarket and are made by Rubbermaid and others. I usually only need one per car but on bigger projects more are needed. They are not that good for restoration, boxes would be better.

I have a roll of ¾ inch and 2 inch masking tape at all times for marking items. Put a strip of tape on the tray you are using and right the job number on it. It is also advisable to put the job number on the windshield of the car. You can get markers that have a watercolor in them for this use. When the car gets washed when done, it simply washes off.

Along with the trays I use two different “Zip lock” bags small “sandwich” size and then large “gallon” size. I use a LOT of these bags. I don’t put all the bolts for the front end in a bag, I break it way down to much smaller groups.

I will even go down to right headlamp in one bag and left headlamp in another. If it is a particularly complex car like a Mitsubishi Eclipse for instance I will definitely break it way down. Heck the front bumper on one of these cars has about 50 bolts! So, I break it down to “left side”, “right side” and “under” maybe something like that.

I put as much as possible in these bags. The large ones will usually hold all the parts to a door for instance. Handles, trim pieces off the trim panel, etc.

Then EVERY SINGLE bag is labeled with a Sharpie felt pin. “Left front door”, “right fender” and so on. Also on EVERY bag is the work order number in case the bag gets separated from the car.

I also will wrap a piece of tape around screws and put a little note on it to aid in assembly.

On parts where a wiring harness is going to be removed and then reinstalled on the part or a new part I mark where it attaches with that Sharpie pen BEFORE it is removed. On the metal next to the clip I put a “W” for “wire” on the clips that are on a plug I put “P”. On the wiring that is clipped on the inside I put a “WI” for wire inside. On Cables I put a “C”. I will also put arrows where a wire or cable will go into a hole or write a note on the metal or a piece of tape. All it takes is a little time and a few notes, arrows, etc. and you can easily put it back together. You don’t have to mark every single thing.

A little note written on the inside of a door like for instance Dodge caravans have little metal brackets on the inside of the side doors that are held on with the nuts from the glass. I put a number “1” on the front bracket and a number “1” next to it on the metal. An arrow showing direction the thing bolts in is useful too.

I have found one thing is for certain, you can’t remember everything. Another very important point is YOU may not be the guy putting the thing back together. If there is one thing that burns me up is having to put together someone else’s project only to find a big box of nuts and bolts and brackets with no idea where they go. The time you spend on this “cataloging” of the parts is VERY well spent. It is much less time than standing there scratching your head when you are putting it back together.

Have a nice “table” of some sort to lay out all the nuts and bolts for each part AS you bolt it on. Do not open more than one bag at a time.

If you have some guys in the shop giving you a hard time because you do this, ignore them, they are the ignorant ones. I know that I have had guys make comments. They were the ones who did the worst work and always had a huge bucket or something filled with nuts and bolts (gee, I wonder where those came from) . Many of these guys would start doing what I do I have noticed.

When I am done with a car, no matter how big a job, I rarely have a single nut or bolt unaccounted for.

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