What I have learned in a few weeks...

Now that I'm painting, blending, spotting, I can truly say the following:
1.  Learn the prep side of the job as much as possible and never stop learning
2.  Master the buffing techniques
3.  Follow your mind, heart, and gut
4.  No FEAR
5. Positive thinking
6.  Pause and rest before shooting, don't be wound up or stressed
7.  Learn to sand paint defects
8.  Don't be lazy
9.  Learn from your mistakes
10.  Take in advice
!!11.  Visualize your strategy before you shoot!!!
12.  ADAPT AND OVERCOME, NEVER GIVE UP OR DOUBT YOURSELF

A little over a month later...

So much has changed in the past month and it was a great move to embark in a new journey.  I moved on from Eagle and moved into a new position, Automotive Painter, (in training).  I have to admit, the last few weeks have been like painting bootcamp.  See, in this training, I do not have room for error.

In the past, I read, watched and practiced surface preparation, painting small parts and spent many moments visualizing best practices and form.  All this training has for sure came into play these last few weeks in my en devours.  I have painted over 10 cars already and none have failed and they looked great!  Of course, trash, sags and other defects came across but I fixed them all only needing to repaint/spot one time.  Even the infamous "silver Metallic" was a success!

Here are some photos of just a few of my  accomplishments.

Right Fender and Right side of Bumper was damaged during a minor traffic accident.  Only glaze was needed to fill in large chips and scrapes.  I don't have a photo of the complete bumper with damage, however, I assure you, it was bad.

 

 

This is an example of what I was dealing with, it wasn't the worst but good thing 3m spot putty stage 3 was around to save the day.

This is the  outcome I came out with.  The fender damage and repair made the blend easier to accomplish and the stone chips was a challenge but a blend was still achieved especially near the hood.  Mottling wasn't an issue but doesn't mean it can happen if I'm not careful.

The damage on this vehicle was significant.  We managed to get the repair done to customer satisfaction.  This job required more black paint and painting inside the trunk.

Here is the outcome.  I had to use a basecoat that was similar to the same color.  It came our great!  Customer was ecstatic.

This repair included this lower portion of the drivers qtr. panel, bed gate and bumper, (2 portions).  There was a hard line making a spot job achievable.  This job had pearl.  My first 3 stage attempt.  I had to do a layout card to assure the correct amount of pearl would be applied.

Here's the gate.

Here's on side of the bumper, the other side was similar in damage/repair.

Here is the outcome of the qtr panel spot.

Gate completed

Bumpers right out of the paint booth.