# SMART repairs....A Rant!



## MattySRi (Apr 20, 2007)

Hi guys and girls, 

I have been into amateur valeting/looking after my own cars and bikes for as long as i have been able to lift a bucket, and i have also been on the site for a couple of years as a reader and have just come back to it....its a fantatic site....

One thing that really makes me mad is the amount of people that slate SMART repairers, i left university 18months ago with a 2:1 honours degree in Business and due to the job market, and not knowing what i wanted to do, i looked at franchising, soon after looking around the 'competition' i bought my own franchise, from one of the fastest growing and leading UK franchisors (I wont say who incase its classed as advertising)

We get 4 weeks training, then a further 1 weeks training on the job in our launch week which, after this, i felt confident in my own abilities.

We can go back anytime for extra training, which i have done.

We use 2k laquer, the best water based paint system available and make a lot of effort to put mats down to protect driveways, covers to protect wheels, avoid or at least remove over spray and my van is always immaculate.

I take around 2.5 hours to do a bumper scuff and i never leave a job untill the customer is happy, 

If you shop around and get recommendations from friends/family then they are fantastic, upto 50% off of a bodyshop price, completed in a few hours and as good if not better than bodyshop quality, and a better finish in terms of orange peel than most factory finishes too....

SMART repairs will always have a place in the motor industry and we are the first network to have our training centre IMI accredited, and we are the first network in the UK to have implemented an IMI accreditation called a national cosmetic qualification (NCQ) much like corgi and gas safe are used to regulate their industries, we have national accounts with LEX leasing, HSBC leasing, ALFA group, Co-Op funeral care to name but a few.

Please remember smart repairers are not all the same, and this new accreditation (which i have acheived) will hopefully weed out the slack harrys and independants that let the industry down!

Sorry for the rant but i take an enormous amount of pride in my work as im sure the supporters of this site do about their work and it has hit a nerve when i read bad comments about us, 


Comments/questions welcome?

Happy detailing!!

Matt


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

All very valid points and a good rant 

I wish you were near me, I'd use you!


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Fair play to you mate and it sounds like you take every care to make sure you do a good job and make sure the customer is happy. 

I'm not sure there is a dislike for smart repairers by default here but sadly there are so many cowboys out there who let the side down. 

The only experience I've had of a smart repair was not very good yet a friend of mine used one and highly rated it.


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## nicp2007 (Apr 25, 2007)

valid points :thumb: and nice looking vectra avatar :thumb:


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## m33porsche (Jun 10, 2007)

I,ve used the same guy in andover for a couple of jobs and the quality of work was outstanding. I was taken aback at the technology in his van, the computerised paint mixing and the care and attention given to getting the best possible finish.

Guess there are a few poorly trained and equiped cowboys out there making people sceptical. Sometimes though I do think you get what you pay for. A £40 repair will look like one, a £140 repair will be invisible.....:thumb:


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

I've never used such services myself, but my Mother has had her cars repaired for stone-chips, a keying scratch and car-park scuff several times and has had nothing but praise for the localguy - maybe it depends very much on who you use, but our local _Chips Away_ (or whatever he's called) chappie seems well respected.


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## -Ashley- (Nov 19, 2010)

Wind your neck in mate. There is good and bad in every business and the cowboys will always cause trouble and mistrust for the perfectionists and self-respecting professionals such as yourself. I get the same problem with my business.

Just keep doing what you're doing, build your own reputation. and try and ignore the half-arsed losers around you :thumb:
Ashley


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

They're clearly not all the same as you sound first class, yet the one I had to sort my Grandad's car out before I sold it for him back in the summer, left a right mess on the drive, overspray I had to clay off, had to have 2 attempts at it because he'd heated the lacquer up too much and it had dried with a very poor finish (so had to come back the next day, flat it off again and respray it).

The colour was a poor match, despite taking no end of readings and custom mixing it up, and generally it was pretty substandard to my eyes.

Had it been my car, I wouldn't have accepted it, but I needed to get the car for sale ASAP and so it was acceptable to the everyday person. Of course I told the new buyer about what I'd had done and to them it was perfectly okay.

Wouldn't use them again though.


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

i dont really get your rant tbh? :lol: ive used one, it was "ok" but id never use one again. as the price i paid for a few little bits, i could have paid another £50 or so and had the whole bumper done

4 weeks training and they let you loose on customers cars? they must cram alot in


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## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

-Ashley- said:


> Wind your neck in mate. There is good and bad in every business and the cowboys will always cause trouble and mistrust for the perfectionists and self-respecting professionals such as yourself. I get the same problem with my business.
> 
> Just keep doing what you're doing, build your own reputation. and try and ignore the half-arsed losers around you :thumb:
> Ashley


Well put :thumb:


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## MattySRi (Apr 20, 2007)

ianFRST said:


> i dont really get your rant tbh? :lol: ive used one, it was "ok" but id never use one again. as the price i paid for a few little bits, i could have paid another £50 or so and had the whole bumper done
> 
> 4 weeks training and they let you loose on customers cars? they must cram alot in


My rant is just that the general perception of smart repairs is of a local cowboy, mis-matched colour, dry laquer, and overspray left everywhere in a bodge job type fiasco.....which infact isnt true for many of us.

4 weeks is a long time to be honest, learning the basics in the first 4 days or so and from then on it was practising and that was on real customers cars.....ive painted tiny rubstrips up to a wing and adjacent door on a 1 week old black BMW 1 series

And im sorry to hear that your repairer didnt exceed your expectations


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## MattySRi (Apr 20, 2007)

-Ashley- said:


> Wind your neck in mate. There is good and bad in every business and the cowboys will always cause trouble and mistrust for the perfectionists and self-respecting professionals such as yourself. I get the same problem with my business.
> 
> Just keep doing what you're doing, build your own reputation. and try and ignore the half-arsed losers around you :thumb:
> Ashley


I apreciate that, i just needed to get it off my chest and hopefully instill some confidence that there are professional repairers out there and that they should be considered for minor damage.

:thumb:


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## Spoony (May 28, 2007)

Yep, unfortunately there are good and bad in every business and to make more money people in franchises often cut corners. You might be first class but Dave Smith 75 miles away is terrible.

The thing is, your not going to change anyones perceptions - I don't think they are wholly negative but negtivity gets more publicity than positive results.

Just keep doing what your doing, I wouldn't let anything else concern you with regards to the perceptions of other guys. You'll soon build up your own client base and get word of mouth going.


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## M.J (Mar 17, 2010)

I think you,ve done the right thing mate, if nothing is ever mentioned about you guys we,ll never really understand or trust it enough before using this service , you sound like the perfect contact in the detailing game too

Mike


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

So if i used your service and you did a front wing for me and my customer then wiped tar remover over the wing you have smart repaired to remove tar would it affect the finish and could i recorrect that wing at a later date with machine polisher and a fine compound?
Genuine question...


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## MattySRi (Apr 20, 2007)

vxrmarc said:


> So if i used your service and you did a front wing for me and my customer then wiped tar remover over the wing you have smart repaired to remove tar would it affect the finish and could i recorrect that wing at a later date with machine polisher and a fine compound?


Thats correct. i dont see any reason why that wouldnt work, the laquer we use is extremely hard wearing and by laquering it correctly and putting 2 good coats on, trying to minimise the amout we flat and polish at the end, it should with stand that no problem.


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

yeah 4 weeks training hey..you must be a pro


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## Guest (Dec 4, 2010)

The franchises or the label 'smart repair' is not the problem,it is the people who are doing bodge smart repairs that dampen the 'smart repair' i have come across an extremely bad smart repair,i wouldn't tar every person who does smart repairs with the same brush,but it certainly dosn't not look good for somebody selling a franchise! I guess that is the risk of selling franchises alot of people do get tar'd with the same brush,such is life i guess! Glad to hear you take pride in your work


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## Guest (Dec 4, 2010)

steveo3002 said:


> yeah 4 weeks training hey..you must be a pro


Got to agree with you!


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

vxrmarc said:


> So if i used your service and you did a front wing for me and my customer then wiped tar remover over the wing you have smart repaired to remove tar would it affect the finish and could i recorrect that wing at a later date with machine polisher and a fine compound?
> Genuine question...


replace tardis with iron x!! :doublesho


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## Guest (Dec 4, 2010)

vxrmarc said:


> So if i used your service and you did a front wing for me and my customer then wiped tar remover over the wing you have smart repaired to remove tar would it affect the finish and could i recorrect that wing at a later date with machine polisher and a fine compound?
> Genuine question...


NO,unless they have actually sprayed the wing and the clearcoat/paint was thick enough to machine polish!


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## MattySRi (Apr 20, 2007)

steveo3002 said:


> yeah 4 weeks training hey..you must be a pro


yea i was to be honest even after 4/5 weeks its amazing how much you learn when its focussed training and you are eager to learn....

1000+ repairs later and im still a pro....


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## MattySRi (Apr 20, 2007)

aba said:


> NO,unless they have actually sprayed the wing and the clearcoat/paint was thick enough to machine polish!


If a wing has been repaired and painted there is no reason why defects cant be removed at a later date by machine polishing?


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## Guest (Dec 4, 2010)

MattySRi said:


> If a wing has been repaired and painted there is no reason why defects cant be removed at a later date by machine polishing?


Surrounding defects yes,but what about the area thats been repaired....


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## MattySRi (Apr 20, 2007)

aba said:


> Surrounding defects yes,but what about the area thats been repaired....


If i was to repair any part of a wing, i would blend the colour into the panel and then laquer the whole wing.....so any part of the repair/wing could be machine polished at a later date, even lightly wet sanded to remove laquer scratches if there is a decent layer of laquer on there.


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## Guest (Dec 4, 2010)

MattySRi said:


> If i was to repair any part of a wing, i would blend the colour into the panel and then laquer the whole wing.....so any part of the repair/wing could be machine polished at a later date, even lightly wet sanded to remove laquer scratches if there is a decent layer of laquer on there.


I wasn't aware smart repairs were done in a bodyshop,my mistake!


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

ianFRST said:


> replace tardis with iron x!! :doublesho


This was what i was getting at?
So are you a bodyshop doing smart repairs or a guy who comes and does it as a true smart repair at a work place or home?
Im confused.


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## MattySRi (Apr 20, 2007)

I am a mobile SMART repairer, working outside, using a canopy if the weather requires it, working at your home or place of work (e.g chips away style repairs).......

We do bumper corners, full bumpers, wings, doors, wing mirrors, machine polishing, and can repair and replicate textured trim

We DONT do more than two panels at a time, bonnets, boots, roofs...

I fade out on rear quarters and bumper corners to keep things small to medium, and on wings and doors its safer to laquer the whole panel rather than fade out on a large area......

I would only paint two panels at a time if there was, say, a vandal scratch covering both panels, we dont blend into two panels as a neccessity like a bodyshop would as we are SMART repairers.

:thumb:


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

ok so are you different to smart repairs ive worked on where they wipe off with glue and tar remover an ironx and when you polish them the panel fades away.
Im not being rude im asking a genuine question because i was of the opinion that most smart repairs are not as stable to these things as a proper respray?


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## MattySRi (Apr 20, 2007)

On a wing, or a door, where we laquer the whole panel, you can polish the area as much as any other untouched panel on the car and it will have no effect on it if its been laquered properly..........


On blended areas, e.g bumper corners, we use thinnners to blend the old laquer into the new laquer, in small channels of the bumper e.g between number plate and grille, between towing eye cover and foglight etc.....

After the laquer is dry we machine polish the 'haze' where the thinner has dried and to make the repair area invisible.......it will withstand, maybe two or three good hits with something like 3M extra fine but it will inevitably be weaker than the laquer as it is a thinner...it shouldnt 'wipe off' with anything though.


So to conclude, a repaired door, wing, mirror will be fine to machine polish as much as factory paintwork...blends in small channels on bumpers, and rear quarter panels, will be weaker than the rest and may cut back if polished excessively, not the laquer, but just the small area where the thinner is used to blend.

For 90% of people/cars, this area will be of no problem, it may be a problem for the minority of cars that will be heavily machine polished however

After taking paint depth readings which im sure you do, it may be clear that the area has been re-painted meaning extra care to be taken anyway.


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

Thanks , informative which is nice to know.
yes ptg the car as this is always my biggest fear and why a ptg is so important in my opinion.


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## MattySRi (Apr 20, 2007)

No problem, 

:thumb:


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