821 Collision

06/18/2026

Next Wednesday, June 24th, AASP NJ is hosting a special training for body shops in the area (NJ and NY shops welcome) at the Holiday Inn in Clark, NJ. Attorneys and industry professionals will be in the room to help shops navigate the claims challenges so many are facing right now — claims are down, total losses are up, and it's a tough time across the board.

If you're in the industry, this one's worth your time. Head to AASPNJ.org to register.

06/17/2026

Today's tool spotlight: cold glue.

This adhesive is mostly used in the paintless dent repair world, but it's just as useful in a body shop. It's an incredibly sticky compound that gets loaded into a slide hammer and attached directly to the panel — strong enough to actually pull metal out without cutting or sanding into it.

It comes in a range of sizes, from a mid-size tab to one as small as a dime, depending on the dent. A simple tool, but a fast and clean way to pull out a dent without making a mess.

06/16/2026

Lead body solder. Here's why we're using it on this build.

This car is a monocoque chassis — meaning there's no frame underneath it whatsoever. Not even the fixed frame sections you see on modern cars. Nothing. That means this car is far more prone to flexing, twisting, and movement than anything built today.

So why lead? Because lead creates a chemical adhesion to bare metal — not a mechanical one. Bondo and conventional body filler work by abrading the surface and bonding to the texture. That's mechanical adhesion. It works fine on modern cars that don't move the same way.

But on a car that flexes? Chemical adhesion holds. Mechanical adhesion eventually cracks and shrinks.

The mix we're using is 70/30 — 70% lead, 30% tin. We've got one area nearly complete, one in progress, and we just tinned up another section in the rear.

Do it right now and this car won't see shrinking or cracking around those areas for another 70 years.

06/15/2026

Panels are in and welded. Front sections done. And we've just kicked off the lead work on this car.
More on that in the next video. Stay tuned. 👀

06/12/2026

We talk a lot about tires and ADAS calibration — but brakes don't get enough attention, and they should.

Modern braking systems aren't just about stopping anymore. ABS, automatic emergency braking, traction control, and stability control are all calibrated around the friction profile of your OEM brake pads. That means the compound the pad is made of, and how it interacts with the rotor, is built into how those systems respond.

Swap in an aftermarket pad that doesn't match that friction profile, and those systems can behave differently. They might apply too much braking force. They might not apply enough. Either way, it could cause an accident.

When it's time for brakes — use OEM, or make sure whatever you're putting on meets OEM specifications.

06/11/2026

This color has roughly 8 different components just to get that blue with the mica flakes — and it got Ken thinking about one of the most unique colors in the automotive world.

Lexus has a color called Structural Blue, found on the LC 500. It was inspired by a butterfly — and here's the wild part: the components that make up the color are actually colorless. There's no blue pigment. It's purely the way light diffracts through the layers that creates that blue. Similar to what you see here, but way more vibrant.

It's the kind of thing you learn in OEM training and never forget. Cool technology, and something you don't see every day. 💙

06/10/2026

Corvette C8 is finally done. This one clocked in at roughly 200+ hours of work between everything. Final polish and detail and then she goes back to the client. Every panel gap checked with a micrometer, all within tolerance. Good to see it wrapped up.

06/09/2026

She's back! 🙌 If you've been following us for a while, you already know this one. This restoration was a year and a half in the making — and we finally wrapped it up in December 2025. Now it's back for the finishing touches: waiting on the upholsterer to complete the door panels, then we'll get those installed and give it its final polish. We never got to do that last step… until now. We think it turned out absolutely beautiful, and we can't wait to show you the finished product. Stay tuned! 🔧✨

06/08/2026

2026 Acura MDX — what looked like a minor bumper hit turned into a bigger story once we pulled it apart. The blind spot monitor lives right in that impact zone, and with radar-based ADAS systems, placement and calibration aren't guesswork.

One thing shops should have on their radar (pun intended): per the Honda/Acura job aid, if aiming a radar or camera is required after a collision, a four-wheel alignment check is mandatory. The system reads road geometry based on fixed angles — if the centerline shifts, everything downstream is compromised.

06/05/2026