Customer yelled at me over a $200 blend job - he was right

Had a guy bring his silver 2018 F-150 back three times last month because the blend line on his rear quarter panel was just barely visible in direct sunlight. I kept telling myself it was good enough, but he pulled out a flashlight and showed me exactly where I was half-assing the fade-out. Switched to a slower reducer and started using a finer grit on my final sand, now I can't unsee the difference. Anyone else had a customer call you out on something that actually made your work better?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel_gonzalez13d ago

That 2000 grit on the final pass with a soft block is a game changer, man. I had a similar wake-up call a few years back with a black Tacoma and a pearl white quarter panel. The owner was a photographer, and he spotted my blend line from like 20 feet away with his phone's flashlight. It was humbling, but he taught me that if you can see the line at all, it's not done. Now I always test with a bright LED bar at the end of the day before I even think about buffing. That slower reducer trick is legit too, it gives you way more time to feather the edge out before it flashes.

roberts.leo13d ago

Is it really that deep for a daily driver though @daniel_gonzalez?

aaronsullivan13d ago

Respect the photographer guy for bringing that up, it's a perfect example of how someone who sees details for a living can teach us a lot about our own craft. It's funny how the same thing shows up in other parts of life too. My wife is a musician and she can hear a single wrong note in a whole song, which made me realize that just because most people won't notice a flaw doesn't mean it's not there. Same with cooking, my buddy is a chef and he'll call out a pinch of too much salt in a dish I thought was perfect. So yeah, having someone push you to see the finer details isn't just about paint work, it's a lesson that carries over into everything you do if you let it. What's the one thing you got better at after someone called you out on it?