RyanT, Just for you

[LubeDude]

RyanT, My little buddy. I suppose you will know if you want to continue with this as a profesion, (Autobody), when you get out of Hi School. Bodymen are born, not created. If you are a natural, it will come easy, if you have to really work at it find something else to do with your life and figure this as a hobby. You didnt take my advice to run from this feild, so I doubt you will take it now, but If you decide to make it a life long job when you graduate, go to one year of Tech school and then get a job in a bodyshop. I know you will think you will know it all when you get out of school, but I assure you you wont. You will have to get a job at the bottom of the chain, but that is the best way to come up. You will learn all aspecs of the feild before you get online, Even if you do not want to be a painter, you need to know how to paint so your work will be paintable when done. And even if you do want to be a painter, you need to know what its like to do some bodywork so you can have the right feeling towards the bodymen. There is a lot more to it than you know know. Never say to yourself, "thats good enough", do it untill its right. If you do not have time to do it right the first time, what makes you think you have time to do it again? Never be afraid to ask for help and listen, and offer to help those that may be stuck on something. Someday you will be the guy in the shop that the others come to when they need help and you will be the lead man and best paid guy in the shop. Good Luck In whatever you decide.

 

[11 footer]

Re: RyanT, Just for you

Hi, lubedude.<br /><br />I think one of the reasons I picked auto body was because everyone kept telling me not to.<br /><br />My dads best friend (my godfauther) has been in the auto body trade over over 30years now. He's owned his own shop for 12years now. His shop does 30colisons a week, he works on mostley Hondas. I'm going to help out in his shop this summer.<br /><br />At school we have one paint booth and one frame machine, the shop holds 7cars at once. Their are two teachers, we are getting a new one next year, one guy is retireing.<br /><br />I haven't been doing to that long, so I really can't say weather I want to do it for a living or now, we'll see. From what I've done this far, I think I like painting better then body work.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: RyanT, Just for you

And it will kill you quicker also.<br /><br />Now dont get me wrong, This is a very rewarding feild, and you can make an above average income doing it. What I want you to glean from what I am saying is to protect yourself as much as you posibly can. If you are using a catylised product, even if for a short time, (Jambing parts etc). Wear a fresh air supply, If your peers make fun of you, throw it back in there faces and tell them you want to live a healthy life. Were rubber gloves when washing your guns and things, The thinners will pentrate your skin, Watch for skin rashes around you face. You would be good to wear a dusk mask all day, but we all know that isnt going to happen. Ive been away from it mostly for ten years, after being imersed in it for over 25+ years, and Im not over it yet and probably never will be. even the solvents that are in everything are depresants, If you start losing intrest in things you normally like to do, that is the time to run. I mean, fishing, cars and women. Watch youself. Am I sorry I chose that way of making a living? No, I enjoyed every minute of it as I like a challenge and staying on the top of things. What I wish I had done was take better care of myself.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: RyanT, Just for you

Lubedude is dead on. Protect you lungs, whether your in the body shop or a paint booth. The dust inthe body body shop isn't toxic like the stuff in the paint booth, it will just take longer to kill you. Until you paint, you will not be the best body/prep you can be.<br /><br />Then again you could specialize in auto-electric collision repair, fixing the electrical system after a crash. Or custom and fabrication. I have done it all and don't miss it......much. Just remember to take care fo your health first and foremost.....

 

[11 footer]

Re: RyanT, Just for you

LubeDude,<br />When you became sick from autobody, what was the first sign something wasn't right?

 

[LubeDude]

Re: RyanT, Just for you

It came on really slowly. I was always the fastest, highest paid, best quality man in any shop I ever worked in about the last ten years. Slowly my quality of work started to drop off, I started to miss work with flu like symptoms. Id get better, then when I would come back to the shop I was puking by noon again. I had a skin rash on my cheeks (face) I became confused and couldnt remember where I had left off when I came back from break. I was stuttering and stammering and had a hard time making a full sentence without stopping in the middle and forgetting what I was talking about. You know kinda like SBN is now. Being on commision, my paycheck started to suffer also. I finally even ask my boss to not give me any high tech type jobs for awhile untill I got straightened out as I was doing heavy collision and frame work at the time and wasnt able to follow through on the whole repair and I was afraid I would forget to do something important. <br /><br />To make a long story short, I wasnt able to get a doctor on my side and couldnt actually prove that it was the environment that caused the problem. I do not know if the industrial insurance bought off the doctor I had or what, as she was on my side until it came time to go to the hearing and then she flopped and left me cold. I lost.<br /><br />I still after ten + years have problems working around others and need to be pretty much on my own now. I absolutly cant stand to have anyone watching me work. I also have constant bouts of depression. Weird huh??

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: RyanT, Just for you

I still after ten + years have problems working around others and need to be pretty much on my own now. I absolutly cant stand to have anyone watching me work. I also have constant bouts of depression. Weird huh??<br /><br />

Not wierd at all Lube. You have had prolonged exposure to a pant load of carcenogens and toxins that the human body was never designed to handel. All I can say is that I too had some physical problems that there was no cure or treatment for. I did a study on healing from several different preachers, evangelists, and so fourth, and when I got to Pastor Creflo Dollar and Kenneth Hagin, something clicked and I was healed. I mean healed of all kinds of stuff, from an old back injury to a new back injury to a disease that I was born with that has no cure or treatment. If you want to know more or if I can send you some stuff that helped me, just email me at: toy4runr@mchsi.com and I will do anything I can to help you. I am not a crack-pot, this is for real, and even my 16 year old "too cool to believe "son will attest to it.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: RyanT, Just for you

Soulwinner:<br /><br />I might as well say this to you as well as anyone else. I have been a spiritfilled Christian for twenty + years and have continued to grow through it all. Ive seen miracles that knowone would believe and been involved in tent meetings and prayed for hundreds and seen god move many times in very misterious ways. Ive also been through the renewal (Im not going into detail about that one), I saw things that God did to people that knowone would believe either.<br /><br />Now after saying all this, even though I have seen many people healed of things doctors couldnt touch, and I mean really seen it happen, I havnt ever been healed of even a hangnail. I have a torn rotator cuff and a spur on the same right shoulder that is keeping me from doing much of anything and am facing surgery this winter if I can hold out that long. So why am I not healed, I guess its just not time yet.<br /><br />Thanks, Keep me in your prayers.