Anyone on here a panel beater? What's it like?

Thanks

 

Yes,i own my own paintshop and its very dusty!!!


cheers danny

 

Me too,it's a tough job but very rewarding,nice to see the end result.to get on you need too make sure you can do all disciplines of the trade,prep,repairs,painting and polishing,most bodyshops will expect that,I certainly would.I originally employed a guy who promised the world but when he started he couldn't do this,couldn't do that so in the end I got rid.the boy who works for me know has worked in a few places and has said that being in a smaller firm has put him about 5-6 years ahead as when he was at the larger shop all he did,and was told he would ever do,was prep for paint,boring as fuck!!!

You'll have more job security with a big firm but learn less and end up working on boring new stuff.IMHO you'd be better trying too see if you can get an apprenticeship of some description with a good local firm,money will be shit but the learning will be worth it.it's a good trade as there'll always be people crashing cars but it's very hard going at the moment,I'm packing it in personally and I know a few others are as well as peeps just don't want too pay the money in my area to get a good standard of work done.

Good example,we charge between 40-50 per alloy for a top class refurb,never had anything other than compliments as tbh they do come out stunning,guy over the road charges £20 per wheel,he dosent even clean the brake dust off first or mask/remove the tyres,but he's always busy!!tells you something really?If you eventually go on your own a few tips are that public work is generally ok but don't rely on it,trade boys are tight cunts,but regular,resto/classic work is awesome payers but you'll be waiting a while for your money although very satisfying work,insurance are total wankers to deal with and slow payers but you can basically charge what you want with most of them so there are some advantages.

What I'm getting at is if you can get a good balance between them all then you'll probably have a great deal of success,so it would be a good idea perhaps to look into firms that operate this way as it'll give you a great insight into the bodywork trade.

 

Nice reply and very accurate...sorry my last reply was short but it was late and id polished of a bootle of vodka!!!lol
As above mate very true...im lucky here as my painter has been painting 10 years and is top dog plus were so well known in the trade so work from all angles...


cheers danny

 

so is it worth becoming one? Somewhere local to me is offering apprenticeships in it and I have to start applying for them to get one for next year (so the school say's)

Thanks

 

If it's what you want,do it!!!it's always a handy skill to have,you probably won't earn a fortune from it but you'll be able to make a good bit of cash on the side and build up your rep from there.and danny,totally understand the vodka bit,I tried putting a post up after I'd been invited to a pre season friendly where I only had a few......woke up at 3am to the sound of my I phone dropping on the floor!!!! You've hit the nail on the head really though danny,it's all about reputation and word of mouth,something we've built up nicely over the last 6 or 7 months after unfortunaley getting a bad rep the first 6 for silly things.when I let the first guy go after 6 months(do the math as the yanks say!!),he went round telling anyone who'd listen not too take their cars too us as the work coming out was so poor he had to leave,total bullshit but it sticks,we literally lost our so called customer base overnight.

Took a while,but I built the rep back up with getting cars out on time,sticking to prices etc and it's been good the last half of the year,no comebacks and plenty of repeat work but overheads have killed me off so the boy who works for me now is going to start up himself in a cheaper unit and do a lot more of his own stuff.he's only 19 himself but I can hand on heart say he's the most meticulous painters I've ever seen. Considering we've not got a top notch paintbooth the results are amazing,his prep work is just mindblowing,never any overspray etc.I'll post some of the work up on here if I can get a better camera as I'm only on crappy iPhone camera!!!!

 

Thanks

I've just found this site, would you say it's an accurate description?

http://www.myjobsearch.com/careers/panel-beater.html

 

I'm not in the trade but worked in a mates bodyshop for a week while painting my Levin. I was basically just a prep monkey. I was thinking it might be something i'd like to do for a career change (currently a dental technician), bollocks to that. It's bloody hard work and prep is mind numbingly boring. Only reason I saw the week out was because it was my own car and I was saving a grand by doing it myself.

There is good money in it from what I saw, think it's fair to say it's well earnt. Can see why a paint job costs as much as it does.

 

Just make sure you follow the elf and safety stuff propelry as dust and paint fumes have shortened many a career.

 

i often go to my mates bodyshop and always wonder how they manage to do it..it looks like one of the most soul destroying mind numbing jobs ive came across, especially with cars.. i suppose working on old classics n stuff might be a little less tedious..when he was painting my kit on my s1 i said i would do the prep to keep costs down...i didnt even finish prepping one arch before i was sick as fook and told him to do it.im in bodyshops every day and nearly all the lads hate it..

 

Oh dear. I'd hate to do something I don't like. Is all the dull stuff just the prep or is it all dull (I was hoping to do repairs on the bodywork from stuff like accidents etc)

 

It all depends what you work on. In small places you get all sorts to do where as in the bigger places it's all the same sort of stuff.

I've done both and prefer smaller shops. I'm currently in a small place and i enjoy it. It's not so much like a job for me, just a chance to mess around with cars. But thats because there's only me and my boss there and we tend to do a bit of everything from mechanical work to restorations. Fair enough it's mainly accident damage. But it's not a case of get the job in and out as quick as possible, it's more important to finish to a high standard.

When i was in the bigger places i was bored to tears. Always the same stuff day in day out. Never anything interesting at all.

If it's something your likely to enjoy then go for it mate. I assume your only 16? So even if you give it a go and don't like it you've always got time to try something else.

 

I'd expect jigging chassis and panel repair is good, it looks more interesting, got to use your brain a bit.

It seems like the sort of job where if it's your business you'd put in the effort as there is good rewards for hard work. My mate has loads of projects on the go, lots of dirt cheap crash damaged cars to fix up if work is slow, loads of fiddle jobs, etc.

If your an apprentice, on shit wages and given all the crap work (prep) I can see it getting boring fast. Dirty job, sometimes in poor conditions with health risks.

My mate said he always gets kids coming around asking to be an apprentice. He'd get them to rub down a set of alloys which he said was the worst job of all. Most people couldn't even finish. Maybe you should go to a few local places and ask them for some experience, see if you can stick it.

My mate does have a retired guy working for him, earns £1000 a month, cash. He just does prep work but he's good and quick.

 

15 I know I would have time to retrain, but I don't want to faff about, I want to get stuck in to a trade when I leave school. Not sounding impatient, I just want to get working as soon as possible, unlike my sister lol

Do smaller places take apprentices?

I expect to get the crap jobs, dont worry

I'll ask around for a experience, thanks for that tip

Thing is, I don't know what else to do (not beggin' for career advice ) The main work up here is farms and I'm not going into that

 

Hi mate,some excellent posts up on here,all very accurate(shockingly so really!!).small places are always looking for apprentices as it's cheaper than employing without all the hassles etc. There'll be plenty of bum jobs but your clearly a car lover so that will be tolerable tbh.mind numbing is certainly true when it comes to masking,fucking hateful task but so important although if you want mind numbing try becoming a domestic electrical apprentice,live neutral and earth,ceiling rose,two way switch and that's about it,ooh and earthing regulations yawn!!!!!you can tell I was an industrial electrician!!!!

 

I worked for Nationwide crash repair centers before i started working for myself and they dont come much bigger than that. I was a panel beater for Nationwide but learnt how to paint and prep at college whilst on my apprentiship. I have to say as a panel beater its not boaring at all because the job varies from repairing scratches, dents etc to replacing compleate panels, including welding brazing spotwelding etc. also loved the larger repairs such as jig work pulling chassis legs and allsorts so it was never boaring. but as a painter in a large shop all you do is prep mask and paint imo and to me that is boaring. however it is best if you can do both parts of the trade for yourself because then you can pick which part of the job you want to do and then change if you do get board of it. It also helps if you are just starting up your own buisness because you dont have to employ anyone else to help you untill you are big enough too. that way go can gain your rep on your own high standards not the person who is working with you.

cheers kyle

 

id imagine places to set up apprenterships easily, they only have to pay you £95 a week, loads cheaper than a worker and if your good then you can get a job there after, an apprentership will take between 6-24 months depending on the stuff you have to do

if you can get a colledge to set up the paperwork for the apprentership it couldnt be easier for the business than saying yes.

go for it

 

i did it for 9years then gave it up ,its ok if your not the prep monkey doing all the hard work ,id get in to jig work me self that way you'l have the skill to build cars ,just doing the body work is no fun at all i worked for a big body shop ,never got 5mins to meself eat dinner while you work kinda job ,iv got level 3 in panel beating and paint but love been a plumber now and would never go back

 

It's only £50 per week for level 1 and the training scheme pay them that direct which often leads to muppets,but their usually sifted out pretty fast.I paid my apprentice £130 per week and had no help as he hated college so much he did an nvq in the workplace which meant he did the same training and online tests with live assessments.there's loads of different routes now,but he was so good I didn't want him poached!!he's been in it 2years and is now a fully fledged painter/panelbeater...and he's shit hot!!!!

 

I had to an electronics unit for my engineering course and I was bored with it after 3 lessons

That's what I want to do, is it possible to just do this and not the paint/prep? Never did like art I'd much rather be dealing with accident repairs and let people who enjoy the paint do it


And thanks everyone for your comments, much appreciated

 

Not sure that all your facts are correct but assuming they are there's a reason why they only pay £95 and that's because you are not providing the same level of end result. Also just because you may finish your apprenticeship with a company does not mean that they must automatically give you a job if they haven't got sufficient work load.
Finally 6-24 months seems a very short apprenticeship (especially the 6 month bit).

 

yeh i thought that the apprenticeships seemed short, most i've looked at are 2.5-3 years

 

My mate used to make good money from it the problem with him was he was kinda to good people would wait on him to fit them in. He'd do a few jobs to get some money together then bugger off for a week or so then he'd run out of money and call people up to take there car in when he was skint. He eventually gave it up though

 

I've had my own place for more years than I care to remember and find it takes a certain attitude to to the job.
I mainly do old classics with about 20% modern stuff mixed in. The variation between resto, repaints, crash repairs, welding, panel fab etc suits me.
I don't bother with staff anymore as I've struggle in the past to find reliable folk who don't want to earn more than me but can't be arsed to do the job how I like it done. When I had good ones they go on to something else and I have to tran again
Great job satisfaction IMO and I rarely find it tedious where others do.
My son is 19 and he can't rub down a whole panel without getting bored and the standard dropping, or just going to play golf in one of the fields
I couldn't work somewhere that I couldn't do a bit of everything, but you need to learn each process properly before you can string them all together
Plenty of good advice so far, check out some places and get a bit of a trial on Saturdays or holidays, you'll soon decide if you like it

 

That's what I want to do, is it possible to just do this and not the paint/prep? Never did like art I'd much rather be dealing with accident repairs and let people who enjoy the paint do it


And thanks everyone for your comments, much appreciated[/quote]


Yes you can just become a panel beater and just do the repairs welding jigwork etc. But it usuall only applies to the larger garages because the smaller buisnesses want you to do it all

 

continue your eduation, go into further education and get a decent degree. put in the work to line yourself up with the right career for your wants and needs.

then when you need bodyshop work you can pay for it.

 

A degree isn't always the way forward i know a boy who has a masters degree and can't get a job as the people interviewing are often less qualified than him

He pulls pints in the local pub as that's all he's found upto now

 

loads of places take apprentices, but TBH, u want to go with a big place, as a lot of the time little ones only want the cheap labour and will sack u off after the aprentaship is finished,
oh and whats wrong with farm work lol? i do it ever summer

 

Thanks, I dont mind being taught it and doing it, just dont want to only do prep as that would bore me rigid

The school keep telling me to do that but I want to get into work asap. That and I don't like school so I wont like uni

Not a fan of farming

The locals call me a ponce

 

I did my apprenticeship at a small place and if anything they look after you more. I was on better money than pretty much everyone on my course and i was given the chance to get on straight away. They didn't give me the shit jobs, i was working along side another lad doing the jobs between us. I still work there now, even though i left for a year to try somewhere a bit different. So it just shows that if your good and graft they will always look after you.

 

My brother did his apprenticeship at Ford and worked there for many years afterwords, and then moved to Vauxhall were he is now.

He is crash mad so enjoys his job and we never see him. If he's not in Vauxhall's he's in his own unit he has with a mate which is just opposite his work.

If you're into that stuff, you'll enjoy it I reckon'. He must do as he takes pictures of all the cars before, during and after and shows me them as we eat our tea.

Benni.

 

thanks for the reassrance

 

go for it, i decided many years ago i wanted the motor trade, i started as a valeter, ended up selling ont he forcourt, which led to me trading cars, i then got a workshop with a mate, he wa sa painter repaired salvage, i learned off him


i now have a little workshop for me myself and only i, i repair or paint anything, bro inlaw in the workshop next door as a mechanic so i have use of his ramps etc

i also sidlined and bought a recovery truck and set up a website etc, i then sidlined more and got into mileage correction and diagnostics etc


set a task, if your gonna do a trade lean the fucking lot, end result you will be a middla aged man whos fucked the hell off with the motro trade, has no hair left and a slight alcahol problem

 

i work for nationwide aswell

 

pmsl at that last bit!!!but a very genuine reply,it's a great trade to be in,something new everyday,people offering you cars,buying,selling and meeting all the characters in the trade is always a good laugh but it can be hard to make a regular wage in full time.

Xr lee has made some really good points on here.one thing to note with small shops is that it's a hard game unless you've got regular work as cash flow is a big problem in this game and some of the smaller firms can go to the wall with little or no notice due to even one contract drying up,but you'll learn IMHO 100% more in smaller garages.

As for the degree response that's fine but it's a lot of hard work and sometimes to no reward whatsoever and you get into serious amounts of debt.many ex students I know won't take jobs above 16-20k as they have to pay their loans back over that.

 

LOL

Does this apply to self-employed / owners or does no one in it get a regular wage? So long as I earn enough to live off and a bit extra for "luxuries" (A zetec turbo'd anglia ) I will be happy.

Good respnses, I will have to look around see if there are any small firms local to me