Would this be worth it?, local Auto Body course Options

[stags14]

I am thinking about taking a course at our local "Boces" center. It is an intro to auto body repair...

They cover things such as dent repair, basic welding, etc...

I am a complete novice when it comes to working on vehicles. This class starts up this week and I thought I may be able to gain some good knowledge...

Any thoughts?

[McMark]

Assuming the instructor has a brain, yes it would be great. Sounds like it would really enable you to do some of the more "mysterious" parts of auto repair. Go for it.

[riverman]

Anything you can do to improve yourself as a person is definitely worth it. As long as it isn't a detriment to anything else in your life, then go for it. Hopefully you will learn something valuable that you can then pass on to everybody else in the club and we will all benefit.

Good Luck!

[scruz914]

Even if the instructor doesn't have a brain it would be good for having access to equipment that you can work with before purchasing your own and being in an environment with others interested in learning the same skills.

I would go for it. You can share some of your new found knowledge here with those of us who remain a novice in the area of body work.

[rhodyguy]

i take it this is an evening class? i signed up for the same basic thing, auto body repair for the hobbiest. first day the instructor sat us down, showed us the video tapes, "if you have any questions the tapes are labeled by catagory". too many people, people would bring their dogs that had been cooped up all day. final stroke was when a guy showed up with his extended cab 4x4 with a tandam axle boat trailer, took up 4 bays and proceeded to start grinding away at the rust on the trailer. never went back. waste of money. check out the "rules"and class size limits before you write the check.

k

[stags14]

QUOTE (scruz914 @ Mar 1 2005, 02:28 PM)

Even if the instructor doesn't have a brain it would be good for having access to equipment that you can work with before purchasing your own and being in an environment with others interested in learning the same skills. I would go for it.  You can share some of your new found knowledge here with those of us who remain a novice in the area of body work.

The day I am able to pass on any type of knowledge on automobiles to the members on this DB is the day when hell will have frozen over.

There are some smart dudes on this DB that have probably forgotten more than I will ever learn!!!

[stags14]

QUOTE (rhodyguy @ Mar 1 2005, 02:40 PM)

i take it this is an evening class? i signed up for the same basic thing, auto body repair for the hobbiest. first day the instructor sat us down, showed us the video tapes, "if you have any questions the tapes are labeled by catagory". too many people, people would bring their dogs that had been cooped up all day. final stroke was when a guy showed up with his extended cab 4x4 with a tandam axle boat trailer, took up 4 bays and proceeded to start grinding away at the rust on the trailer. never went back. waste of money. check out the "rules"and class size limits before you write the check. k

The instructor has been in the auto body repair field for 25 years. There are 3 people signed up for this class - and that includes me!

[Rouser]

I attended BOCES my junior & senior year of high school (CIHS) and if it's anything close to what it was pert-near thousand years ago, I highly recommend it. I majored in Computer Data Processing Systems (back when Christ was a child) and it all snowballed from there.

Go for it ... it sure won't hurt.

[J P Stein]

The less I know about body work, the better I'd like it.
By the time I'm done with this latest clusterfuck, I'll prolly have kilt off all my brain cells (weren't that many to start with) and know nothing about anything.....I'll jest set around & (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/drooley.gif)

[BMartin914]

I'd say go for it! Good knowledge to have when owning/working on these cars. I wish I had some of it! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

[balljoint]

Practice, practice, practice. Sounds like you will get lots of hands on with only 3 people in the class and it is always best to learn on something other than the brand new steel flares you bought for your ride. Should be good for learning what tools you will want to get for yourself too. Go for it.

[r_towle]

QUOTE (J P Stein @ Mar 1 2005, 04:21 PM)

The less I know about body work, the better I'd like it. By the time I'm done with this latest clusterfuck, I'll prolly have kilt off all my brain cells (weren't that many to start with) and know nothing about anything.....I'll jest set around & (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/drooley.gif)

first off..sell me your car.

Second....
Contact cement.
Spray laquer
joint compound dust
Sander dust
Contact cement (I know)

Stop whining...its just a car...go beat it up for the season and enjot the fuits of your labor....when you walk away and turn around and look at the car and feel good.....

Brain cells are overated

Rich

[BigD9146gt]

Most definatly... if he's an acutual auto body tech for as long a you say, you'll have a great time.

I took all of the autobody/paint courses at the local JC from an instructor that owns a few very sucessful local autobody shops... i did all the body/paint work on my 9146gt replica there, and he liked my work so much that gave me a job at his shop as an apprentice to his top body guy. The other instrutor during the evenings is a autoglass installer. Now he knows how to do autobody to an extent, but nothing like the regular teacher.

[stags14]

Class #1 report

So last night was the first class, and I made a last second decision to stay registered. I am glad I did as the class is going to be very enjoyable and informative. It will run for 8 weeks and we will be covering things such as dent repair, basic welding, etc...

The instructor has nearly 30 years of experience and has owned a well-known body shop for years in the area. He semi-retired recently and his sons now run the business. He always wanted to teach kids, so he got himself a part time gig at Boces teaching high school juniors and seniors last year. Along with those duties, he now has an adult education class.

This is the first adult ed class they have taught in autobody at this location. And as such, the turnout was very low (which is good for me). There are only two students in the class!!!! Me and an older retired gentleman that is looking for a new hobby.

After the initial introductions, the instructor said that the best way to learn about autobody repair is to start doing it. Books/videos are great he said, but absolutely nothing beats working with the tools. He said his style of teaching is to first demonstrate and have us watch, and then for us to reproduce what he just did.

The teacher foirst walked us around the shop showing us the entire set up. After the tour, the teacher grabbed a door and had me smash it a few times with a hammer. He went through the entire process of how to fix the dent. After watching him go through the process, I went next, and then the other student went last. The instructor stood by our sides the entire time and talked us through what we were doing. It is going to be awesome to have him standing over our shoulders and instructing the entire time!

A summary of what we did last night.

* First I got to smash a door with a hammer to create the dents. I didn't realize how enjoyable this activity could be. I am half-tempted to smash my boss's car door with a hammer seeing that I would now be able to fix it!! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)
* The process that we learned last night to pull the dents was by the use of a stud-welder, slide hammer, and a pick hammer.
* We cleaned the door.
* We ground down the door using 36 grit.
* We used a stud-gun to weld on a few metal studs on and around the dent. We would then attach the slide hammer to the metal studs and gently pull/tap the dent up. I was surprised at how little force you had to exert in order to get the metal to pop back out. Then as you pulled on the slide hammer, you would use the pick hammer to gently tap down the high spots.
* I learned that it is better for the dent area to be a touch low as opposed to a touch high.
* We then mixed our body filler with some hardener. The other student put a little to much hardener in the mixture and his stuff set up REAL QUICK!!
* We applied the mixture to the door and let it set-up for a few minutes.
* As soon as it gets "tacky" you need to cheese-grate it down. If you wait to long and the mixture completely hardens, you will not be able to cheese-grate it and you will be stuck block sanding til the cows come home!
* After cheese grating, we then block sanded using 36 grit. We were taught to sand in an X-Pattern, always using the full surface of the paper.
* We then feather-edged our work area.

The class was really fun and I already learned so much in just one night. I can't wait to learn more!!!

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beerchug.gif)