Auto Painter Invents Linear Blocking Tools While Looking For a Better Paint Job

By Ed Attanasio Autobody News

Autobody News runs into great stories like this one all the time, in which collision repairers invent things to do a better job.

Colten Davidson, a painter and now the owner of his own restoration shop in Birnamwood, WI, created Linear Blocking Tools, a sanding block system that can create a perfectly flat surface easily and consistently. His system is also designed to alleviate the wear and tear on the human body caused by hours of sanding.

Q: How did you get the idea for Linear Blocking Tools?

A: One day a few years ago, I was trying to get the clear to be literally like a mirror where there’s no ripple, no chop—nothing in it. And we were using a lot of foam blocks and different other types of blocks. Then I came up with a rough draft and made them.

I used them for a while and then I had a couple other people who said they wanted them. Then a distributor in Australia saw these on Facebook, and asked me how much would it cost for 10,000. I couldn’t even make that many, I thought. So, I got the ball rolling a little bit more and have applied for patents, and now we have a manufacturer in Minneapolis that makes them for us.

In September, we moved into a new building that contains two shops—one shop is like the clean shop; we’ve got the hoist and the paint booth on that side. And then we’ve got a dirty side that’s basically for sanding and welding. We’ve got everything under one roof. I am running the shop and my wife is running the product side, and it is working well.

I have two people working with me in the shop and my wife Brittany has some part-time help.

Q: How did you get where you are today?

A: Right out of high school, I went to tech school for auto body, where I completed a oneyear program. And then from there I started working at a Ford dealership doing mostly collision and some light restoration stuff. I worked there for about five years and then I worked for a shop that did both restoration, collision and some dealer work. We did a little bit everything and it was a great learning experience.

Then I had a great opportunity to work for a top shop here in Wisconsin, where I could work on high-end restorations. And that’s where I really progressed into knowing what I know now by pushing the envelope. I was the body guy and the painter there and I did probably 90% of the body work and all the painting, and then early last year I started my own

Q:You have created a whole universe around your tools, with online courses and an upcoming series of in-person classes. Tell us about those.

A:Yes, on June 22-25, I am hosting a four-day hands-on restoration class with Ryan Evans and world-renowned paint correction specialist Jason Kilmer. It will take attendees through everything from stripping old finishes, metal work, filler work, all the paint and cut/buff. We will be “restoring” a few different front clips from Auto Metal Direct, taking you through all the fine details, like perfecting gaps and panel-to-panel along the way.

Day one will cover stripping old finishes, metal work, perfecting gaps, prepping metal work for panel-topanel blocking, proper metal prep using the DX metal prep system, applying epoxy to bare steel and types of DTM primers. Day two will cover prepping epoxy for filler work, proper understanding of use and types of body fillers, panel-topanel blocking, blocking techniques, proper application and types of primers over filler work and priming over filler work. Day three will cover proper blocking techniques of primer, paint prep, masking, painting, laying stripes, spraying candies and hand really well. More importantly, they are hard but flexible and very flat. They’re made of polycarbonate, which is very flexible and extremely durable. You can drop them or even throw them at the wall and they won’t break. There are a few companies out there that make acrylic blocks, and if you drop them, they’ll shatter like glass. Our blocks are warrantied for life, much stronger and more flexible. custom tri coats. Finally, day four will cover sanding and polishing finishes, curing clear before buffing, sanding techniques, buffing techniques and processes, with Kilmer. These classes will be held at Linear World Headquarters in Birnamwood, WI.

Q:Why are your Linear Blocking Tools so popular with painters worldwide?

A:One of the major benefits of using them is that they fit your

Linear blocks have slits in them that distribute the pressure from your hand to the entire block evenly. They create something like a slinky effect. In addition, all our blocks don’t have sharp edges. They cost a little more because there’s a lot of machine time going into them, but you get what you pay for, like anything else.

We did over $1 million in sales in our first year, which was pretty good. We have a distributor in the U.S. and Australia, and are currently working with a few in Sweden, Germany and from other parts of Europe. We have been getting awesome feedback from painters all over the world, so we are excited about more international distribution.

For more information, visit linearblockingtools.com.

Auto Care Alliance Partners With Elite

Auto Care Alliance has partnered with Elite to offer online sales training for service advisors. Elite is offering a benefits package valued at more than $300 to ACA member shops who are new to the program.

Each ACA member that signs on with Elite’s Sales Master University will receive a full year of access to 16 lessons taught by Ratchet & Wrench All-Star Award winner Jen Monclus, including quizzes and activities to improve retention and accountability, and quality content developed by America’s top shop owners and service advisors with real-world applications that can be implemented immediately, ensuring consistent and profitable sales cycles.

Elite and Hamilton will host a 30-minute webinar on this benefit to member shops at 1 p.m. CT Jan. 24.

More information on the program and upcoming webinar can be found at autocarealliance. org/elite

Source: Auto Care Alliance

Auto Manufacturer Websites Becoming More Important To Vehicle Shoppers

As auto manufacturer websites become increasingly important to shoppers, overall satisfaction for manufacturer websites is also growing, up 11 points on a 1,000-point scale for the premium segment to 722 and 3 points for the mass market segment to 708, according to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study—Winter, released Jan. 9.

When shoppers use certain tools, specifically the build and price, vehicle compare, 360° viewer and payment/lease calculator, the likelihood of the shopper to consider the brand increases by 11 percentage points.

“In today’s shopping environment, manufacturer websites must have a robust set of tools for shoppers to use,” said Jon Sundberg, director of digital solutions at J.D. Power. “Not only is it important to have the tools, they also need to be easily discoverable, well-designed and intuitive to use to significantly

CAWA Announces Manufacturers Advisory Council Appointment

Sun Hong of HL Mando has been appointed to CAWA’s Manufacturers Advisory Council.

“We are pleased to have Sun join our leadership team and contribute to our discussions of current and future industry issues,” said Young Suhr Jr., chair of the Board of Directors. “We look forward to his participation and contributions which will assist the association in achieving its goals as an effective and valuable automotive aftermarket industry organization.”

Hong is the chief operating officer of HL Mando’s Aftermarket North America, with more than 25 years of experience in the automotive aftermarket. In his current role, he is responsible for the overall business strategy of HL Mando’s Aftermarket North America.

Hong began his automotive aftermarket career in 1994 with HL Mando. After six years with increasing responsibilities with HL Mando, he moved to AMPAC, where his spent nine years as sales, purchasing and product development manager. In 2010, he joined TYC (Genera) as product category manager to eventually manage TYC’s catalog pricing and some of TYC’s product categories. In 2019, Hong returned to lead the HL Mando’s Aftermarket North America team.

Source: CAWA drive brand consideration.”

The J.D. Power U.S. Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study is a semiannual study that measures customer satisfaction of automotive manufacturer premium manufacturer websites with a score of 749. BMW (742) ranks second and Infiniti (740) ranks third. websites during the process of shopping for a new vehicle by examining four key measures, in order of importance: information/ content, visual appeal, navigation and speed.

Jeep ranks highest among mass market manufacturer websites with a score of 727. Dodge (725) and Nissan (725) rank second in a tie. GMC (719) and Mazda (719) rank fourth in a tie.

Study Rankings

Land Rover ranks highest among

The U.S. Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study, initially released in 1999, is based on responses from 10,487 new-vehicle shoppers who indicate they will be in the market for a new vehicle within the next 24 months. The study was fielded in October-November 2022.

For more information about the U.S. Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study, visit www. jdpower.com/business/resource/ us-manufacturer-websiteevaluation-study

Source: J.D. Power

Classic Collision Acquires Shops in Las Vegas, Texas

Classic Collision announced new acquisitions in Las Vegas and suburban Houston, bringing its total number of locations to 209 in 15 states.

Las Vegas Collision Center is now the third Classic Collision location in Las Vegas, while Dennis Collision Center in Conroe, TX, expands the company’s footprint in the Lone Star State.

Las Vegas Collision Center opened in 2000.

“Our system of operation is streamlined to make it as convenient as possible for our customers and know that Classic Collision will operate in that exact manner,” said Anna Daniellyan, former owner of Las Vegas Collision.

Dennis Collision Center opened in 2002 approximately 40 miles north of Houston.

“We have always provided turnkey jobs—from start to finish, knowing it will be professional and right and believe Classic Collision will too,” said Dennis Gorrell, former owner of Dennis Collision Center.

Source: Classic Collision

WyoTech’s $16M Expansion Brings a

WyoTech, a leading U.S. automotive, diesel and collision trade school, seeks new instructors, following the construction of a new $16 million, 90,000-square foot expansion to its Laramie, WY, campus.