The Reviewer:
On his mother’s side, four out of five of Dave Larson’s uncles owned auto body shops. Larson grew up in the industry. After working for a dealership and an independent shop, he purchased his own shop, Minnetonka Auto Body, when he was 30 years old in 1997.
The Shop:
The 3,500-square-foot shop is located in Minnetonka, Minn., and employs three, including Larson. Larson says that keeping the shop small has allowed him to dedicate more time to attention to detail.
Two years ago, Larson’s jobber introduced him to Spraymax’s 2K Epoxy Primer. Spraymax did an on-site demonstration and Larson was sold. The product was going to help with a number of jobs, but was also going to solve one of Larson’s biggest headaches: spraying radiator supports.
How it Works:
In order to use, shake the can and detach the red bottom off the top of the can, pop it onto the bottom and push down to activate. Then, shake the can for two minutes and spray the desired area to do a spot repair or refinish.
The Review:
Larson says that he uses it mainly for parts, paint radiator supports and frame rails. He says that he likes the simplicity and time savings that it provides. Rather than having to prep a paint gun and deal with the wasted materials that are left over on these smaller jobs, he can use the 2K Epoxy Primer.
“The thing that I like most about it is it’s allowed us to spray radiator supports right where they are rather than having to take it off the mount and move it into a paint booth,” Larson says.
The ROI:
Larson says that the biggest return has been time savings.
“There’s less masking involved, less moving cars around,” Larson says. “It’s a great value.”
Because there’s low overspray, the 2K Epoxy Primer can legally be sprayed outside of a paint booth. Because of this, he’s saved anywhere from 2–4 hours on that particular job. Larson estimates that he goes through 4–5 cans per week. If a can is opened and not used in its entirety, it can be saved to use on the next job.
Not only does the product save time, it also saves materials because a paint gun doesn’t have to be prepped and there’s no leftover paint wasted in the cups.
“Even if you only use a fourth of the can, it more than pays for itself in time savings,” Larson says.
