It is a fact that the more you do this type of work, the more likely you are to make a mistake. When you're trying to provide yourself and or your family with a good living doing paint correction and polishing you become even more likely to make a mistake as you'll have to increase in volume to make ends meet.
My reality has been that as I go through busy periods, where the push is on to get on to the next job, it's easy to cross the invisible line where I'm nearing the danger zone. When the pressure is on and I'm getting tired and still pushing to get a job finished today, instead of having another go at it well rested the following morning, and pushing forward in this state with a rotary buffer, the possibility of making mistakes increases.
Some lessons are hard for me to learn but when it hits me hard in the wallet, I typically learn the lesson and it sticks. I've had to send cars off to the paint shop in the past because of getting the tip of the pressure washer too close to a paint chip. That costs a bit over $400 out of pocket so I remember that lesson clearly.
I've gotten against painted plastic trim pieces with my rotary a few times too. Thankfully I was able to make these repairs in house, but not without running all over town gathering supplies I didn't think I'd need, such as color code matched paint, high quality clear coat, the required sanding supplies etc.
It costs a lot of money in supplies, time and gas to run around doing this stuff, not to mention putting the client in a position when you tell him/her they can't have their car back until the repair is made, cured and finished.
This type of lesson taught me the importance of not squalking about paying $7.99 for another roll of good quality painter's tape. It's cheap insurance..
Another type of lesson I learned (and suspect I'm not done dealing with) is when you rely on help to meet your deadlines, and you set these deadlines then your help gets sick or more typically, hung over from partying the night before. It's hard to find good help when you can't pay an arm and a leg for it.
All these lessons have forced me into a direction I didn't anticipate going in, such as purchasing newer, safer equipment, better technology, paying out extra to give helpers incentive to do better and care more about my business etc.
These are things you encounter along the way when doing this work day in and day out. You often don't account for them in your business plan though, so it's good we have threads like this one to learn from.
