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Used to mix filler by feel, now I use a $12 scale and my comebacks dropped to almost nothing
For 8 years I just squeezed hardener into the filler until it looked about right, usually somewhere between a pea and a marble, and I paid for it with pinholes and sand scratch swelling on maybe 1 in 10 jobs. Last spring a guy named Daryl at the supply counter in Modesto asked why I wasn't weighing it, so I bought a $12 kitchen scale and started doing 2% by weight with a little math on my phone. First month felt slow and stupid, now I mix in about 20 seconds and I've gone 7 months without a single shrink comeback. Curious if anyone else made this switch or if you're all still eyeballing it like I did.
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david82121d ago
Weighing filler is overkill for a small shop and you're adding a step that eats time on every single job. I've been mixing by eye for over 20 years and my comeback rate is just fine, so the scale isn't some magic fix, it's just another gadget the supply house wants to sell you. The real reason your comebacks dropped is probably that you slowed down and started paying attention to your mix instead of rushing through it, not the $12 plastic scale. What happens when the scale dies or you're on a road call and forget it, you just gonna stop working? Learning to read the hardener by eye and feel is a skill, and leaning on a kitchen scale turns into a crutch that keeps you from ever getting good at it.
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