Tried to pull a dent with a $22 glue kit and popped the paint clean off

Had a 2016 Civic in bay 3 at the shop in Fresno with a grapefruit sized dent in the rear quarter. Customer did not want to pay for a full panel respray, so I talked him into paintless dent repair. Pulled out my glue gun and tabs, stuck one on, and gave it a steady pull. Heard a crack, looked down, and a palm sized chunk of clear coat came off with the tab. Turned out the panel had been resprayed before and the bond was junk. I stood there for a minute just staring at bare metal. Ended up eating the cost of a blend and cleared it with the boss the next morning. Lesson was that glue pulling on old bodywork is a coin flip and I should have done a tap test first. Any of you guys got a trick to check if a panel was repainted before you start pulling?

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burns.ruby2d ago

Man, that sinking feeling when you hear the crack. Been there.

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