Metric Autohaus' State-of-the-Art Paint Booths
Written by: Rob Strain
11/9/09
The ink is hardly even dry on the papers as I write this; we have finally secured a pair of paint booths of our own. It took some serious horse trading, but we are now in 100% control of our projects. It only makes sense that the guys who spend 700 hours on the body should be the ones to pay the same amount of attention to the part everyone notices, the paint. The air is medical quality, and we have the ability to bake finishes. We are in the process of catching up with older projects, then we will be rolling forward. We have always tried to protect our customers from the high costs of paint jobs, but we could see that the only true solution would be to procure our own paint facility. We are accomplished painters, and it always was a nail biting experience to simply hand over our hard work to outside painters, then pray that they would have them done on time, and without a 30-70% price increase. These are no longer issues. As cars roll through, I am planning on starting a gallery of our work to help showcase our attention to detail.
We know exactly what Volkswagen owners want in a paint job; good coverage, smooth finish, and all of the Volkswagen areas detailed. Average shops don't know the importance of a color matched dash area, under the dash, heater channels, frame rails on verts, inner wheel wells... you know, the things we all look at when we buy a VW!
If you want Volkswagen paint, done by a Volkswagen shop, performed by a very fanatical Volkswagen enthusiast; give us a call. We can do everything from a show car, NOS factory stock recreation, daily driver, "Just put some shine on it", parts and pieces of engine/suspension/etc. to match body, collision work, blends, chip repair, whatever you want for your Volkswagen. Don't leave the fate of your specialized car or bus in the hands of guys who could care less about your pride and joy. That includes people who throw together "booths" out of air conditioning filters, ply-wood, and window fans. For a hobbiest that may be fine, but if you are going to paint professionally, you owe it to the VW community to bite the bullet and get the good stuff. The EPA compliant booth is friendly to the environment, and the air that comes out is a few microns off from being medical grade... yeah, it's that cool.
Rob does all of the paint work, and can also do air brushing, pearls, flakes, flames, ghosts, tints, candys... but his favorite is just straight up NOS factory L-code. The results speak for themselves. Give us a call. Let's get that Dub polished.
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New Facility to Better Serve You
written by: Rob Strain
4/29/2009
Metric Autohaus works out of a state-of-the-art "green building" warehouse, located at 8207 A Rear, Cloverleaf Drive, Millersville, MD, 21108. The concept of the facility is to have two main doors; one to receive projects, and one to pick up projects once done. The entire assembly line styled process ensures quality craftsmanship, with a faster paced flow of work. The entry side is referred to as the "tear down side", and the exit side is referred to as the "assembly side".
The entire interior of the new space will be remodeled to resemble Germany in the 50's and 60's. The tear-down side will be an old German Factory, and the assembly side will be a small German village...all trimmed out in period art, lamp posts, road signs, shops, and much more.
Similarly, the office doors in the center are designed to usher clients into the corresponding doors; the entry door is for drop offs, and the exit door is for pickups, tours, and visitors. A reception/waiting room is nice and neat, with many amenities to make the client feel welcome and serves as a starting point for their project. [I apologize for the clutter, we are still setting up shop- ed].
Nevertheless, the greeting area is beginning to take root with wall art...
...collectibles and German memorabilia...
...which will all invite you into the tear-down shop where everything begins.
Upon entering into the new shop, much had to be done in a very small amount of time. Tools, projects, and the entire contents had to be moved within a week's time. Heath and I took the bulk over, and friends and family helped where they could to make up for the rest.
The purchase of a twin-axle trailer would prove invaluable in moving 20+ vehicles to the new facilities. The two of us had to dig deep to fix cars by day, and move cars by night.
The new space began to slowly start taking shape, and the VW essence quickly moved into the new space as the cars and buses built up over the next few days. The truck was used to pull the VW shells up the ramps and into neat rows inside.
Much of the walls needed painting. Wires, cables, pipes and other areas were all brought up to code. Friends and family came out to support us by pitching in to help refurbish the warehouse.
Everyone from the president of Slowriders Jim, to customers, to family came out to put all they had into getting the shop painted and moved into in record time. Many thanks to all who helped.
With most of the construction completed, it was time to start on getting the shop up and functional. The tear-down side is now going strong;
As well as the assembly side;
Complete with an area for building engines known as the "Engine Stand", which is still under construction, but coming along nicely.
THE MAIN IDEA
The main design concept of Metric Autohaus' new space is to create a miniature version of Germany here in Millersville, MD. The tear down side will be adorned with vintage German logos on the crisp white walls, similar to how an old factory or speed shop would be set up. The assembly side is where it gets interesting. The entire area will be built to resemble an outdoor German village from the 1950's-1960's. Streets, buildings, signs, parking areas, street lamps will all work to create an atmosphere that will perfectly showcase projects as they are completed, and provide a rich, vibrant, and interesting place to work within. Here are some computer generated images that help illustrate some of the key elements of the "little German town" concept.
The offices will be converted from ordinary rooms into German townhouses on the strasse.
The rear corner will be converted from a blacked out space formerly used as a video studio, into a giant black-and-white photograph of 1950's Nurnberg town center as a backdrop for finished projects. There will be two lamp posts and a vintage scooter to help enhance it all.
All murals, street scenes, buildings will be painted by us. Rome wasn't built in a day, and what better way to spend our free time than build a VW & Porsche sanctuary that doesn't yet exist?
We are only a few weeks into building this up to meet or exceed our dreams. Everywhere you look there are hints of things to come...
...the drive, energy, and vision coming from nothing but our love for these cars and this culture. So, no matter if it is day or night, chances are we are helping out friends, working on client projects, painting new sections of murals, or collecting old German items for the village. Keep checking back, as a lot can happen in a week, and I will do my best to keep up with the changes and post them as they are completed.
Email us: parts@metricautohaus.com for your appointment and be a part of the next generation of VW & Porsche restoration.
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