Samantha Reed

After three months of patching rust holes, rebuilding corroded truck beds, and rebuilding a friend’s classic Corvette fender, our team put eight of the most popular fiberglass-reinforced body fillers through real shop work. We compared short-strand versus long-strand formulas, polyester versus structural-grade putties, and tested each one against automotive steel, SMC panels, marine fiberglass, and … Read more

I have spent the last three weekends of my life behind a spray gun, which is either a sign of dedication or a warning label. The reason: I am restoring a 1968 Mustang fastback, and somewhere between the rust patches, the bondo, and the bare-metal roof, I realized how much the right primer matters. If … Read more

Painting bare metal is unforgiving. Standard automotive primer beads up on aluminum, peels off galvanized steel, and lets rust creep back underneath within months. Self etching primer solves this with phosphoric acid that bites into the metal surface, creating a chemical bond no regular primer can match. Our team spent six weeks testing eight of … Read more

I have spent the last three months shooting, sanding, and re-shooting cars in my garage with a single goal: find the best automotive spray paints that actually deliver a factory-grade finish from an aerosol can. I went through 42 cans across 10 products, sprayed fenders, wheels, an engine block, and even a set of exhaust … Read more

If you want a glossy, durable finish without setting up a spray gun, the best aerosol clear coats in deliver near body-shop results straight from a can. After testing dozens of cans on car panels, motorcycle tanks, furniture, and craft projects, our team narrowed the field to eight cans that consistently lay down a mirror-like … Read more

Last winter, I watched a buddy’s 12-year-old daily-driver truck develop bubbling rust along the rocker panels and wheel wells after just one season of New England road salt. He had skipped undercoating the previous fall and paid for it in body-shop time and resale value. That experience is exactly why we put together this guide … Read more

Salt, humidity, and road grime attack bare metal every day, and once rust starts it spreads quietly under paint and inside frame rails. The best rust inhibitor sprays interrupt that process before it begins, sealing out moisture and oxygen so a frame rail, a tool chest, or a brake rotor can survive winter without flaking. … Read more

If you have ever priced out a full POR-15 system for a frame, underbody, or floor pan, you already know the sticker shock hits twice. Once when you buy the rust preventive paint, and a second time when you add the required metal prep, top coat, and brush cleaner. POR-15 has earned its reputation as … Read more

The best chassis paints chemically bond to bare or prepped metal and seal out the moisture, oxygen, and road salt that cause frame rust. After testing eight top formulas on truck frames and classic car undercarriages, our top picks are POR-15 Top Coat Chassis Black for serious restoration, Rust-Oleum Rubberized Undercoating as the best value, … Read more

When the grid goes down for three days in February and your local gas station is closed, a propane generator is the quiet hero in the garage. We have spent the last six weeks running ten propane-ready generators through their paces at our test yard in central Texas, simulating 12-hour outages, RV trips, and quiet … Read more