Carlsbad, CA, March 5, 2019 (Newswire.com) - NOTE: This October SPS was originally published online in October 2018.
Guy McFalls has been running the show at Auto Archaeology, a body shop specializing in high-end restorations in Honey Brook, PA, since the summer of 2013.
McFalls is not the type of business owner who enjoys sitting around and watching his employees perform all of the hard labor. He does fabricating as well as paint and body work—skills that he knew he’d need to learn for himself at an early age.
“I knew growing up that I couldn’t afford to get it all done, so I started doing it myself and it was kind of a stepping stone that took off from there,” he said. “I have a lot of fun with it.”
As a 35-year veteran of the auto body industry, McFalls has picked up quite a few devoted customers who have trusted him with their most prized possessions for the past three to four decades.
“I ride Harley Davidsons a lot, and my bikes are my babies,” he said. “These people feel the same way about their cars, so if they can see that you’re putting love into it like it’s your own car, they just keep coming back to you. I’ve had nonstop customers ever since I opened up just because they like the way I treat their cars.”
Because McFalls’ clients are primarily owners of high-end vehicles such as Corvettes and Camaros, he has set extremely high standards for all products involved with his restoration work. One company he has grown to heavily rely on is Dominion Sure Seal.
“The owners of a lot of the cars I build are going to have them for 20 or 30 years, so I need a product that’s going to last and hold up to that because in 10 years, if it fails, they’re going to call me,” he said. “So that’s why I really like these Dominion Sure Seal products; they really seem to hold up and they seem to work very well.”
McFalls has his auto body supplier, Johnny from Black Horse Auto Body in Westchester, PA, to thank for introducing him to Dominion’s products. McFalls worked with Johnny’s father before Johnny took over the business, and since then they have developed a mutually beneficial working relationship with which McFalls is very satisfied.
“He usually gives me a call about all of his new products, and I’m kind of his guinea pig,” McFalls said. “He likes to ask me, ‘What do you think of this?’ and ‘What do you think of that?’ He turned me on to Dominion products, and it just so happened that at the time I was doing a lot of panel bonding, so I wanted to try it. I tried the product and I actually liked it, so I just kept moving on with it.”
McFalls has been using Dominion’s large panel adhesive (#7002) to put quarter panels on many of the cars he’s restored and has been impressed by the other Dominion products he’s tried as well.
“I really, really like Dominion’s large panel adhesive,” he said. “I’m not really satisfied with a lot of the competitors’ panel adhesives, but this Dominion stuff really seems to work. I like Dominion’s self-leveling seam sealers … they really work and they have a good set-up time and everything. I just started using their clears. I use their 4:1 clear and absolutely love it, and I’m getting ready to use their 2:1.”
McFalls said Johnny knows him well enough to not waste his time discussing any lower-end products. McFalls typically restores cars that are worth $80,000–$90,000, so he has no room in his restoration projects for anything less than a high-quality, high-performing product.
“Johnny knows what I’m looking for in a top-quality product,” he said. “Basically, he doesn’t even need to call me when he gets some of the lower-line products; he knows I’m not interested in them. He just sticks me with the higher-end products.”
McFalls said Johnny typically calls him a day or two after he uses a newly recommended product to see how he liked it. He has grown to value McFalls’ feedback enough to pass it on to others when recommending new products.
“Johnny is a great guy,” McFalls said. “I’ve known him forever and he’s gone above and beyond to help me. I needed certain things for airbrushing custom stuff, and he’s gone out of his way to help me. That’s one of the reasons why I use him the most—he’s actually a really good dude.”
When it comes down to it, McFalls requires long-term products he can rely on just as much as his loyal customers trust him to take care of their cars.
“I’m looking for long-term products because I have 30-year and 40-year customers who I’ve had since my teens,” he said. “These guys get hooked on a guy they like and don’t let you go.”
Auto Archaeology
Location: Honey Brook, PA
610-273-7700
Company At A Glance...
Type: Restoration, Custom
Facility Employees: Two
In Business Since: 2013
Number of Locations: One
Combined Production Space: 2,400 square feet
Dominion Sure Seal Ltd
6175 Danville Road,
Mississauga, ON Canada L5T 2H7
905-670-5411 ext 2226
lcook@dominionsureseal.com
dominionsureseal.com
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Source: Autobody News
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