Many moons ago, behind the counter of a DuPont paint store in Guadalajara, Mexico, this young man started the journey of automotive repair; His job consisted of mixing paint and then deliver them to the body shops. A few years later his family moved to California, and at the time, body shops were a plenty, and Gerardo found the right one, a very small place in Inglewood that to this day still stands; The owner saw his hunger for knowledge and he wasn't afraid to share.
In this industry, a good helper is well valued by painters, specially the ones that work on commission and dealerships, an opportunity opened up for Gerardo at a Toyota dealership in Hawthorne, his skills grew, and prepping, masking and polishing became second nature, there fore, the painter of the Dodge dealer came knocking, and then Chevrolet, and then, a big production shop.
In this town, if you work on cars, and you are in need of a job, your best bet is to go to a paint store, they usually know who needs help, and who is hiring. After returning from Mexico on a family matter, Gerardo walked into Finish Masters paint supply store, the manager was on the phone.......I was on the other end of that line.
