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At the beginning of 2025, Felipe Salazar Jr. upgraded his previous toolbox setup to one with more modular capabilities.
Out with the old, in with the new
As is the age-old tale of many technicians, Salazar was running out of space in his previous toolbox and had to decide what features were essential for the next evolution of his tool and equipment storage. The new setup features a 56” by 22” double-bank toolbox, a 27” steel locker, and a 36” by 22” tool cart, all from Milwaukee Tool. Salazar has also put together a Milwaukee PACKOUT wall that sits above his toolbox for additional storage.
Many factors went into the refinish technician’s decision to choose this setup. Though his current work centers around painting vehicles, in the past, Salazar worked as a combo tech, meaning he can also perform collision work, but not at the same level as the techs in his shop who specialize in this. Because of his dual abilities, he keeps tools that allow him to perform either job, making extra storage space a must. Salazar is also a content creator (check out his Instagram @dirtnib_fil), so aesthetics is also a factor.
“I'm a content creator,” Salazar says,” so it's a lot of the visual too. I wanted something that would stand out. And red really stands out.”
A few of his favorite things
Salazar enjoys many parts of his setup — the color, the bottom right-hand drawer with attachments for users to organize their impact wrenches, the bottle opener, and the soft-close drawer feature, to name a few, but his favorite part is the PACKOUT wall.
“I have a big area where I have a window, and I can't really have anything up top, so I put two-by-fours in the back, and then I put plywood, and then I mounted the PACKOUT area,” Salazar describes. “I wanted more space to be able to organize stuff.”
Milwaukee’s various options of PACKOUT solutions appeal to Salazar because if he were to get tired of something or if it no longer works for him, then he can just remove it and replace it with something else.
A space for every tool
Salazar’s organizational system is simple. He stores his lesser-used tools in his toolbox —these are the tools that are more appropriate for when he’s working as a combo tech. His daily use tools are stored in his tool cart. Each drawer houses a different type of tool, so sandpapers, hand tools, blocks, hammers, and power tools all have their own space.
His favorite and most-used tool — the Milwaukee Tool Random Orbital Sander —also has a place in the cart.
“This has to be the best battery-powered tool that I've used,” Salazar says. He notes that the sander can go head-to-head with other high-quality sanders he’s used in the past, but nothing beats the mobility of not having an air hose attached to the tool.
What’s next
Though Salazar enjoys his setup, he’s planning to add a few things in the future. The first is a custom wooden top for his toolbox that he can get his Instagram logo on, and the second is an additional locker to go on the other side of his box. Aside from that, the only other changes will come in the form of updates to the PACKOUT wall.
