About Mr. Hernandez
Built by a working instructor, refinish painter, paint-store manager, and SkillsUSA coach. Twenty-plus years in the trade.
Who I Am
My name is Mario Hernandez. I am a dedicated Collision Repair Instructor at Sheridan Technical College in Hollywood, Florida, and I have been working in the automotive collision repair industry for over two decades.
I have spent that time as a hands-on refinish painter, a shop technician, the manager of multiple successful automotive paint stores across South Florida, a curriculum developer, and now as a full-time instructor. The combination matters. Every piece of content on asecollisiontestprep.com is written by someone who has actually performed the work the ASE B-Series exams test, and who has run the business side of the refinish trade, not just the spray gun.
Teaching is where it all came together for me. As a SkillsUSA advisor, I have coached students to wins at both the regional and state level in collision and refinish competition. Watching a student I trained stand on a podium for a skill we drilled together is one of the most rewarding parts of this career, and it is the same drive that pushes me to make this platform the best prep tool a future technician can get their hands on.
I built this platform because my students at Sheridan Technical needed a practice resource that matched the real ASE exam format, the real OEM-procedure expectations, and the real trap-question patterns that drop test takers. Existing free resources were too thin or technically wrong. Existing paid resources were too generic. Neither served the actual painters and body techs I was teaching every day.
So I built what I wished I had when I was studying for my own ASE certifications. The result is asecollisiontestprep.com.
Background and Credentials
The credibility of any test prep platform depends on who built it. Here is mine.
Collision Repair Instructor
Sheridan Technical College, Hollywood, Florida. Full-time faculty teaching the collision repair and refinishing program.
Automotive Refinish Painter
Working since the early 2000s. Production shops, custom work, OEM-aligned refinish jobs.
Multi-Store Paint Operations Manager
Managed multiple successful automotive paint stores across South Florida, overseeing color systems, inventory, paint mixing, staff, and shop accounts for collision centers throughout the region.
SkillsUSA Advisor
Advisor and coach to SkillsUSA competitors, mentoring students to regional and state-level wins in collision repair and refinishing events.
South Florida I-CAR Committee
Manage the committee's digital presence and outreach to local collision shops and educators.
Industry Partnerships
Active partner relationships with top-tier collision centers across South Florida to fund student success and equipment access.
ASE B-Series Familiarity
Built and maintained the question bank covering ASE B2 (Painting and Refinishing), ASE B3 (Non-Structural), ASE B4 (Structural), ASE B5 (Mechanical and Electrical), and ASE B6 (Damage Analysis and Estimating).
Curriculum Development
Designed and refined the collision repair curriculum at Sheridan Technical College, with feedback loops from working shop techs and DRP partners.
My disclosure: I am not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). ASE Collision Test Prep is an independent practice and study resource built to help technicians prepare for the official ASE exams administered by ASE through Prometric. Official certification can only be earned by passing those official ASE exams at a Prometric test center.
SkillsUSA Advisor
As a SkillsUSA advisor, I coach Sheridan Technical students through collision repair and refinishing competition, all the way to the state level. Preparing a student for the contest floor is the same work that drives this platform: drilling the fundamentals until they are second nature, then proving it under pressure.
Watching a student I trained step onto the floor and compete at state is one of the most rewarding parts of this career, and it is the same standard I hold every question and explanation on this platform to.
My Mission
My mission is to elevate the collision repair trade by giving working technicians, apprentices, and students the prep resources they need to pass their ASE certifications on the first attempt.
Three things drive every decision on this platform:
- The content must be technically correct. Every question, every explanation, every shop-vs-test pairing is reviewed against OEM repair procedures, product TDS documents, I-CAR curriculum, and the official ASE content outline. Wrong content programs wrong instincts; I refuse to ship it.
- The format must match the real exam. All five ASE question types appear in real proportions. Timed simulations mirror the 65-question, 90-minute Prometric format. Category-level analytics show you exactly where to focus.
- The price must respect the working tech. Most of my students at Sheridan Technical work shop hours during the day and study at night. They cannot afford bloated subscription pricing. Transparent one-time access tiers, no hidden renewals, no upsells that obscure what you are paying for.
If those three principles are upheld, the platform earns the trust of the technicians it serves. If they are violated, the platform deserves to fail. I run it accordingly.
Career Timeline
Started in the collision trade as a refinish technician in South Florida body shops and as a paint store delivery driver at Pro Finishes Plus in Hollywood. Learned refinishing hands-on, from surface prep and primer to color match and clear coat, the beginning of more than 20 years in the field.
General Manager at Premier Auto Supplies, overseeing paint and supply operations across the Hollywood and Opa-locka stores while continuing hands-on refinish work.
Retail Store Manager and Mobile Sales for Automotive Art, serving collision shops throughout South Florida with refinish products, color tools, and technical support.
Store Manager and then South Florida Area Manager for YoCoat, helping body shops modernize their refinish operations through color match, product training, and demos, including the first Santint automatic paint-mixing machine installed in South Florida.
Manager at EMD Supply in Kendall, continuing on the automotive paint and supply side of the industry.
Became the Automotive Collision Repair Instructor at Sheridan Technical College in Hollywood, Florida, teaching I-CAR Academy curriculum and ASE B2 through B6 preparation. Develops curriculum, secures grants for advanced tools and equipment, builds industry partnerships, and serves on the South Florida I-CAR Committee. Built ASE Collision Test Prep to support students and the broader collision repair trade.
Why Sheridan Technical College Matters
I teach at Sheridan Technical College in Hollywood, Florida. It is one of the most respected trade education institutions in South Florida, and the collision repair program produces graduates who go on to work at OEM-certified shops, multi-shop operators, and independent collision centers across the region.
My students at Sheridan Technical are the original audience for this platform. Every feature, every question, every category breakdown was designed first with them in mind. If a feature would not serve a Sheridan student preparing for their first ASE B2 sitting, it does not ship.
That focus produces a platform that scales beyond Sheridan but stays grounded in the real concerns of working students and technicians: pass rates, study time efficiency, confidence on test day, and the credentials that translate to higher pay tiers.
Industry Embedded
Beyond classroom instruction, I am deeply embedded in the South Florida collision repair industry.
I lead the digital presence of the South Florida I-CAR Committee, supporting outreach, member coordination, and educator partnerships across the region. I partner with top-tier collision centers to fund student equipment, internship placements, and DRP-aligned training. I attend industry events including SEMA, NACE, and regional I-CAR meetings to stay current on the procedural and regulatory shifts affecting the trade.
This industry engagement means the content on this platform is updated in real time as OEM procedures, ASE test content, and industry practices evolve. The 2026 update cycle reflects EV/hybrid additions to the ASE B5, ADAS calibration expansion on the ASE B6, and waterborne basecoat content on the ASE B2 because the industry shifted in those directions and the platform shifted with it.
Giving Back to the Trade
South Florida I-CAR Committee
We are a group of collision-industry professionals, instructors, shop owners, parts and paint reps, and volunteers, all working to strengthen the automotive collision and refinish programs at South Florida's technical and vocational colleges. We connect schools with real body panels, materials, equipment, and mentorship so students train on what the industry actually uses, and we support competitions like SkillsUSA that showcase the next generation of technicians.
We meet the 2nd Tuesday of every month, in person and online, to coordinate how we can best help our local schools. If you are an instructor, shop, or supplier in South Florida who wants to give back, we would love to have you at the table.
Join the LinkedIn GroupIn Loving Memory
Purvis O'Brien
Friend of the Trade · Passed March 26, 2023
Purvis O'Brien was an Account Manager for FinishMaster in the South Florida area who gave his time as a volunteer on the South Florida I-CAR Committee, helping every vocational and technical school he could. He always went above and beyond, bringing schools body panels and supplies so students could learn the trades of the automotive collision and refinish industry. He also served as a judge at the SkillsUSA Regional competitions, where students looked up to him.
Purvis passed away on Sunday, March 26, 2023. He was a wonderful father, husband, and friend who touched the lives of everyone around him, a vibrant soul with a contagious smile who left this earth far too soon.
Our STC Automotive Collision Technology Technician Program will always remember Purvis. We miss you, brother.
What This Platform Does and Does Not Do
For full clarity:
What ASE Collision Test Prep does:
- Provides an unofficial practice and study platform for the ASE B-Series collision repair exams.
- Offers practice questions, full-length timed simulations, key terms flashcards, and category-level performance analytics.
- Publishes a blog covering exam preparation, career strategy, and industry topics relevant to collision technicians.
- Supports instructors with classroom mode features for shared in-class quiz sessions.
- Operates under transparent one-time access pricing rather than recurring subscriptions.
What ASE Collision Test Prep does not do:
- Issue official ASE certifications. Only ASE itself does that through their official exams at Prometric testing centers.
- Substitute for hands-on shop experience. The simulator builds knowledge and test-taking skill; shop experience builds the technical competence the credential validates.
- Guarantee passing scores. No practice platform can guarantee results, and any platform claiming to is dishonest.
- Claim affiliation with ASE, I-CAR, Prometric, or any manufacturer. I am an independent instructor running an independent platform.
The trademark and affiliation disclosures throughout the site reflect this. ASE®, the ASE logo, and "ASE Certified" are registered trademarks of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ASE.
Let's Connect
Whether you are a student looking for advice to pass your next ASE exam, a working technician evaluating practice resources, a shop owner wanting to properly train and retain your technicians, or a fellow instructor sharing resources to elevate the trade, I want to connect with you.
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