Mickey Thompson ET Drag Slicks - Tire Coating Class - Mobile Tech Expo

[Mike Phillips]

Mickey Thompson ET Drag Slicks - Tire Coating Class - Mobile Tech Expo


Each year at Mobile Tech Expo, I always try to have THE BEST PROPS for my classes. Most classes have chairs, 4 walls, a screen on one of the walls for a Power Point Presentation and the Speaker. Nothing wrong with this. But me? I like my classes to be FUN and INTERACTIVE. And instead of showing you a picture on the wall and talking about the picture - I bring in cool props and then "Show & Tell". I show you how to do the thing my class topic is about. I add comedy where I can and make the classes fun.


I have 7 classes on Thursday, what MTE calls "Education Day". Here's my last class of the day,


4:00pm to 4:50pm

7: Tire Coatings vs Tire Dressings – Differences & Benefits

Tire Coatings are just as cool as paint coatings and paint coatings, they last longer too. With a tire coating, you no longer have the problems of tire dressing sling. The key is to know when to use a tire coating and when to stick with a tire dressing. In this class you will learn the difference between tire coatings and tire dressings. You will also see LIVE how to prep and install a tire coating. The prep process is key, and the results will blow you and your customers away!

You will also learn how to determine which customers and tires are a good match for a tire coating. Most important, you will learn how to educate your customer as to what a tire coating is and then how to correctly maintain the tire coating for maximum longevity and that deep dark black look everyone loves. Besides all of this, you will also learn how to avoid making any mistakes that can be time-killers and how to ensure your success for happy customers. Use tire coatings as an add-on to any detailing package to increase the profitability of any detail job.



As you can see, I've promised to show LIVE how to prep and install a tire coating. To really do a bang-up job, I need a really cool tire. So I stop by my buddy Phil's place, Snake Road Salvage Yard, just down the road from Autogeek to see what he's got laying around and low and behold.... I found the perfect tire to really showcase what a tire coating looks like, plus to show the prep process, which is vital to the final results.


I present...


Mickey Thompson ET Drag Slicks 90000021546










Besides offering a HUGE flat sidewall to really showcase the results, most people into car detailing are also into cars. And by the word cars, I mean the entire spectrum of the car hobby including car racing.




No rim...

While Phil had the tire, he didn't have the correct rim to go with the tire. So I paid a visit to my buddy Randy over at Hot Rod City America. Randy walks out to the Autogeek Van, looks at the tire and say....

It's your lucky day!


We walk back to his shop and hanging on the wall is the correct size and type of wheel for this tire. (Thanks Randy)


Now this is important because the rubber used to make these tires is VERY soft. So soft that without the wheel, I would NOT be able to functionally demonstrate on the tire sidewall. If I were to press on the tire sidewall, it would simply cave in. So I was indeed lucky. Also luck that Randy trusts the good name of Autogeek as to purchase this wheel new would be in the $600.00 range.


Next I needed to get the tire mounted onto the rim. So I head over to Highway Tire in Palm City and speak with my buddy and fellow Classic Chevy Truck Guy, Dylan. Dylan takes a look and says,

No problem

Then calls out to one of his top tire men, Mike and asks Mike to hook em together. About 10 minutes later and I have what I know will be one of the best "props" at MTE this year, a fully rolling, functional Big Bubba Racing Slick!


It's really cool when a plan simply falls together with the help of a few friends.


Thanks Phil, Randy, Dylan and Mike.

Also - shout out to Brian Skibo from Connecticut who's in town for a few weeks and he tagged along with me and provided all the muscle to get the tires, wheels etc. (more to come)







p.s.

For any of you gear-heads, you can read more about this tire on the Summit Racing Equipment page here,


Mickey Thompson ET Drag Slicks 90000021546

[Mike Phillips]

Just by coincidence, a guy that knows all about these tires stopped by today....

Bruno Massel and me shooting a video where we talked about the tires Bruno uses on one of his race cars, the Big Bubbas!





Bruno Massel is the host of Truck U and Garage Squad and a professional race car driver.

[Mike Phillips]

For anyone reading this into the future that might not know what a tire coating is....

Here's the pictures I share to showcase this upcoming class.



Applying the coating to a properly prepped tire





DRY TO THE TOUCH - NO SLING




You get that deep, dark shine everyone loves without the GREASY mess. How long will it last?

As I like to say,

If you don't do stupid stuff it will last up to a year

By "stupid stuff" I mean, don't wash the coating with All Purpose Cleaners or the under-the-sink cleaners at your house. Just wash with a NORMAL CAR WASH SOAP.




And here's the link to see topics and times for all 8 of my classes.


2020 Mobile Tech Expo Class Schedule for Education Day on Thursday in Orlando, Florida




If you're going to Mobile Tech Expo - be sure to attend my classes, you will learn a lot and have a lot of fun.

[JustJesus]

That totally worked out with the wheel !!!! Nice.

Crazy that as wet-looking that tire is, it's dry.

[Mike Phillips]

That totally worked out with the wheel !!!! Nice.

My lucky day....

Crazy that as wet-looking that tire is, it's dry.

That's two applications of the Pinnacle Black Label Tire Clear Coat on the tires of my RX 350.

[JustJesus]

2 coats. Got it!


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Mike Phillips]

2 coats. Got it!

I have also perfected the application technique for applying coatings to the ribs or siping on the sides of some tires. These areas are a real pain to get the coating into AND make it look uniform but I did some playing around and found how to make it fool-proof.

[Mike Phillips]

And....


Here's the other demo tire for my class.








Anyone going to Mobile Tech Expo and wondering about tire coatings, don't miss this class. There's NEVER been a tire coating class at MTE before let alone anywere else that I know of except my 2-day and 3-day car detailing classes.

[Mike Phillips]

From this thread,

2020 Mobile Tech Expo Class Schedule for Education Day on Thursday in Orlando, Florida








Today I machine scrubbed the tire I'll be showing how to install a tire coating to as well as how to machine apply a tire dressing.

Shout out to Robert DiTralizzi to say thank you for letting me use his facilities to wash and machine scrub the tire.


Machine scrubbing - Important to use a CORDLESS tool so you don't get SHOCKED!









Whenever I post pictures of this brush attached to my Cordless FLEX PE14 everyone asks me where to get it?

I'm especially asked this question when I share pictures like these on Facebook.

I work at Autogeek. So guess where I get the brush?








Question: Do I have to machine scrub tires in order to use a tire coating?

Answer: No - But most people I know do NOT have the arm strength to properly scrub a tire sidewall by HAND to remove this level of grime.





Robert - you we're standing crooked when you took this picture... or the Earth tilted






Question: How many times to you have to machine scrub the tire?

Answer: Until you see white foam on the tires sidewall.


I tend to machine scrub a single tire 4-5 times. I want to make damn sure that rubber surface is CLEAN.






Then rinse well....





And this is key - You must also rinse your brush! IF you don't you'll never see white foam. The reason why is because your brush will be full of brown scum and this will contaminate the process.





4th time machine scrubbing - see the foam on the tire? It's now white.







Machine Brush Rinsing

I run the brush against the pavement while spraying water into the bristles. Genius. I let the Cordless FLEX PE14 do the cleaning work. I just pull the trigger.

Mike's tip: Use a slow speed.





Here's the fifth time I machine scrubbed the tires sidewall. The tire cleaner turns white and stays white.






I do NOT have OCD

I'm telling you straight-up, despite what you may think about me or other detailers, I do NOT have OCD - because I'm going to be "handling" these tires I went ahead and machine scrubbed the tire face just to keep my hands clean when moving the tire around for my Tire Coating Class at MTE.







Back to Autogeek's Show Car Garage

Here's the tire. Before placing it on the table I laid down some Autogeek Cover-up Towels to keep everything surgically clean. (I also wiped the table down with APC, I am OCD about clean tables)







Close-ups of clean rubber.

This tire is off a race car and has some battle scars to show it.







3 Sections

1. Tire Coating
2. Tire Dressing
3. Naked rubber

Here's how the rubber or if you will, here' show the TIRE looks after applying a coating, a tire dressing and leaving a section without anything on it.







The super black shiny section you see is the Pinnacle Black Label Tire Clear Coat AND it's DRY to the TOUCH.








I tested the Pinnacle Black Label Tire Clear Coat and the 303 Protectant on the back side of the tire. In my class at Mobile Tech Expo I'll show the techniques for doing this on the front side of the tire.

[Mike Phillips]

And....

Here's a fresh review and how-to on how to use the PBL Tire Coating


Review and How-To: Tire Coatings - Pinnacle Black Label Tire Clear Coat No Sling No Mess