Autogeek's Pro Detail Team in Kentucky!

[Mike Phillips]

Autogeek's Pro Detail Team in Kentucky!


Before we started we took this group shot with Dennis Gage.

From left to right...

David aka Trutech74
Vargas - refreshauto
Bob - b0b
Billy - Billy B
Allen - OCD-Tailing
Dennis Gage
Mike Phillips
Jordan - FlawlessJ
Chris - PorscheGuy997
Paul - EastsideAutoSpa







Not pictured is Wendall Jarvis....

[Mike Phillips]

Here's a group shot after we finished for the day....





From left to right....

Bob - b0b
Jordan - FlawlessJ
David - Trutech74
Chris - PorscheGuy977
Vargas - refreshauto
Billy - Billy B
Allen - OCD-Tailing
Paul EastsideAutoSpa
Wendall Jarvis
Mike Phillips

[Mike Phillips]

I'd like to say thank you to all of you guys for all your hard work. It was hot out and working under the EZ-up canopy with all the extension cords running all over the ground I know it was a tick on the clumsy side as compared to what you're used to but you all worked flawlessly together as a team to take not just one but two diamonds in the rough and turn them into glistening gemstones!


I know I speak for Jason, Trey and Andre as well as everyone here at Autogeek when I say if it wasn't for all your hard work this project would not have been the huge success that it is.

I know Dennis, Richard, AJ and Ben were all impressed by your hard work and the show car results created live at this car show.


On a personal note.... I really enjoyed meeting each one of you and putting a name to a face and to your Avatar. One thing I've noticed about our forum and the detailing industry in general and that is it attracts high caliber people that conduct themselves in a professional manner both on our forum and in the real world.

I am completely impressed with everyone's dedication and passion to this craft and the results from your work show each one of you hold yourselves and your work to the highest standards.

Anyone that has been reading my posts over the years notices I very very rarely use the bowdown emoticon so when I do use it... I mean it. And when I have used it in the past I think I've only used three at the max...





So thank you very much for all that you did this weekend to help us knock this project completely out of the park!

Stay tuned as I have pictures to post of everyone working on these two project cars.

[David Hayward]

I had a lot of fun and the car show was great too. I'd do it again in a heart beat. Was nice to talk with everyone in person.

[refreshauto]

Mike i want to thank you and Autogeek for the opportunity to be part of this team. We had such a good time there. We would do it again if given the chance. it was nice to meet all the team members and putting a face to a name.

on a side note, it was really neat to see how the production of the show works.

[David Hayward]

The only negative I have from the weekend is it's going to cost me a few bucks for a new polisher to use along side my griots garage. I really liked using the flex for the first time.

[Mike Phillips]

So here's how this project went....

First thing in the morning Dennis and Ben took off in their Golf Kart to film the car show for the upcoming episode of My Classic Car.

Jason and I followed in our own Golf Cart. The goal was to drive through the old part of town where the car show was taking place and look for a cool car with swirls to use for our segment.

In these first few shots you'll see Dennis driving the golf cart and Ben shooting video...










1974 Satellite Sebring Plus
As we drove around Dennis spied this unusual Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus which is a rare version of the Satellite Sebring.






The owner Janie restored the car and during the process upgraded the 318 cubic inch engine to the 440 Big Block!




Unique and black with swirls
Dennis and I looked this Satellite over really well and not only was it a high quality build the paint was filled with swirls and scratches. We decided that being a unique and somewhat rare model plus having black paint with swirls it would be a good candidate for the Autogeek Pro Detail Team to use for our extreme makeover.

So Janie jumped into her car and Dennis lead her back to the Autogeek booth and Jason and I followed.






Here's Janie arriving to the Autogeek booth. While we were out scouting cars, the team was busy buffing out a 1967 Chevy Impala to warm up and do a test run to make sure everything was working well in this open-air environment.





She parked her car and then Richard captured the swirls in the finish to show how the paint looks before we do the extreme makeover.








After finishing the Impala Janie backed her Satellite under our canopy and we filmed the open to the segment.






My job was to play the role of teacher and explain to Jaine and by default the TV audience that will be watching this show in the future,

The problem = Swirls in the paint on a show car.

The solution = Pinnacle polishes to remove the swirls & Pinnacle Souveran wax to seal the paint and give it a sizzling shine!




I did a three step process including showing how to use the Flex 3401 with Lake Country CCS pads to,

Step 1 - Removing the swirls with Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover.

Step 2 - Polishing the paint to a high gloss with Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish.

Step 3 - Machine waxing with Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax.

Then after filming the process to be used I told Janie that the Autogeek Pro Detailing Team would repeat this same process to the entire car and that's when the guys jumped in and started working their magic.

[refreshauto]

Was really cool to meet Dennis, really down to earth guy and his crew was really easy to work with also...



Sent from my SPH-D710 using AG Online

[Mike Phillips]

After shooting the opening segment the team jumped in went right to work.


Start with a clean surface
First up was to insure the car was clean and dust free before claying. To get the car clean we used the Pinnacle Liquid Crystal Waterless Wash with Carnauba and the very plush Supreme 530 Gray Microfiber Towels.









This Satellite has a matte finish wing on the back and to protect it during the buff-out and to prevent any product splatter from getting on the matte finish we covered it with a microfiber cover-up towel and a couple of smaller microfiber towels and secured these towels in place using 3M painter's tape.











Using Detailing Clay
Next we clayed the paint using Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay with Pinalce Clay Lube to remove the above surface bonded contaminants. As I've documented hundreds of times on this forum, even show cars get a build-up of contaminants on the paint.

Baggie Test
We did the baggie test before claying to inspect for contaminants and our test revealed that yes, the paint was contaminated.




Here's Wendall Jarvis claying the front fender...







Fresh Air Grills
That's David aka Truetech74 taping off the fresh air grills on the hood. Before we work on any classic or muscle car with fresh air grills I always inspect the area UNDERNEATH the fresh air grill for compound and polish splatter because most people don't tape-off and cover these openings.

The problem is for most cars, there's no way to get in there and remove the splatter dots so they are there forever and they are unsightly.

I pointed these fresh are grills out to everyone and lucky for Jaine, no one has ever splatted product down behind them in the past and our team certainly wasn't going to be the first to do it.







Protecting Vinyl Graphics
Here's Billy carefully taping off the outer edges of the vinyl graphics so we didn't harm them or get polish residue jammed against the edges.





Edges, Raised Body Line & Corners
For all edges, raised body lines and sharp corners we used 3M Blue Vinyl Tape to cover and protect these.





Wheel Maskers
The tires already had a nice sheen from a tire dressing and the wheels were in great shape, so to prevent any splatter while machine buffing this Satellite 3 times we covered and protected the wheels and tires with wheel maskers.





Swirls and Scratches
Richard, the Cameraman filmed the swirls in the paint before we moved the car under the canopy. To document the condition of the paint I took these two pictures showing the swirls and scratches in Janie's Satellite.





Swirls and scratches make the pant look dull and hazy

On camera, I shared with the TV audience that when a the clear layer of paint has swirls and scratches the paint itself, where it's scratched becomes opaque or white, think of frosted glass, it's white not clear.

Thousands and thousands of swirls and scratches in the clearcoat not only make the paint hazy or cloudy looking but they block your eyes from seeing the true color under the clearcoat.

One major point about "Show Cars" is a show car should have a show car finish and as most of us know that attend car shows, all to often the coolest looking cars also have the worst looking paint. That's what Autogeek is all about, we provide both the education to show people how to address car appearance issues like swirls and scratches and we're also the world's larges online supplier of car detailing supplies with the best and friendlies customer care staff to answer your questions and make sure you get the products you need shipped right to your door.





Removing swirls
After claying the paint the next step is to remove all the swirls and this is where the most important factor is the abrasive technology used in the polish. It's the abrasives in the polish that are actually touching the paint and while your choice of pads, tools and even your technique are all important the end results starts with what's inside the bottle.

For this step we're using Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover which is a medium cut polish. It uses diminishing abrasives embodied in a rich lubricating oil base and the net effect is it has the ability to remove below surface defects like swirls and scratches without leaving any of it's own swirls or scratches in the process.

To the right in the below pictures is Paul using a Flex 3401 with a Lake Country CCS Orange Foam Cutting pad and Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover to remove all the swirls and restore a defect-free surface.





In the back is David and towards the front is Bobby, both guys are using the Flex 3401 with Lake Country CCS Orange Foam Cutting pad and Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover to remove all the swirls.







Here's Jason working on the back of the car and that's Chris Dasher behind him working on the side of the car.





Chris Dasher brought his own Bigfoot 21 to use on this project and here's he's using a Lake Country CCS Orange Foam Cutting pad and Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover to remove swirls, scratches and water spots.





After buffing Chris inspects the results to make sure the swirls are removed before moving to a new section. This is the kind of dedication to the craft that separates the Pros from the hacks in the detailing world.

[Mike Phillips]

Continued.....

Just to note to anyone reading this that has never buffed out a car outside, (you mobile guys all know what I'm talking about), even though we're under a canopy it's still really hot outside including the pavement and you're going to see a few guys actually sitting and laying on the ground as they buff on the paint and I'll guarantee you the pavement was hot!


Here's Vargas working on the top of the front fender....




That's Wendall working on the front of the car...





Here's Bob aka b0b working on the driver's door...





This is David working on the passenger side door....




That's Allen getting the lower valance, talk about dedication. This is a living example of my philosophy that goes like this,

If it has paint... it gets polished!






Teamwork
It means everyone working together to accomplish a goal. In our case it's a show car finish.





Final Polishing
If you look at the pad Vargas is using it's white, he's switched over to the less aggressive Lake Country CCS White Foam Polishing pad to re-polish all the paint to maximize gloss and clarity.





Now Billy and Allen have switched over to the white foam polishing pads...







Machine Waxing
Here's Billy machine applying wax using the VERY soft Lake Country Blue CCS Waxing Pad...