Pictures & Comments from September 2012 Detailing Boot Camp

[Mike Phillips]

Mike made sure to get everyone on a rotary and a DA so we had a chance to really work with them and see what suited us best and how each one worked.

The class was great and Mike and Nick really worked hard to get everybody the most out of the class they could you guys rock

Thanks for the kind words... hands-on training is the most important aspect... and that's why we push everyone to get in there and get their hands on the tools and get to work...


More pics coming up...

[Mike Phillips]

Here's Jeff learning how to use a rotary buffer...


First is the basics and that's how to pick up a bead of product using the 101 @ 10 Technique...




Perfect. Once he gets past the bead of product he quickly lays the pad flat to lock the product between his pad and the paint EXACTLY WHERE YOU WANT IT! Not splattered all over the car or yourself.



Here he's cutting the swirls and scratches from along an edge, also called edging...



Getting a little correction on his angle around the script...



Going up on edge to remove the swirls and scratches around the gas cap...



And how he's making his "Cover Passes" to clean things up and finish out that panel




Nothing like learning to use a rotary buffer on a classic Corvette instead of a mundane rental car...

[Bunky]

It looks like everyone had a great time.

[Mike Phillips]

It looks like everyone had a great time.

It was an awesome class. Great people, cool cars, lots of work, lots of learning, skill that will last a lifetime...

Wait till you see the before and after pictures of the trashed 2008 BLACK Cadillac that was restored using the Meguiar's Microfiber DA System and the 1998 Lincoln Town Car with oxidized single stage paint that looks like it has a brand new paint job after using Blackfire Total Polish & Seal.

[Mike Phillips]

Continued...


Here's Eric working out the swirls and scratches next to the raised body line and curved area on the panel behind the where the convertible top attaches...



Then around the edge of the convertible top...



Then along the back edge...



After edging the panel he knocks out the flat, major portion of this panel and ties all his work together with a few cover passes...



Jay's up next but first he's going to demonstrate how to clean a wool pad on a rotary buffer using a steel spur...



Perfect...



Picking up his bead using the 10 @ 10 Technique...



Cutting out the swirls and scratches around the back of the convertible top...



Then along the curved portion of the raised body line...



Paul's turn and Paul is going to tackle the side of the driver's side rear fender...





Anytime you're using a rotary buffer you need to be looking across from the panel you're working. If you don't have a way to lift the car then you need to lower yourself to the panel...

[Mike Phillips]

Final Results...

After finishing the polishing steps I machine applied one application of Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax and then took the below video and beauty shots...

Classic Corvette by Chevrolet, Show Car Shine by Autogeek

Beauty Shots...






















On Autogeek.net




Rotary Buffer Work

M105 Ultra Cut Compound

M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

Meguiar's Double Sided 100% Wool Cutting Pad - Used with DeWALT 849X

Meguiars 7 inch W8207 Soft Buff 2.0 Foam Polishing Pad

Meguiars 7 inch W9207 Soft Buff 2.0 Foam Finishing Pad

Meguiars 6 Inch Solo Easy Buff W66 Rotary Backing Plate

DeWALT DWP849X Variable Speed Rotary Polisher

FLEX PE14-2-150 Rotary Polisher



DA Polisher Work

Meguiar's G110v2

Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax

Lake Country Blue Finessing Flat 5.5 inch Foam Pad



Misc

Meguiars Professional Masking Tape Combo

Meguiars Professional Pad Conditioning Brush

Lake Country Wool Pad Spur

Mike Phillips' Detailing Boot Camp - January 26-27, 2013
You can learn to do this kind of work too at my next detailing boot camp class, get signed up fast.

Click here to register for the January class!

[Mike Phillips]

How to use the Meguiar's Microfiber DA Correction System


Next up... we'll see how the class does using the Meguiar's Microfiber DA Correction System to remove the swirls and scratches out of a 2008 Cadillac with factory black basecoat/clearcoat paint.


Here's the system our students get to learn how to use in entirety...




Here's our victim... a trashed 2008 Cadillac CTS. Looks good in the shade huh?




Doesn't look as good in full sun...






Here's what the paint looks like in the studio under the florescent lights...




A clean approach
One of the benefits to the D300 and the D301 is you don't have to tape and cover everything off.

That said I have my students for 2 days so I like to share as many tips and techniques as possible and that includes the Beach Towel Tip to cover the wiper arms and the plastic surrounding the wiper arms common to new cars.

They can use this technique to cover these areas and avoid getting splatter on everywhere no matter what product line they're using, they can make this decision, my job is to just show the technique.




The Beach Towel Tip does come in hand for anytime you're using a rotary buffer to reduce clean-up of the windshield, fresh air grills, wipers and plastic around the wipers.




New to machine polishing
Since some of the people attending this class have never worked by machine before including a Meguiar's G110v2 Dual Action Polisher, one of the things I like to do is to show them in a very dramatic way how safe they actually are for your car's paint by turning the polisher on and then,

Holding the pad against my hand...



Actually holding the pad with my hand with the tool turned on...



Pressing it against my hand in the same way it would be pressed against paint - point being it's a completely safe tool even for a beginner.



After centering and placing the pad onto the matching backing plate, the next thing you want to do is prime your pad.




Apply some product directly to the face of the pad and then spread it over the face and work it in well to the microscopic fibers that make microfiber what it is...





You know your students are paying close attention to any topic with pictures like these...





After priming the pad and thoroughly working the D300 Correction Compound over and into the fibers then add 3 small drops of product to the face of the pad and you're ready to start removing swirls and scratches.




Speed Setting 4
Meguiar's recommends 4800 OPM's for removing defects and on the Meguiar's G110v2 you would put the speed setting on the 4 on the variable dial.




Hold the pad flat to the surface, this is done best by using your forward hand to apply pressure directly over the top of the head of the polisher.




Make slow overlapping passes
Then make slow, overlapping passes working a small section of paint at one time. a two foot squared section is usually too large to tackle at one time, especially for a finish with as many swirls and scratches as this Cadillac had, so use good judgment and divide each panel up into smaller sections and then work one section at a time.

When you finish with one section, inspect your results and if the results look good move onto a new section and overlap a little into the previous section.




Inspect Results
After demonstrating how slow to move the polisher over the surface, the size of a section to tackle at one time and what "Section Passes" are and how to do them we turned the polisher off and inspected the results from the compounding step.



RIDS = Random Isolated Deeper Scratches - Not to worry...
In this picture I'm pointing out a random, deeper isolated scratch still remaining while pointing out the millions of swirls and scratches in the paint before we started are now completely removed. No matter what car you buff out you will always tend to have a few deeper scratches that remain and after removing the thousands of scratches that were surrounding them these remaining deeper scratches will tend to stick out like a Sore Thumb.





Second Step - D301 Finishing Wax
Although the results look great there is some light hazing which is really easy to see on black colored cars, but that's okay because the first step is the aggressive compounding step, the next step refines the results from the compounding step to produce a clear, swirl-free finish.




Finishing out...
For the D301 Finishing Wax you don't need to move as slow, use as much speed or as much downward pressure. The Finishing Wax offers light cleaning ability, just enough to remove any haze left by the D300 Correction Compound while leaving a layer of protection behind on the finish. So this step should go a lot quicker and you can tend to tackle a larger section. For speed setting, for the Meguiar's G110v2 set the variable speed dial to the 3 setting.



Inspect your results
For your Test Spot, like we're doing here, it's a good idea to re-inspect your results after working the D301 Finishing Wax. The paint should look clear and reflective with excellent gloss and shine.



If everything looks good then you've proven your system and you're ready to buff out the rest of the car simply by duplicating this same process over each panel. Normally you would start at the top and work your way down. Divide larger panels into smaller sections and overlap a little into the previous section when buffing out a new section.




Here's Audry removing swirls and scratches out of the passenger side fender using the D300 Correction Compound




Here's Erik removing swirls and scratches out of the hood, note how he places his hand inside the D-Handle to position his hand directly onto the head of the polisher.

[Mike Phillips]

Before

Swirls in full sun





Here's what the paint looks like in the studio under the florescent lights...





After

[Mike Phillips]

Here's a short video I took of the Cadillac before the owner picked it up. My next detailing boot camp class is January 26th and 27th and we'll be showing the Meguiar's Microfiber DA Correction System on another trashed, black car.






On Autogeek.net

The Complete DA Microfiber Correction System

[Mike Phillips]

Wetsanding, Cutting and Buffing Techniques

In my class I share the correct techniques for hand sanding major flat panels as well as how to machine sand using 3M Orbital Air Sanders plus the PC style DA Polishers including the 3" Griot's Garage Mini Polisher as a dampsander.

We use both 3M Trizact discs and Meguiar's Unigrit Finishing Discs in 3" and 6" sizes. After sanding I show how to use a wool pad on a rotary buffer with Meguiar's M105 to remove the sanding marks followed by Meguiar's M205 to remove any holograms left by the wool pad and the M105.

I also show how to use DA Polishers for the final machine polishing step to ensure a swirls free finish on any type of paint with both Meguiar's M205 and Menzerna SF 4500


Here's some shots showing busy, hands on training and practicing...


Here's Audrey showing the guys how to machine sand using the 3M Orbital Air Sander



Audrey has never machine sanded before so after this class she's going to be able to talk about the topic intelligently and she's going to know what she's getting into if one of her customers asks to have their car wetsanded.






Here she is doing it all by her self...






Perfectly making overlapping passes with a quick arm speed...





Now she's using the Porter Cable 7424XP to do the same thing but without having to manage an air line under pressure trying to control the sander.











Time to hand sand, first I show what not to do...




Then I show here what to do...





She has the technique down but says she finds machine sanding easier and faster...





Here we go over the 10 @ 10 Technique








Doug's turn...





Since I already buffed with the pad it needs to be cleaned first, so I show Doug how to use a steel pad cleaning spur.




Perfect...




Now it's time to remove some sanding marks...






Jay's turn...





Time to inspect...




Lester's turn with the rotary buffer...