Pictures: The Art of Polishing Paint Advanced Detailing Classes

[Mike Phillips]

Thanks Mike Phillips,

This class by far exceeded my expectations. One of the most informative and fun classes I have ever taken I would go all over again. If your into car detailing or want to know more i definitely recommend one of his classes. You leave much more confident and with a lot more knowledge overall.

Plus you get to try out all the new products and tools on the market. It couldn't have been better.

Mike Brown

Thanks Mike Phillips!

I cant say that enough. My skill set and comfort level have been brought to a new level after taking this course. We were able to use all the best products and tools and experience how they work best for each situation. The ability to first try the products really helped me recognize my needs.

Mike Phillips was hands on with us every-step of the way. I highly recommend this class everyone!

Thank you for the kind words and posting your experience from the class to the forum. If there's anything I can ever do for you into the future just let me know.

Hope to see you on the forum whenever you have any questions or sharing some of the cool cars you work on at your shop.

[sparklingwater]

Very nice indeed! Seems very time consuming. How long did the whole car actually take? How long would it take for just 1 man? Do you get paid by the hour or by the project? IS this for private parties or have you done any big sponsors/ daytona cars or anything like that?

[Mike Phillips]

Very nice indeed! Seems very time consuming.

Umm.... well.... uh... "yes". Polishing paint the right way takes time.

You cannot simply move a polisher over the paint faster and get the same results or expected results as you would by doing the job right.

That's one of the things I teach in all my classes is "correct technique" and some of that technique comes down to moving the polisher slowly over the surface to give the combination of,

• Pad type
• Abrasive technology
• Downward pressure
• Oscillating action
• Rotating action
• TIME or in words we use on the forum, ARM SPEED

You all of the above to "affect" the paint.

By affect the paint, a lot of times this means to remove small particles of paint in an effort to level it and thus create a more perfect finish and in other cases it means to maximize gloss and clarity and yet in other cases it means to lay down a coating of protection.

How long did the whole car actually take?

For our classes, we put the emphasis on "learning" not speed. It will mean more to the student over their life time.

How long would it take for just 1 man?

Most seasoned professionals could knock out this Impala in 8-12 hours. We sanded the hood as an OPTION to teach machine sanding, not because it was part of the project. It was a "primer" for the 1964 Malibu plus I personally wanted to remove all the RIDS from the "Gloss Panel" --> See my new book where I talk about Gloss Panels and Gloss Points.

Do you get paid by the hour or by the project? IS this for private parties or have you done any big sponsors/ Daytona cars or anything like that?

None of the above. I have great relationships/friends in the local car community. I've earned their trust to "touch" their toys. When I need a cool car for one of my classes I just contact a few friends to see what's available.


It's all about "earning" the owner's trust and you do that by walking the walk.

[sparklingwater]

Appreciate taking the time to answer my posts MIke! That's interesting that you do the cars for free for your classes. I assume it would make it more pleasurable!

[Mike Phillips]

Appreciate taking the time to answer my posts Mike!

No problemo...

That's interesting that you do the cars for free for your classes. I assume it would make it more pleasurable!

It's a win/win deal for everyone.

Since most of the cars you get to work on at our classes here at Autogeek are special interest vehicles in that they are usually streetrods, classics or high performance, it takes a lot of trust between myself and the owners and even though these are classes, the expectations are still very high on all sides.

Here's an example from our last class in January, 2014...


This El Camino came in all swirled out and in dire need of some help and here's what my class turned out...













The above was all done using the Rupes Polishers, Pads & Products and for most of the people in this class this was the first time they had ever used a Rupes polisher.