1970 1/2 Camaro - Show Car Finish by Pinnacle - Modeled by Amy

[Mean SS]

I saw this car at the show at PGA national and it is pure beauty, now it's gone to a level you wouldn't think was necessary or possible, just goes to show painters do great work but it is skilled detailers that really bring out the full potential of paint.

The scratch correction is amazing. Keep that light away from mine cuz it would scare you with what it would reveal

Truly great work and an awesome split bumper camaro.

Saw you vid on you tube. Very nice !

[Harleyguy]

These featured cars are awesome but I've noticed that they all seem to be "show cars" or "trailer queens" no offense but they seem to be well taken care of already.Have you guys ever thought of bringing in a bada$$ daily driver or a car that was neglected to restore?

From what I understand the cars Mike picks are just not random cars . Yes Mike finds these cars at car shows were else would you find them . The cars that I've been involved in are far from trailer queens sure the cars looked ok but Mike likes bringing the car to the next level which is almost always done . We did an MG last year that was never in a show and was a daily driver.I don't want to talk for Mike but I know he has his reasons for doing what he does . You also have to understand the time frame we have to do these cars . We started a 5pm and we were shooting for a 9pm finish four hours isn't enough time to do a 3 step correction on a bad ass daily driver . You need to start with a car that's in pretty good shape and needs some extra attention . If you could ever make it too one of these make overs you would understand what is trying to be accomplished .

[Twister]

Great job on an awesome car. I really love the 2nd gen f-bodies.

[Mike Phillips]

These featured cars are awesome but I've noticed that they all seem to be "show cars" or "trailer queens" no offense but they seem to be well taken care of already.

Actually... if you read the text and look at the pictures... I document that even though these area show cars or special interest vehicles, they all have something wrong with them, for example the Camaro in this thread... from page 2

Okay... so when the Camaro arrived I took this picture and most people just by looking at the picture or even the car from a few feet away would die to have a custom paint job this nice....




But the Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light reveals the true condition of the paint and that is a surface filled with,

• Swirls
• Scratches
• Pig Tails
• RIDS
• Tracers
• Micro-marring also called DA Haze

You can find a definition for all of the above in either my e-book or in this article here,

Tracers Tracers - RIDS - Pigtails - Cobweb Swirls - Rotary Buffer Swirls - Holograms - Water Spots - Bird Drooping Etchings - Micro-Marring



Check it out...

Pig Tails
If you look closely you can see a scratch that looks like the letter e in cursive writing running horizontally across the paint, this is called a Pig Tail and it generally comes from an abrasive particle that gets trapped between the paint and a sanding disc when machine sanding. The entire finish had Pig Tails plus Tracers randomly dispersed...





Micro-marring also called Tick Marks or DA Haze
The millions of tiny, small scratches highlighted by the Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light are caused by improperly worked abrasives when using a DA Polisher like the Porter Cable 7424XP, Meguiar's G110v2, Griot's Garage 6" ROP or Shurhold DA Polisher. These types of scratches are through out the entire car but you can really only see them on the black stripes not the metallic green paint. The point is that even though your eyes can't see them on the lighter colors they still cloud and dull the finish and keep you from seeing the beautiful color and/or metallic finish under the clear. These have to go!





RIDS - Random, Isolated Deeper Scratches
These types of scratches come from normal wear and tear and don't have any pattern to them thus the use of the word random in the description.




More information on RIDS here...
RIDS - The Definition of RIDS and the story behind the term...


Swirls and Scratches
What I see here is a combination of RIDS, swirls, DA Haze and Arc Scratches probably caused by wiping but they are also caused by improper use of a rotary buffer.





And just for the record, the nickname for the Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light is the Cruel Master because it's hard to please...

Have you guys ever thought of bringing in a bada$$ daily driver or a car that was neglected to restore?

Been there done that all my life... in fact the largest percentage of cars I've buffed out were one step away from needing re-painted the finish was so horrendous...

I've stated it before but here goes again...

It's easy to show a dramatic before and after difference when working on a car in horrendous shape...


Like this,

2006 Mustang GT Convertible - Meguiar’s DA Microfiber Polishing System

Here's a few shots taken in the sun. Note how the swirls in the paint closest to the windshield have an almost floating or 3D effect, this is where the term hologram comes from in the context of talking about swirls instilled by a rotary buffer.

Before









After








It's a lot more difficult to show a dramatic before and after difference when you're starting out with something already in pretty good shape... like the 1954 Ford F-100 shown in this thread.


I can assure you I've worked the entire spectrum of conditions of car paint and I can cyber-dig up the pictures and how-to articles to go with them.

My personal choice is to work on "Special Interest" cars but I can work on a Toyota Camry if I choose and in fact I buffed one out two or three weeks ago but didn't post any of the pictures to the forum, just not my prefernece...
(I'll post a picture tomorrow as it's on my home computer)


Here's a swirled out project... not as exciting as a show car...

Good upper body workout - Buffing out Bruno's RV






Me...



Nick...




After













Great questions pickles, hope I was able to answer them...

[Mike Phillips]

You also have to understand the time frame we have to do these cars . We started a 5pm and we were shooting for a 9pm finish four hours isn't enough time to do a 3 step correction on a bad ass daily driver .

Time is a huge factor.

At these detail projects and all the TNOG's and Extreme Makeovers I conducted for Meguiar's over the years someone has to play "Team Leader" as well as be accountable and responsible for the work done.

I've always been very lucky wherever I've worked in that I'm surrounded by very passionate and talented people. That makes it very easy to delegate a job to someone, for example asking Adam to do the Test Spot, knowing I can trust their results are accurate and I don't have oversee his work.

I have some project cars coming up on Saturdays and this is for two reasons,

1. To accommodate the owner's schedule
2. To enable people that live far away the time to travel here to join in the fun


I could do all these by myself but I would rather use them as teachable moments to help others...

"You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want"

-Zig Ziglar

For example, neither Nicole or her dad Tommy had ever buffed out a car by machine.... but now they at least know the basics and they're not afraid to work on the paint on their own car or show their friends... (Each one teach one philosophy)




And this was the first time Chavron ever used a machine, his first time was on the 1977 Can Am Corvette, black no less...


After the rotary work, Chavron helps by re-polishing using a Griot's Garage DA Polisher with a Crimson Finishing Pad and Optimum Hyper-Polish



And this was the owners first time to use a machine to polish paint...





And speaking of SWIRLS!


Here's how this car looked when it arrived...

1977 Can Am Corvette - Modeled by Amy and Janna - Pictures and Video!











After

[zmanz]

I'd prefer to see Nicole modeling the car.

+1 on that. Her in Jeans, flip flops and t-shirt beat fishnet stockings. I know it's the Mary Ann vs Ginger thing but Mary Ann gets my vote. ( the younger readers are probably going, who? )

[art72]

That is one sweet Camaro! -The Vette's nice too...

[TLMitchell]

I know it's the Mary Ann vs Ginger thing but Mary Ann gets my vote. ( the younger readers are probably going, who? )

I'm betting Flash preferred Mrs. Howell.

TL

[Witchdoc]

Time is a huge factor.

At these detail projects and all the TNOG's and Extreme Makeovers I conducted for Meguiar's over the years someone has to play "Team Leader" as well as be accountable and responsible for the work done.

I've always been very lucky wherever I've worked in that I'm surrounded by very passionate and talented people. That makes it very easy to delegate a job to someone, for example asking Adam to do the Test Spot, knowing I can trust their results are accurate and I don't have oversee his work.

I have some project cars coming up on Saturdays and this is for two reasons,

1. To accommodate the owner's schedule
2. To enable people that live far away the time to travel here to join in the fun


I could do all these by myself but I would rather use them as teachable moments to help others...

"You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want"

-Zig Ziglar

For example, neither Nicole or her dad Tommy had ever buffed out a car by machine.... but now they at least know the basics and they're not afraid to work on the paint on their own car or show their friends... (Each one teach one philosophy)




And this was the first time Chavron ever used a machine, his first time was on the 1977 Can Am Corvette, black no less...


After the rotary work, Chavron helps by re-polishing using a Griot's Garage DA Polisher with a Crimson Finishing Pad and Optimum Hyper-Polish



And this was the owners first time to use a machine to polish paint...





And speaking of SWIRLS!


Here's how this car looked when it arrived...

1977 Can Am Corvette - Modeled by Amy and Janna - Pictures and Video!











After

I would love to learn all this hands on with Mike and other pros. I have a 2011 GL450 that has the scratches and swirl marks when i got it at the Mercedes dealer. I'm sure car wash and there style of detailing did it. I am going to be purchasing 2500 of goods and yes this will be my first time detailing, I don't want to mess it up being black. I will drive from Chicago to learn it hands on.

[Mike Phillips]

I would love to learn all this hands on with Mike and other pros.

I have a 2011 GL450 that has the scratches and swirl marks when i got it at the Mercedes dealer. I'm sure car wash and there style of detailing did it. I am going to be purchasing 2500 of goods and yes this will be my first time detailing, I don't want to mess it up being black.


I will drive from Chicago to learn it hands on.

• At my last Detailing Boot Camp Classes the average distance traveled for each student 625 miles.

• The longest distance traveled was 1,390 miles.

• The shortest distance traveled was 40 miles.

And the majority of people drove to Autogeek while a few did fly-in.


Regardless of how far you travel the skills and knowledge you gain will last a lifetime. We may be changing our "Autogeek's Thursday Night Car of the Week" program to Saturdays and also change the format a little to be more of a clinic where we work on a lot of cars instead of just one car.

As more information because available I'll post a new thread on the topic.


Anyone interested in attending a Saturday Detailing Clinic to work on their own car from any distance to Stuart, Florida should send me an e-mail.

mike.phillips@autogeek.net