601 pictures - what a real hands-on detailing class looks like!

[Mike Phillips]

More...

After doing a waterless Prep Wash using Dr. Beasley's Prep Wash, next up I did a full demo from start to finish on these topics,

• How to correctly hand dry sand.
• How to correctly machine dry sand
• How to use a rotary polisher with a wool cutting pad to remove sanding marks.
• How to use an orbital polisher to remove holograms left by the wool/fiber cutting pad on a rotary polisher.

After the above demo and a brief time for questions and answers, it was time to turn the class loose and then walk around and monitor the class. Anytime I see someone using the correct technique and getting great results I stop to talk with them and let them know they are spot-on. Anytime I see anyone doing anything incorrect, I also stop to talk with them and offer feedback on how and where they can tweak their technique to work faster, more efficiently and most important - safer.

Here's Meko tackling the front passenger side fender...

Here's Daniel sanding the passenger side door...

The approach being used here will work but I moved Joe to the back of the car and then let him work the sanding block and not only did he find it faster but also easier.

Teamwork!

Inspection Time - More sanding needed
The guys are doing good, especially for the folks that have NEVER sanded down orange peel before. What you're seeing in the picture below is some light sanding but a lot more is still needed.





Tight pattern - no M's or W's

Looking good!

Sanding on the driver's side of the hood is Thomas with Meko and Jhonathan on the passenger side...

Andy knocks out the driver's side fender while Derick tackles the driver's side door...

Here's the results after the hand sanding process.

Next up... machine dry sanding....

 

[Mike Phillips]

More...

Here's lunch break.

No apologies there are no chairs in our Stuart classes, it's actually our selling point. At least 2 people turned a Werner Work Platform into a chair for lunch. Pretty much everyone else pulled-up a chunk of floor.

Our classes?
We cover too many topics, tools, products and techniques to have people sitting around in chairs. If you want to take a car or boat detailing class with chairs, there's plenty of other classes out there. From the time class starts until the end of the day - it's all hands-on. After the class, when you return to your hometown - you can sit all you like.


Find locations and dates for classes coming up!

 

[Mike Phillips]

More...


Machine dry sanding using FLEX tools and Eagle Abrasives by KOVAX

In the pictures below, you'll see the class switch over to machine dry sanding. The goal here is to refine 100% of the 1500 grit sanding marks from the hand sanding step to 2500 sanding marks. This will not only further increase the D.O.I. - it will also make removing the sanding marks via the rotary polisher faster and easier. This is the segment of the sanding class that we SUPER STRESS the importance of doing a great job refining 1500 to 2500 sanding marks. If you don't, then it's going to be a lot more difficult and require more time to buff out 1500 grit sanding marks. Can it be done? You bet. It's just more time consuming and you risk creating more heat as you buff longer and press harder on the rotary polisher.

The FLEX Thank you FLEX Power Tools!
A shout out to say thank you to John Carnevale and Chris Metcalf for providing FLEX tools for all our Future of Detailing classes.

The FLEX FX3411-Z 24 Volt Random Orbital Sander - 1.6mm Orbit Stroke Length or approximately 1/16th Orbit Stroke Length
John and Chris sent us the brand-new CORDLESS FLEX FX3411 D.A. Sanders Because it's a cordless, electric dual action sander, there's no stiff compressed airline like pneumatic air sanders have as well as no electric power cord to hassle with. This truly makes controlling and using the sander a breeze - especially for first timers. This is actually a power tool sold into the wood sanding industry and as a wood sander, this would be considered a finishing sander. As a finishing sander, it's the perfect follow-up to hand sanding to refine 1500 grit sanding marks to 2500 sanding marks, which will make buffing out the sanding marks faster and easier.

The FLEX PXE 80 aka the FLEX PiXiE
The FLEX PiXiE is another cool cordless tool from FLEX. Originally it came with 3 drive units, rotary, 3mm random orbit and 12mm random orbit. I was given one of the first PiXiE's in the United States from Chris Metcalf at SEMA a few years ago when this tool was first introduced to the public. Immediately a saw it as the perfect micro-tool for machine sanding. The problem is the 3mm and 12mm random orbit drive units simply weren't optimum for machine sanding. I contacted Chris Metcalf and asked if he could get the Engineers at FLEX to make me a 6mm random orbit drive unit and I'm happy to say then not only sent me a prototype, but they have since then introduced this as an accessory drive unit that you can now purchase to turn your FLEX PiXiE from a paint correction polisher to a 3" random orbital sander. Thank you everyone at FLEX.


Here's Godfrey, Jhonathan and Thomos ;using the new FLEX FX3411 D.A. Sanders to refine 1500 to 2500 on the hood of the 1965 Ford Galaxie.

Here's Andy using the FLEX PXE 80 with a custom cut 2" sanding disc on a 2" backing plate.
Before the class started, I custom cut 1" and 2" sanding discs out of larger 6" discs for machine dry sanding in tight places and for thin panels.

Here's Meko working the passenger side fender. with David and Joe behind him working the trunk lid.

David and Joe tag-teaming the trunk lid...

Here's Daniel using the FLEX FX3411 DA Sander and also a Lake Country Swirl Finder light to light up the side of the passenger rear fender as he sands.

Here's Derick using the FLEX PiXiE with a 3" sanding disc on the driver's side door.

Here's Russel sharing some sanding technique tips with Daniel.

Thank you to Bob Myers at Lake Country Power Tools for sending us 12 Lake Country Swirl Finder Lights for our classes. Just to note, anyone doing this type of work NEEDS a great hand-held light.

 

[Mike Phillips]

More...

Dr. Beasley's NSP 150 + Wool Cutting Pads + FLEX PE-150 Cordless Rotary Polishers
After the machine dry sanding step, it's time to remove our sanding marks. It's VITAL that each person is completely focused on the task at hand. If you don't buff enough - you leave sanding marks behind. If you buff to long you risk burning through an edge or raised body line.


Check out the extreme concentration in the eyes of Jhonathan as he performs EDGEWORK with a spinning 8" wool cutting pad on a rotary polisher!

Step-by-step, this orange peel removal process is coming along just fine!

When buffing large panels, after tackling the edgework, you always start in the middle and work your way outward.

Here's Andy working the FLEX PE-150 like a BOSS!

Look at Meko shoving the spinning wool cutting pad under the door handle to remove the sanding marks. The FLEX CORDLESS PE-150 has all the power of a corded tool without the hassle of dealing with a cord.

No chairs. No sitting. No PowerPoint - Pure, 100% hands-on learning.

Try to find ANY pictures, for ANY other class on the market that show this much hands-on time on not just cars - but COOL cars.

Don't get stuck sitting in a chair looking at the wall as someone drones on and on and on about how great their products, instead, Click here to find locations and dates for upcoming Future of Detailing Classes!

The rotary polisher for the win!

Here's Joe working the rotary like a pro! And David doing the same!

Looking good Daniel!

The class is finishing the rotary work and next up, we switch over to Dr. Beasley's NSP 95 Primer with foam pads on orbital polishers.

 

[Mike Phillips]

More...

Removing holograms and creating a swirl-free show car finish!

As you've seen previous in the write-up, we teach multiple-step paint correction, (the 1937 Ford), one-step paint correction, (the 2011 Mercedes-Benz), one-step ceramic AIO paint correction, (the 1982 AMC Eagle and the 1979 Ford Stepside Shorty and the 2018 Ford F150 Pickup Truck), and on Saturday, after the class has built a FOUNDATION of skill and knowledge to draw from - now they are learning the real-deal. Real show car detailing that started with sanding, the rotary work and now using orbital polishers to perfect the paint.

What are holograms and were do they come from?
Holograms are a distinct and specific scratch pattern inflicted into the paint when using rotary polisher and some type of fiber pad and even from foam cutting pads. It's a NORMAL defect from this type of tool, pad and process. The cure it to RE-POLISH using the uniform texture of a foam pad and some type of orbital polisher.


First a quick demonstration and explanation of the hologram removal process...

Then I turn the class loose to finish the job!

 

[Mike Phillips]

More...

Installing the Dr. Beasley's Nano-Resin MX Ceramic Coating

The MX Ceramic Coating is a 2-part system.

Part 1 - Paint Coating Builder
The first part lays down the foundation for the entire matrix of ceramic protection. You apply this using the an overlapping crosshatch pattern. Allow this coating to dwell for 2-3 minutes and the gently remove using clean, microfiber towels.

Part 2 - Nano-Resin MX
The second part is to install the MX Ceramic Coating. For this step, you apply using an overlapping crosshatch pattern. The flash time for this is 30 seconds to 1 minute. After waiting for 30 seconds to 1 minute, carefully level the coating using a clean, microfiber towel and remove any excess.

Lake Country Swirl Finder Light tells the whole story!
The below picture is cropped out of the picture above - The Lake Country Swirl Finder Light shows a perfect, swirl-free finish AFTER a complex multiple-step sanding, paint correction and ceramic coating process including,

1. Block dry sanding by hand using Eagle Abrasives by KOVAX.
2. Machine dry sanding with D.A. Sanders using Eagle Abrasives by KOVAX.
3. A wool pad/rotary polisher process using Dr. Beasley's NSP 150.
4. A foam pad/orbital polisher process with Dr. Beasley's NSP 95.
5. Installation of the Dr. Beasley's Nano-Resin MX Ceramic Coating Kit.

The class used many of the skills and techniques learned on Friday for this show car detail on Saturday. Nice work team!

I love Daniel's passion for perfection!

Here's Meko doing his impersonation of the Karate Kid - Wax on! Wax off! Or in our case, Ceramic Coating ON! Ceramic Coating OFF!

Finishing touches...

Thank you Russel for adding the finishing touches by applying Dr. Beasley's Tire Conditioner!

And here's the final results!

Here's what we used...

The Eagle Abrasives KOVAX Dry Sanding System - FLEX Cordless FX3411 DA Sander - FLEX PXE-80 with the 6mm drive unit

For removing the sanding marks we used the Dr. Beasley’s NSP 150 Primer with wool cutting pads on the FLEX Cordless PE-150 Rotary Polisher.

For removing the hologram scratches from the fibers from the wool pad we used the Dr. Beasley’s NSP 95 Primer with orbital polishers and Dr. Beasley’s HDO Blue Cutting Pad

To seal and protect the paint and all their hard work, we used the Dr. Beasley's Nano-Resin MX Kit

And here's the team that made the magic happen!

Nice work everyone!