Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 6
2 ways to cover the fresh air grill on a classic muscle car
In the car detailing classes I teach, I share a LOT of tips and techniques. Here's just 2 of them having to do with how to cover over the fresh air intake grills on classic cars and muscle cars.
Why cover them up?
IF you don't cover them up - chances are good you'll sling splatter dots of product, (compound, polish or aio), down past the grill and inside the chamber. Once these splatter dots of product are down there it's normally impossible to remove them because there's no way to access these areas.
I teach my class how to inspect for pre-existing splatter dots and in a perfect world - you do this with the owner of the car. If there are splatter dots already down in these areas, it's great to point them out to the owner so they know you did NOT do it. Often times they don't know they are there. You, being a TRAINED detailer know to look and inspect BEFORE buffing out someone else's car and make sure the other guy gets all the recognition for their shoddy work.
If there are no splatter dots down inside the chamber below the grill - that's okay too. Now the owner can see you actually know our stuff. At least your smart enough, wise enough and have the experience to know to look in these areas.
Regardless of whether there are or are not any splatter dots in these areas, YOU don't want to add any to what's already there or be the guy that slings splatter dots into these areas - so YOU - cover these areas up.
Here's two ways to cover fresh air grills - one is with tape and the other way is to use a WET MICROFIBER TOWEL.
The Tape Technique
This is pretty basic, you simply place tape onto the grill and then after the job, remove the tape. The problem you can get into with this technique is if the person that painted the car did shoddy work - you can actually pull the paint off these areas when you remove the tape. On FACTORY paint it's less of a risk but with CUSTOM paint - it's an unknown risk. But here's how you do it,
I highly recommend burning your tape before using the above technique.
Burning Tape
The Wet Microfiber Towel Technique
This the safe way to cover and protect this area. Take a microfiber towel and get it saturated wet. Then wring out "most" of the water. Don't wring it all out, but wring out enough that it's not running or dripping out of the towel.
Next - fold the towel to fit the size of the grill and then place the wet towel onto the grill.
Why a wet microfiber towel?
Great question.
A WET microfiber towel has WEIGHT. The weight will keep the towel in place. A dry towel will slide off or move around when the air-current from the spinning pad on your polisher. Of course, be careful not to run the edge of the spinning pad into the towel. (common sense).
Here's what the wet microfiber towel technique looks like,
Both techniques will work. My first choice is the wet microfiber towel technique simply because it reduces any risk of finding bad paint adhesion.
Hope this helps someone...
In the car detailing classes I teach, I share a LOT of tips and techniques. Here's just 2 of them having to do with how to cover over the fresh air intake grills on classic cars and muscle cars.
Why cover them up?
IF you don't cover them up - chances are good you'll sling splatter dots of product, (compound, polish or aio), down past the grill and inside the chamber. Once these splatter dots of product are down there it's normally impossible to remove them because there's no way to access these areas.
I teach my class how to inspect for pre-existing splatter dots and in a perfect world - you do this with the owner of the car. If there are splatter dots already down in these areas, it's great to point them out to the owner so they know you did NOT do it. Often times they don't know they are there. You, being a TRAINED detailer know to look and inspect BEFORE buffing out someone else's car and make sure the other guy gets all the recognition for their shoddy work.
If there are no splatter dots down inside the chamber below the grill - that's okay too. Now the owner can see you actually know our stuff. At least your smart enough, wise enough and have the experience to know to look in these areas.
Regardless of whether there are or are not any splatter dots in these areas, YOU don't want to add any to what's already there or be the guy that slings splatter dots into these areas - so YOU - cover these areas up.
Here's two ways to cover fresh air grills - one is with tape and the other way is to use a WET MICROFIBER TOWEL.
The Tape Technique
This is pretty basic, you simply place tape onto the grill and then after the job, remove the tape. The problem you can get into with this technique is if the person that painted the car did shoddy work - you can actually pull the paint off these areas when you remove the tape. On FACTORY paint it's less of a risk but with CUSTOM paint - it's an unknown risk. But here's how you do it,
I highly recommend burning your tape before using the above technique.
Burning Tape
The Wet Microfiber Towel Technique
This the safe way to cover and protect this area. Take a microfiber towel and get it saturated wet. Then wring out "most" of the water. Don't wring it all out, but wring out enough that it's not running or dripping out of the towel.
Next - fold the towel to fit the size of the grill and then place the wet towel onto the grill.
Why a wet microfiber towel?
Great question.
A WET microfiber towel has WEIGHT. The weight will keep the towel in place. A dry towel will slide off or move around when the air-current from the spinning pad on your polisher. Of course, be careful not to run the edge of the spinning pad into the towel. (common sense).
Here's what the wet microfiber towel technique looks like,
Both techniques will work. My first choice is the wet microfiber towel technique simply because it reduces any risk of finding bad paint adhesion.
Hope this helps someone...
