Aaahh Nice!!!
I've tried to mentor quite a few guys now, and I always recommend that they become a member here and begin to post and ask questions and contribute to the forum.
I never demand or expect anything from the guys I try to teach. The way I see it, when they come to me for guidance or help to get them up to speed on something they want to achieve, and they won't do the things I recommend...it tells me that they don't really have their heart into it...And If they don't have their heart into it....Why should I take time out of my super bogged down and busy life to show them the ropes when they aren't willing to show up for their own project...?..
Having said all that....It makes me very happy to see Will taking the time out of his otherwise very busy schedule to get involved in this endeavor. Will is a very astute student who listens, thinks about and even offers suggestions to a possible better way of doing things as I try to share my experience with him.
When someone asks me to pour out a bunch of effort to teach them about detailing or anything else for that matter...I normally think "Oh yeah...here we go again", starting out on a skeptical or negative feeling like I'll be doing a bunch of extra work to guide someone who won't put forth much effort. That is normally how it goes too, but Will has shattered those initial negative thoughts of mine, showing up every chance he can to learn something.
Will and I have a deal, where one day he shows up at the shop and we talk a lot about the theory of what it is that he wants to do with his business, what products, tools and processes might best fit his goals, and then we get after it with some hands on experience and guided "Just do it" type of effort. I show him how to do something and turn him loose on it, allowing him to make mistakes and do things the wrong way, then when he doesn't get the results he's expecting I help him to correct his technique and try again.
Then the next time Will comes to the shop, he helps me bust out the work I have scheduled for that day whether it be detailing related stuff or doing mechanical repairs.This is a great setup because it's not at all one sided. The second day of work pays for the first day of teaching.
Here are a few photos of one of the day's teachings where Will and I got involved in some very fast paint correction using a 3000 grit damp sanding method to quickly remove a majority of defects rather than taking all the time to compound the defects away. A fast in and out service will be a big part of his business plan, but he also wants to be able to understand and achieve a higher end "paint correction" service and offer it at an affordable rate. To achieve this...speed will be of the essence.
So far so good, and one thing for sure....with all the wheelchair accessible mini vans sitting around my shop...we're never with a shortage of test subjects.
I look forward to our next session. Will, I know you've had a few recent setbacks and changes in scheduling. Just take your time, get you ducks in a row, spend a little time interacting on this forum in the mean time
as time permits and I'll be around and we'll get back to it when the time is right.
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