Pictures & Comments from the September 2017 Competition Ready Detailing Class

[Mike Phillips]

Pictures & Comments from the September 2017 Competition Ready Detailing Class


When you attend one of our 3-day detailing classes here at Autogeek you get to use ALL the cools tools plus HUNDREDS of different products from dozens of all the top companies in the car detailing industry. This is what separates our detailing classes from any other class on Planet Earth.

It's unique.

It's special.

It's educational.

It's FUN!


And our classes are HANDS-ON! We know you learn by DOING not sitting in a chair. So for our big 3-day classes I bring in 11 to 13 cars and you work on ALL OF THEM over the course of the 3 days.

And here's something that surprises most people. Most people "think" that it is detailers that attend our 3-day class at $1,795.00 - but that's actually not the case.

60% of the people that attend this class are coming to learn how to work on their own cars. They do NOT detail cars for money. The other 40% of the people that attend this class are either established detailers who want to take their skills to a higher level or new detailers just starting out and want to fast-track their career.

You're going to see pictures in this thread that fully document just how hands-on these classes are. We are also the only company that offers car detailing classes that document all the cool tools, pads and products you use and we've been doing this since 2009 - when we started our formal detailing class program.

So scroll down the page and be sure to >click< to the other pages in this thread as you're going to see a lot of ACTION!

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued....


Training Cars for Autogeek's 3-Day Detailing Classes

There is no other class on Planet Earth where you get to TRAIN on this many cars! If you truly want to learn what I call,

The art of polishing paint


Then you need to sign-up for one of these classes. We teach them 3 times a year always the SAME time.

1. Last weekend of January
2. First weekend in May
3. Last weekend in September

Click here to sign up for your class!

Or call Andrea at 1-800-869-3011 x244


Check out the cars for this class!

Every class has different cars but they are always cool like this!

1957 Chevy Bel Air

Here's how the paint looks under a swirl finder light

1970 Plymouth Cuda AAR - The REAL DEAL
This is NOT a tribute car but a numbers matching AAR Cuda

Here's how the paint looks under a swirl finder light...

1955 Chevy Nomad Streetrod

Here's how the paint looks under a swirl finder light

1957 Chevy Bel Air Streerod

Here's how the paint looks under a swirl finder light

1957 Chevy 4-Door Sedan Restored but with a basecoat/clearcoat paint system

Here's how the paint looks under a swirl finder light

1955 Chevy Sedan Delivery Streetrod - NEW Custom Paint Job - This is our wetsanding car

1967 Chevy Caprice - All original but with a modern basecoat/clearcoat paint job

1962 Chevy Corvette - Restored with a modern basecoat/clearcoat paint job

Here's how the paint looks under a swirl finder light

1957 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible - Restored with a modern basecoat/clearcoat paint job

Here's how the paint looks under a swirl finder light

1965 Mustang Fastback Restorod

2014 Hennessey Corvette 700+ Horsepower!

1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe - Big Block Chevy Streetrod

And there's actually more cars for this class....

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued....


Detailing Class - Short Stroke Orbital Polishers
Griot's, Porter Cable, Meguiar's


So much attention given to long stroke orbital polishers like 12mm, 15mm and 21mm BUT MILLIONS of cars have been buffed out using 8mm short stroke orbital polishers since the early 1990s when the Porter Cable 7424 and 7336 wood sanders were introduced to the paint polishing world.


Since then, a number of tools have been introduced that like the Porter Cable polishers, use an 8mm orbit stroke length with a free spinning spindle bearing and a counterweight to provide inertia and thus maintain pad rotation under pressure and around curved body panels, these would include:

1. Porter Cable 7424XP and all older versions
2. Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital Polisher
3. Meguiar's G110, G110v2 and MT300
4. Chemical Guys TORQ 10FX
5. Chemical Guys Torq X
6. Chicago Electric 6" Polisher (Harbor Freight DA)
7. Shurhold Dual Action Polisher
8. DAS-6 Pro Dual Action Polisher
9. Plus other no name brands that have copied the Porter Cable design

In this class you will learn how to:

1. Mechanically decontaminate paint
2. Compound to correct paint and remove swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation.
3. Polish paint to maximize gloss, shine and clarity.
4. Machine apply a wax or synthetic paint sealant to protect the paint and lock in the shine.
5. Products include: Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay and Clay Lube
6. Pinnacle Advanced Compound
7. Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish
8. Pinnacle Liquid Souveran Wax
9. Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax
10. Pads used: 5.5 inch Orange Lake Country Foam Cutting Pads
11. 5.5 inch White Lake Country Foam Heavy Polishing Pads
12. 5.5 inch Black Lake Country Foam Waxing Pad

Training Cars for this class
For this class, we will start with a 1955 Chevy Nomad Streetrod and a restored original 1957 Chevy 4-door Sedan.

NOTE THAT BOTH OF THESE CARS HAVE MODERN BASECOAT/CLEARCOAT PAINT JOBS JUST LIKE THE NEW HONDA OR FORD IN YOUR GARAGE OR DRIVEWAY


These are just 2 of the cars this class will work on over the course of our 3-day car detailing class that covers ALL the tools popular in the car detailing industry. Here's a picture of these two cars parked among the other cars this class will work on.




This is the Nomad

Here's how the Nomad looks in the real world...

This is the 4-door Sedan

And here's how the 4-door Sedan looks in the real world....

Test Spot

One of the first things you learn at one of our classes is the IMPORTANCE of doing a Test Spot and HOW to do a Test Spot.

Lots of information on the tools, pads, products and techniques to get show car results from 8mm short stroke polishers

Tape Line

To make it easy for everyone's eyes to see the before and after difference and to also prove our system is working, we use a tape line to separate how the paint looks before we start and after we do the Test Spot.

Break for Hands-on Training

After the test spot, the class is divided up into two groups and then the fun begins.... One of the reasons we bring in cool cars is because they are LARGE (besides being cool and fun to work on), and this means EVERYONE gets PLENT OF HANDS-ON TIME behind the tools. No one sits in a chair because there's not enough tools or no place to work.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued....

Team 1 tackles the Nomad

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued...

Team 2 tackles the 4-Door Sedan

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued....


Here's the results - note that not only do you learn a TON in our classes but you also learn to work as a team and often times make new life-long friends...


The 1955 Chevy Nomad...

The 1957 4-Door Sedan

And here's the class that took these two diamonds in the rough and turned them into glistening gemstones!

Nice work everyone!


Get ready for the next two cars and the next 2 types of tools, pads and products!

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued...


Detailing Class - RUPES Cyclo 15mm Free Spinning Dual Head Orbital Polisher


I tried to find "pictures" showing.... wait no... DOCUMENTING a REAL hands-on detailing class where the students were using the Cyclo polisher, introduced to the car detailing world in 1952. I couldn't find anything. At our detailing classes, you get to use ALL the cool tools and by getting real-world, hands-on experience, you will then have a real-world opinion on whether you like the tool or not. How would you know by looking at a picture of the tool? Or watching a video of the tool? Pictures and videos are nice but NOTHING beats the real-deal.

For our Cyclo class, we used a very high-end build 1957 Chevy Bel Air. Now this car has a MODERN basecoat/clearcoat paint job so the paint on this car is the same type of paint used on modern cars. The techniques you learn at our class while buffing out this high-end build 1957 Chevy are the same techniques you would use on a Ferrari or a Ford Fuzion.


This is just ONE of the cars the class will work on over the course of our 3-day car detailing class. Here's a picture of this car parked among the other cars this class will work on. In the below picture you can see our training garage is completely and fully STUFFED with training cars for our class.

And here's the car the class will train on while learning the proper techniques for using the RUPES Cyclo polisher.

And from 10 feet away under florescent lights all the cars look pretty. But if you know your craft, that is... if you know how to really inspect the finish on a car, then this is what you would have seen when you inspected the paint on this old 2-door Chevy....

Have no fear.... Cyclo can tackle this - no problem

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued....


Over the course of our 3-day class here at Autogeek's headquarters in Stuart, Florida - you will work on 11 to 13 cars in 3-days! You learn by DOING - not sitting in a chair. And when learning how to do multiple step paint correction, that is,

1. Compounding
2. Polishing
3. Waxing (can also be using a sealant or a ceramic paint coating depending upon the car)

When you learn multiple step paint correction or what I call show car detailing, you work on the real deal, a real SHOW CAR! Not a mundane daily driver. And it is this aspect about our classes that separates us from any other class on Planet Earth and also has IMPACT on --> you <-- as you work on multiple, multiple cars with multiple, multiple tools, pads and products.

It is the most intense hands-on class you can attend I guarantee it.


Here's some pictures we took to document this Cyclo car detailing class. Most if not all of these people had NEVER used a Cyclo polisher before in their lives, let along on someone else's high-end Streetrod!

Notice the chairs and tables in the background are EMPTY - Our classes are on your feet WORKING because that's how you LEARN.

The paint looks like it's melting....

At this point, the class has used 3 different types of tools and buffed out 4 cars.

We have 9 more cars to go and that means MORE hands on training.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued...


Detailing Class - FLEX XFE7-15mm Free Spinning Orbital Polisher

At our classes... you get to use ALL the tools! Here's one of our classes using the FLEX XFE7, which is a 15mm free spinning long stroke orbital polisher to remove the swirls and scratches out of a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. Now this car has a MODERN basecoat/clearcoat paint job so the paint on this car is the same type of paint used on modern cars.

The techniques you learn at our class while buffing out this high-end build 1957 Chevy are the same techniques you would use on a Toyota Prius or a Ford F350 Truck.


This is just ONE of the cars the class will work on over the course of our 3-day car detailing class. Here's a picture of this car parked among the other cars this class will work on.

And while the paint on ANY car can look good under florescent lights (like you see above), here's what the paint really looks like with a Swirl Finder Light lighting up the paint on the hood....

So a real car, with real paint issues in a real class where you learn by doing, not sitting in a chair.

 

[Mike Phillips]

The FLEX XFE7-15 aka the FINISHER!

After washing and claying the 1957 Chevy Bel Air, the class starts the compounding process on the 1957 Chevy with the FLEX XFE7-15

The FLEX XFE7-15 aka the FINISHER is a 15mm free spinning long stroke orbital polisher.

They are using Lake Country 5.5 and 6.5 ThinPro Orange Foam Cutting Pads

Now they've switched over to Lake Country 5.5" and 6.5" ThinPro white foam polishing pads....

They used the same tool to machine apply the wax.

Here are the results....

Nice work everyone!

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued....


Detailing Class = Griot's BOSS System

Learn to detail like a BOSS!

Next up the class is going to learn the Griot's BOSS System! And for this class they are going to be training on TWO CORVETTES! One new school and one old school but both with basecoat/clearcoat paint jobs. The 2014 Hennessey Corvette has the FACTORY GM basecoat/clearcoat paint system and the 1962 Corvette has a customer basecoat/clearcoat paint system.

The big picture is that the techniques you learn at our classes are the same techniques you would use no matter what kind of car you work on or the year the car was made.



Action shots - all action shots....

The chairs on the other side are empty....

This is what a black 1962 Corvette should look like!

My class too 2 Corvettes that looked BAD and made them look BAD ASS!

Here's the class that made the magic happen!

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued....



Besides learning the art of polishing paint, we cover DOZENS of other topics. The timing of the topic changes because the cars are always different for each class.


Here's an example,

Vinyl Convertible Top Cleaning and Protection


The 1962 Corvette had a dirty convertible top. So First thing on Friday morning, (the first day of the class), we washed the Corvette and went over the correct way to wash a vinyl top using 303 Aerospace products. While we went over short stroke oribital polishers, the Cyclo, the FLEX XFE7 and the Griot's Boss System, the top was of course dry and now ready to apply the 303 Aerospace Protectant.

Here's a few pictures again, showing that when you attend one of our classes you're out of your chair learning, not sitting and listening to someone drone on and on and on....

At our 3-Day detailing classes here at Autogeek you get to use all the top brands and this means you get real-world, hands on experience that will take your knowledge and skills to a higher level and this will stick with you the rest of your life. So when you need to correctly clean and protect a vinyl convertible top --- you will know what to do and how to do it right the first time.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Detail Class - RUPES BigFoot aka The RUPES Paint Correction System


Here at Autogeek, we teach the RUPES BigFoot tools, pads and products as a complete system. We share the RUPES paint correction system as the engineers designed all of the component to be used together and as such, when you attend one of our detailing classes you learn the pure RUPES system approach.

The RUPES paint polishing system works flawlessly as a system. Sure you can use their tools with other brands of pads and products but as a professional courtesy to RUPES and to all the students that take our classes since RUPES was introduced to the United States, we always show the brand as a system.


Here's one of the cars at a recent class that we used the RUPES BigFoot Paint Polishing System to remove all the swirls and scratches to create a true show car finish.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued.....


Detail Class - RUPES BigFoot aka The RUPES Paint Correction System


Here at Autogeek, we teach the RUPES BigFoot tools, pads and products as a complete system. We share the RUPES paint correction system as the engineers designed all of the component to be used together and as such, when you attend one of our detailing classes you learn the pure RUPES system approach.

The RUPES paint polishing system works flawlessly as a system. Sure you can use their tools with other brands of pads and products but as a professional courtesy to RUPES and to all the students that take our classes since RUPES was introduced to the United States, we always show the brand as a system.


Here's one of the cars at a recent class that we used the RUPES BigFoot Paint Polishing System to remove all the swirls and scratches to create a true show car finish.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued....

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued....


And here are the results!

 

[Mike Phillips]

***Bump***


Need a clean URL


:buffing:

 

[firecorgi]

Re: Who attends a 3-day class at Autogeek at $1,495.00?

Thanks for sharing Mike. As someone who just “graduated” from the most recent class, it was great to work, side-by-side, with others of various experience levels.

Since moving south and retiring , I had always said I would attend. I finally had the chance. The hours spent were hard work but fun and educational. I can speak for the folks in the class when I say using all the different machines was a thrill. I always wondered about using them and I can now say I have.

There were some folks in the class that had bought stuff but waited to use it so they could learn how to use the tools.

To hear Louise’s story is very cool.

Now, just gotta get thru Hurricane Michael so I can attend the boat class in February...LOL!

Big Thank you to you Mike, Andre, and Autogeek for making this happen for all of us.

Steve

 

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Who attends a 3-day class at Autogeek at $1,495.00?

Thanks for sharing Mike. As someone who just “graduated” from the most recent class, it was great to work, side-by-side, with others of various experience levels.

Since moving south and retiring , I had always said I would attend. I finally had the chance. The hours spent were hard work but fun and educational. I can speak for the folks in the class when I say using all the different machines was a thrill. I always wondered about using them and I can now say I have.

There were some folks in the class that had bought stuff but waited to use it so they could learn how to use the tools.

To hear Louise’s story is very cool.

Now, just gotta get thru Hurricane Michael so I can attend the boat class in February...LOL!

Big Thank you to you Mike, Andre, and Autogeek for making this happen for all of us.

Steve

Apologies Steve - I just now found this feedback. So hard to stay caught-up with every post made to the forum. :dig:


I'm glad you liked the class, I try as hard as I can to make sure everyone that takes a class here at Autogeek gets ALL the hands-on time behind the various tools so they will know both what they don't like and what they do like. That saves you time and money moving forward.


And Louise's story? Incredible. And just goes to show that the format of our classes are tailored to both brand new newbies as well as seasoned professionals.


Hope you're doing great!


:dblthumb2: