Continued....
About Autogeek
Autogeek is the worlds largest online supplier of car detailing supplies. If it's in your garage it's I our store. Autogeek is a proud founding sponsor of the International Detailing Association or IDA. Autogeek is committed to raising the stature of detailers and the detailing industry.
Not only is Autogeek the largest online detailing supplier both in the U.S. and world wide Autogeek is also committed to providing education to enable both enthusiast and professionals alike to increase their knowledge level and skill level.
Autogeek's trained and friendly staff are available 6 days a week by phone, e-mail, Facebook and via their care detailing discussion forum to answer your questions and help see you through to success no matter what you project or your detailing background.
Autogeek is located in Stuart, Florida and our training center is air conditioned with both a classroom section and a working section for the students to work on cars.
About your instructor, Mike Phillips
I have been teaching classes on car detailing since 1987, that's 31 years.
The picture below was taken in 1987 after I taught my first detailing class using student cars as well as my Sanger Flat Bottom Drag Boat as demo panel for machine compounding and machine polishing techniques.
At this time he was a
Trainer for Meguiar's for Oregon, Washington and Idaho where his primary job was to call on body shops, detail shops and dealerships and teach their staff how to use Meguiar's Professional Line.
Overcoming adversity
In 1986, at the age of 26 I was in a boating accident involving my own Sanger Drag Boat. I never let this slow me down or hinder me from my passion for polishing paint and teaching others the art craft of detailing cars and the art of polishing paint.
Published Author
To date I have five how-to books in print, iBook and ebook forms. I'm the only detailer and detailing instructor with how-to books written for both FLEX tools and RUPES tools with all work and photography performed by me personally.
You can get your own copy of any of Mike's books here,
Mike Phillips Detailing Books
TV Show Host
I've been the host for two of Autogeek's TV Shows including
Competition Ready on Velocity channel with my beautiful co-host Adrienne "AJ" Janic.
I was also the host of Autogeek's first TV show - Autogeek's What's in the Garage
Guest detailing expert
I've been the guest detailing expert on multiple TV shows including,
Chasing Classic Cars with Wayne Carini
My Classic Car with Dennis Gage
Truck U with Bruno Massel and Matt Steele
Bruno Massel accepting his class certificate
Matt Steele and Mike Phillips shooting a how-to DVD
Two Guys Garage with Bryan Fuller
Two Guys Garage with Kevin Byrd and Willie B.
Motorhead Garage with Sam Memolo and Dave Bowman
Ship Shape with John Greviskis
Online Car Detailing Articles
I have approximately 1000 unique articles on all facets of car and marine detailing on AutogeekOnline.net Every topic is covered in full detail with step-by-step easy to follow directions and full resolution color pictures showing, before, during and after.
I'm a speed typist by accident and to prevent carpel tunnel I use arm holders while typing.
As a part of my job, I answer car and boat detailing questions in a dedicated forum group on AutogeekOnline.net
Forum: Ask Mike Phillips your detailing questions!
Professional Background
Meguiar's Corporate Writer
In 2002, I was hired by Barry Meguiar to be the Corporate Writer for Meguiar's. I took over all the writing responsibilities for the company that Barry Meguiar' normally did himself.
Meguiar's Internet Technical Specialist
In 2004 I transitioned from the Corporate Write position to Meguiar's Internet Technical Specialist where I brought up the MeguiarsOnline.com car detailing discussion forum and answered questions on Meguiar's products as took on the responsibility of Primary Instructor for their car detailing classes.
Cyber-world to Real-world training classes
On July 31st, 2002, I organized a detailing class at Meguiar's Corporate Office for the members of an
online Mercedes-Benz club through a Mercedes-Benz discussion forum. What I didn't know was that there were not only Mercedes-Benz club members at the class but there were also members from other car clubs at this first class, which was organized through a
discussion forum. I took pictures and documented the class and shared them on the Mercedes-Benz forum because at the time, Meguiar's didn't have a discussion forum.
The next week students at this Mercedes-Benz class started calling Mike and e-mailing him asking,
When can our club have a class?
That snowballed to become so popular that these Saturday classes continues to this day. Management at Meguiar's came to me and told me they loved the passion I was creating for the Meguiar's brand by teaching classes and sharing the pictures and the passion online. Not knowing how to classify what I was doing they asked me to write my own job description which I did and this included, being the online voice for Meguiar's as well as being the Primary Instructor for the
Saturday Detailing 101 classes and the
Saturday Advanced Classes. Down the road a few years I started the
Thursday Night Classes known as
TNOGS, and then the
Meguiar's Roadshow Classes.
Saturday Detailing 101
Saturday Advanced Class
Many people that attended the Detailing 101 classes wanted to take their skill and knowledge to a higher level and this led to the advanced class where the topics of hand wet sanding, machine sanding and using rotary buffers were taught.
Meguiar's Online Car Detailing Discussion Forum
Back in 2002 I started advocating to Meguiar's management to bring up their own forum. Because at that time, Meguiar's have a car detailing discussion forum and it would be years down the road before Facebook and other social media platforms like Twitter, SnapChat and Instagram would be introduced.
I would share the pictures from the Saturday classes on my own forum ShowCarGarage.com and also on the Autopia.org car detailing forum. After detailing a 1954 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 and then posting the pictures and the how-to information to my own forum, I then printed out the write-up and gave it to the Vice President of Meguiar's (at the time), Atticus Firey. A month later Atticus said to me,
I love these write-ups showing people how to use Meguiar's products but how come you're always posting them to your own forum?
That's when I explained to Atticus that I had to post them to my own forum (and the Autopia forum) because
Meguiar's didn't have a forum.
That's when it final sunk it. That's when Atticus put two and two together and understood what I had been talking about for almost 2 years when I kept was asking Meguiar's to bring up their own discussion forum.
Atticus then said,
Make it happen
On January 24th, 2004 the MeguiarsOnline.com car detailing discussion forum went
LIVE and the first post was a write-up I created by documenting a Saturday Detailing 101 Class I taught for a local Mini Cooper Club. That's also when I first met
Richard Lin and together they detailed Richard's popular Mini Cooper Lil'Octane replacing Zaino with Meguiar's NXT.
Lil Octane
(That was the start of the Zaino vs Meguiar's Wax War but that's another story for another time)
TNOG's
Mike also started the
Thursday Night Open Garage Classes in 2006 and taught them until leaving Meguiar's to join Autogeek in 2009. Most people don't know but Mike originally started these on Wednesday nights but due to schedule conflicts moved them to Thursday nights. These also continue to this day.
The Meguiar's Roadshow Class
The Meguiar's Saturday classes became incredibly popular and because Mike would take pictures and document the cars, the clubs, the fun and the passion online, people in other states asked if they could have a class in their hometown. With management's approval Mike started the Meguiar's Roadshow Classes conducting a total of 6 of these classes before leaving to work for Autogeek. This was another first in the industry.
The below pictures are from the 2006 Tampa, Florida Roadshow Class of which Todd Helme (RUPES) and Dwayne McPeeks, (Poorboys).
That's Dwayne McPeeks in the baseball cap behind Mike
Todd Helme is wearing a blue jersey shirt with white stripes around the sleeves and the number 6 on it
Today - 2018
Today I'm the Director of Training for Autogeek and Marine 31. I teach the 3-day Competition Ready Detailing Classes three times a year at Autogeek's Training Center in Stuart, Florida. I also teaches one of the only
hands-on boat detailing classes in the United States where students learn all aspects of boat detailing both inside and outside.
Demonstrating technique at a 3-day class at Autogeek
Showing how to use a rotary buffer in a boat detailing class
Learn from the real deal...
If you are looking to take your skills and knowledge to a higher level and you want to take a class from someone that has bonafide credentials, in other words you want to take a class from the real deal, not someone trying to fake it until they make it... then you want and need to attend one of any of the classes I teach. I've been doing this as long and in most cases longer than anyone still breathing and here's what I know,
People learn by doing... not sitting in a chair listing to someone blather on for hours - Mike Phillips
What to do?
If you would like to attend a class at Autogeek, (the 3-day class), or if you would like to take one of the Roadshow Car Detailing Classes, or if you would like to
host a Roadshow Class at your shop or facility, then give me a call at,
1-800-869-3011 x206
I can answer all your questions, put your fears at ease and help you to master the art of polishing paint, (and all the other things that go with car and boat detailing)
Click here to sign up for Friday, July 27th- $495.00 - $100.00 store credit if you sign up before
June 27th
Click here to sign up for Saturday, July 28th - $495.00 - $100.00 store credit if you sign up before
June 27th
Link to sign up for both days - $990.00 - $200.00 store credit if you sign up before
June 27th
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