Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 6
The PERFECT Cleaner/Wax DEMO HOOD for Mobile Tech Expo!
New for this year at MTE will be a dedicated place for Exhibitor Demos. Autogeek has one on Saturday and Sunday.
For the Saturday Demo I'll be showing what the new BLACKFIRE One Step can do. But in order to REALLY show what a one-step cleaner/wax or AIO can do you CANNOT use a normal demo hood like we use for all our shows.
Why?
Because the paint is new and in most cases it has been sanded and polished hundreds of times. So there's no demo. That is there's no demonstration of just exactly what the product can do. I know... I've been demonstrating at shows on black hoods since 1987, that's 31 years. So I decided to take a visit to our local salvage yard, Snake Road Auto Salvage and see if I could find something that fit just the right criteria.
Criteria
1: Must be in BAD shape BUT salvageable.
2: Can't have clearcoat failure. In case you haven't been to a salvage yard lately, where the cars sit out in the sun and the weather, (Florida sun here mind you), it can be a tick difficult to find a hood with salvageable paint that doesn't also have clearcoat failure.
3: Can't be dented. Again, if you haven't been to a salvage yard lately, or perhaps every, most cars in a salvage yard have been WRECKED. This means in most case in the front or the rear so finding a hood or flat trunk lid in a wrecking yard that meets the other two criteria above AND isn't all bent up can also be kind of tricky.
Trunk lid versus Hood
I looked for a trunk lid as they tend to be smaller, (see the picture of me behind the black demo hood below, that's a trunk lid I pulled off a Fox Body Mustang years ago), but the problem with most trunk lids is they are no longer flat. Next time you look at a trunk lid or open the trunk lid on your own car notice how there is the flat part on top and then the body panel bends and there's an entire vertical side that also houses the license plate and license plate lights.
So getting the perfect neglected demo hood can be a bit tricky...
First, here's a picture of me demonstrating on a normal demo hood, notice the nice finish? (see the overhead light reflecting on the paint?)
So yeah... kind of hard to demonstrate the ability of a one-step cleaner/wax on paint that is already in great shape.
So off to Snake Road Salvage...
Success
And after walking up and down about 6 rows of cars and not finding anything that meets the criteria, I think I hit the jackpot, an old Nissan passenger car wit a straight hood, with extreme CLEARCOAT oxidation but no clearcoat failure. Turning some bolts with the help of my buddy Rob, we removed the hood and carted it up to the office and then brought to Autogeek safe and sound.
I didn't want a hood this big but like one of my articles shares, I use what I have and this is what I was able to find without inspecting each and every car in the yard.
And here's the challenger!
Here's the good news...
Because of the size, not only can I demonstrate the power of BLACKFIRE One Step but I'm going to show restoring the paint on this hood using MULTIPLE TOOLS. And that's what we do here at Autogeek, we showcase and sell tools.
So if you're at Mobile Tech on Saturday, remember to come to the demo area at 4:00pm and (cross my fingers), prepare to be amazed!
I don't have a background in marketing... but I know what it takes to showcase pads, products and tools and to make the people watching go, wow!
New for this year at MTE will be a dedicated place for Exhibitor Demos. Autogeek has one on Saturday and Sunday.
For the Saturday Demo I'll be showing what the new BLACKFIRE One Step can do. But in order to REALLY show what a one-step cleaner/wax or AIO can do you CANNOT use a normal demo hood like we use for all our shows.
Why?
Because the paint is new and in most cases it has been sanded and polished hundreds of times. So there's no demo. That is there's no demonstration of just exactly what the product can do. I know... I've been demonstrating at shows on black hoods since 1987, that's 31 years. So I decided to take a visit to our local salvage yard, Snake Road Auto Salvage and see if I could find something that fit just the right criteria.
Criteria
1: Must be in BAD shape BUT salvageable.
2: Can't have clearcoat failure. In case you haven't been to a salvage yard lately, where the cars sit out in the sun and the weather, (Florida sun here mind you), it can be a tick difficult to find a hood with salvageable paint that doesn't also have clearcoat failure.
3: Can't be dented. Again, if you haven't been to a salvage yard lately, or perhaps every, most cars in a salvage yard have been WRECKED. This means in most case in the front or the rear so finding a hood or flat trunk lid in a wrecking yard that meets the other two criteria above AND isn't all bent up can also be kind of tricky.
Trunk lid versus Hood
I looked for a trunk lid as they tend to be smaller, (see the picture of me behind the black demo hood below, that's a trunk lid I pulled off a Fox Body Mustang years ago), but the problem with most trunk lids is they are no longer flat. Next time you look at a trunk lid or open the trunk lid on your own car notice how there is the flat part on top and then the body panel bends and there's an entire vertical side that also houses the license plate and license plate lights.
So getting the perfect neglected demo hood can be a bit tricky...
First, here's a picture of me demonstrating on a normal demo hood, notice the nice finish? (see the overhead light reflecting on the paint?)
So yeah... kind of hard to demonstrate the ability of a one-step cleaner/wax on paint that is already in great shape.
So off to Snake Road Salvage...
Success
And after walking up and down about 6 rows of cars and not finding anything that meets the criteria, I think I hit the jackpot, an old Nissan passenger car wit a straight hood, with extreme CLEARCOAT oxidation but no clearcoat failure. Turning some bolts with the help of my buddy Rob, we removed the hood and carted it up to the office and then brought to Autogeek safe and sound.
I didn't want a hood this big but like one of my articles shares, I use what I have and this is what I was able to find without inspecting each and every car in the yard.
And here's the challenger!
Here's the good news...
Because of the size, not only can I demonstrate the power of BLACKFIRE One Step but I'm going to show restoring the paint on this hood using MULTIPLE TOOLS. And that's what we do here at Autogeek, we showcase and sell tools.
So if you're at Mobile Tech on Saturday, remember to come to the demo area at 4:00pm and (cross my fingers), prepare to be amazed!
I don't have a background in marketing... but I know what it takes to showcase pads, products and tools and to make the people watching go, wow!
