Author Archives: Mike Phillips

Side-by-side comparison of swirls and holograms in car paint.

The Difference Between Swirls & Holograms

Some people think the words swirls and holograms refer to the same type of scratch pattern you see in car paint under bright sunlight or with the use of a bright swirl finder light. This is a common misconception. Swirls and holograms are actually two distinct types of scratch pattern.  This is important to define! […]

Removing Swirls & Holograms on a 1963 Chevy Impala SS Convertible

Backstory So I get a phone call from custom car builder Jeremy Miranda of mirandabuilt.com – Jeremy tells me they brought in a high dollar custom 1963 Impala, a super favorite car among customizers with a lot of mechanical problems from another shop. Basically, they’re playing Doctor and repairing the original damage to the car […]

1970 Plymouth Superbird Paint Correction by Mike Phillips

1970 Plymouth Superbird – Paint Correction with Dr. Beasley’s by Mike Phillips

When it comes to buffing out cool cars, so cool that you might only get to work on one of these cars in your lifetime, I call these Bucket List Cars. This is such an instance. This is a 1970 Plymouth Superbird but not just any Superbird, this is one of 58 built that came […]

1965 Ferrari GTB 275 - Paint Correction Case Study from Mike Phillips

1965 Ferrari GTB 275 — Hologram & Deep Scratch Correction with NSPs by Mike Phillips

“The most difficult paint correction job for any detailer is taking a finish that already looks good to an even higher level.” Abrasive Technology – the MOST important factor In the car detailing world, it’s both common and easy to take a severely neglected finish, do the necessary paint correction and show DRAMATIC before/after pictures […]

1970 Plymouth Superbird — Part 2 — Machine Sanding & Polishing Rare Back Window with NSP GL by Mike Phillips

WARNING: Machine sanding, especially when dealing with glass, is an aggressive process and should only be undertaken by an experienced individual, whether enthusiast or professional. Proceed with caution if attempting. In Part 1, 1970 Plymouth Superbird – Paint Correction with Dr. Beasley’s, I shared the process I used to do all the paint correction and […]

How to Take Pictures of Swirls, Scratches & Etching in Car Paint

In the car detailing world, whether you’re the detailer or the customer, it’s vital to capture the before condition of the paint for a number of reasons: 1: To document the current condition of the paint. 2: To determine which steps and how many steps to perform to remove the paint defects and restore a […]

How to take photos for detailing

How to Photograph a Car for Detailing

Taking good photos of a car while you’re also detailing it is a challenge. It’s hard to figure it out on the fly, especially when you’re in the middle of an intensive process like paint correction. So when it comes to sharing pictures of any cars, trucks, vans or SUVs you detail, here’s a few […]