Category Archives: Behind the Detail

How to Lubricate Felt Ring on Harbor Freight Hercules Forced Rotation DA
13
Mar
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Guides & Tips, How To, Paint Correction, Videos & Media

How to Lubricate Felt Ring on Harbor Freight Hercules Forced Rotation DA Polisher

Posted on by Mike Phillips

The Harbor Freight Hercules Forced Rotation DA Polisher is an almost exact copy of the Flex XC 3401 VRG Dual Action Polisher, AKA the BEAST — all the way down to the felt ring that lines the inside of the aluminum housing behind the backing plate. I noted this when I first reviewed the Hercules […]

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What's the Difference Between Compound and Polish?
02
Apr
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, Paint Correction

What’s the Difference Between Compound & Polish?

Posted on by Mike Phillips

When it comes to paint correction on cars, people use the terms “compound” and “polish” interchangeably despite the fact that they refer to two completely different things. That’s a big problem. When it comes to doing any type of paint correction, you need to know the difference between a polish and a compound. If you […]

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10 Tips for Speeding Up Your Paint Correction Process
02
Apr
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Paint Correction, Professional Detailing, Tips

10 Tips for Faster Polishing from Expert Mike Phillips

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Polishing the paint on a car can take a long time, especially if you’re a beginner. If you’re working from start to finish — washing, decontaminating, polishing and protecting — it can pretty much take up an entire day, sometimes even longer.  Don’t believe me? Let’s tally up the time it takes to do a […]

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How to Change Backing Plate on Bauer DA
13
Mar
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Guides & Tips, How To, Paint Correction, Videos & Media

How to Change Backing Plate on Bauer 8MM Short-Throw Random Orbital DA

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Sometimes when you’re using a buffer to polish paint on a car it helps to have a smaller pad for smaller sections like A-pillars. But what if you only have one polisher that can only fit big pads? Here’s something you may not know — you can adjust the size of a Bauer 6” DA […]

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Detailing a car
24
Mar
Behind the Detail, Ceramic Coatings, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Guides & Tips, Interior Detailing, Paint Correction, Tips

Top 50 Best Detailing Tips for Professional Results

Posted on by Victor Espeland

When it comes to keeping your car looking good, there are an endless number of different tips and tricks you should know. In this article I’ve written out 50 of the most useful tips I rely on when detailing my own cars or a friend’s. Take some time to read through them and educate yourself […]

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18
Mar
Auto Detailing Training Classes, Behind the Detail

400+Pictures – Dr. Beasley’s 2-Day Car Detailing Class

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Here’s the graduating class for the February 2025 2-Day 100% Hands-on Detailing Class! NOTE: To everyone that attended this class, if you would like the full size resolution of any of the pictures in this write-up, just shoot me an email and I can get it for you. Full size resolution will print out best for […]

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How to Clean Engine Bay
07
Mar
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips

How to Clean an Engine Bay

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Much like the outside of your car gets dirty over time, so too does the engine and engine compartment inside.  Back in the old days you’d spray heavy duty degreasers all over the engine and surrounding surfaces, scrub with a variety of brushes to agitate the degreaser before finally rinsing the loosened, oily sludge off […]

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How to Clean Leather Seats with Holes
10
Mar
Behind the Detail, Guides & Tips, How To, Interior Detailing

How to Clean Leather Seats with Holes

Posted on by Victor Espeland

Over the past decades perforated leather seats have become more and more common, especially in luxury and higher-end vehicles.  These perforations provide passageways for the HVAC system to push hot or cold air through, providing the highest level of comfort for the driver and their passengers.  The tiny holes, however, pose a problem for those […]

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Dr. Beasley's detailing class in Chicago
26
Feb
Behind the Detail, Dr. Beasley's News

Photos from Dr. Beasley’s 1-Day Detailing Training in Chicago (February 2025)

Posted on by Victor Espeland

Earlier this month nine up-and-coming detailers came to our headquarters in Chicago’s Lincoln Park for an intensive one-day training with our expert detailing instructor Christyan Velasquez. Over the course of the day students learned the entire detailing process from washing to decontamination to polishing to ceramic coating, gaining valuable experience they can use to either […]

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How to Restore Headlights by Machine Sanding
21
Feb
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, How To, Videos & Media

How to Restore Headlights by Machine Sanding

Posted on by Mike Phillips

As I showed in my previous article and video, working by hand to sand off years of oxidation, yellowing and cloudiness from headlights works perfectly fine. I also shared how to remove the sanding marks by hand in that video and article for those that simply have no other alternative.   But for those of you […]

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