Category Archives: Guides & Tips

19
Jul
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, How To, Interior Detailing

How to Clean Car Windshields, Interior Windows & More

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Clean glass means a clear view and not only is this important for safe driving, it’s so much more enjoyable to drive your car when you can see clearly out of the front windshield and also the side glass windows. There are right ways and wrong ways to clean automotive glass windows.  In the below […]

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What causes water spots on car
21
Feb
Behind the Detail, Ceramic Coatings, Featured, Guides & Tips

What Causes Water Spots On Cars?

Posted on by Victor Espeland

If you’ve ever owned a car, you’ve seen a water spot. Small, white-ish stains on your otherwise immaculate finish, they leave many asking just what causes water spots on cars. Simply put, they come from beads of water resting on your paint, which dry and leave behind a residue. That’s why it’s so important to […]

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Wiping hood with waterless wash
10
Sep
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, How To, Tips

How to Wash a Car Without a Hose (A Science-Based Approach to Avoiding Paint Damage)

Posted on by Jim Lafeber

Washing a car without a hose removes the single biggest safety mechanism in traditional washing: bulk water removal of particulate matter. When you eliminate that step, you are fundamentally changing the system. Instead of relying on water volume to carry contaminants off the surface, you are relying on: If those three conditions are not met, […]

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How to Remove Orange Peel from Car Paint
22
Jul
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, How To, Live Detailing Classes, Paint Correction, Professional Detailing, Videos & Media

How to Remove Orange Peel from Car Paint

Posted on by Mike Phillips

So I used to teach wet sanding and now I teach dry sanding. And the reason why is because it’s cleaner, it’s neater, it’s faster. And look, if you’re looking for something more in depth again get a job at a body shop and learn how to use acrylic blocks and hard block them all […]

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Flex FX3321 Random Orbital Polisher Review
18
Nov
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Guides & Tips, Paint Correction, Videos & Media

REVIEW: Flex FX3321 24V 15MM Random Orbital Cordless Polisher

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Read My Other 24V Flex Polisher Reviews! This is the second of three reviews for the new 24 volt FLEX polishers.   Below are the links to the other two tool reviews.  As I worked through using these tools, making videos, and writing these reviews, you can watch the transformation and extreme makeover to the […]

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Drying automotive paint with a microfiber towel
27
Feb
Behind the Detail, Ceramic Coatings, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Guides & Tips, How To, Professional Detailing, Tips

How to Dry Your Car (Without Scratching the Paint)

Posted on by Jim Lafeber

Drying a vehicle is often perceived as a quick, final step after washing with little risk.  It is not. Drying is actually one of the highest risk steps in the wash process if your goal is maintaining paint clarity and preserving the clear coat long-term.  Although they are often called “wash marks”, most swirl marks, […]

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How to remove bird dropping etching in car paint
03
Sep
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, Paint Correction

How to Remove Bird Dropping Etching from Car Paint

Posted on by Mike Phillips

When a bird dropping sits on a car’s paint for too long, it bakes in the sun and becomes acidic, eating into the clear coat and leaving an imprint that can only be removed through paintwork correction. Ideally, you’d never let a bird dropping get to this point. But we don’t live in a perfect […]

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1969 GTO NSP GL case study header image
28
Jul
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, How To, Professional Detailing, The Detail, Videos & Media

Removing Windshield Swirls, Scratches & Wiper Marks on a ’69 GTO with Dr. Beasley’s NSP GL by Mike Phillips

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Perfecting glass to match perfecting the paint I’m fortunate that I get asked to detail a lot of classic American Detroit Iron, cars built before the 1980s when a lot of changes took place, like chrome bumpers being replaced by color-matched plastic bumper covers. Blech. Most of the cars I work on are the kind […]

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Mike Phillips gives his tips on random orbital polishers
30
Jul
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Guides & Tips, Live Detailing Classes, Paint Correction, Tips, Videos & Media

Random Orbital Polisher Tips from Mike Phillips

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Random orbital, free-spinning polishers are the easiest type of polisher to use and are safer for beginners than more advanced tools like rotary polishers. But don’t let their user-friendly reputation fool you — random orbital polishers are complex tools with many ins and outs to know. In this condensed reel from a recent live detailing […]

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Swirls in automotive paint
21
Feb
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Guides & Tips, How To, Paint Correction, Professional Detailing

How to Avoid Swirls & Scratches in Your Car’s Paint

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Now follow me. It takes hours to buff out a car. For example, this black 1957 Chevy. I have literally hours into perfecting the paint. It takes seconds to put swirls and scratches back in. And the question is, how did the swirls and scratches get back in the paint after you remove them? In […]

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