Category Archives: Exterior Detailing

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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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 decontaminate matte finish paint on cars
05
Mar
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, How To, Matte Car Care, Matte Car Washing

How to Decontaminate Matte Finish Car Paint

Posted on by Victor Espeland

Your car’s matte finish paint is dirtier than you think. Even after a wash, embedded contaminants will remain inside the paint’s microscopic nooks and crannies.  These embedded contaminants like iron particles and environmental fallout make the paint look dirty over time, cause rust and even prevent ceramic coatings from bonding properly.  Typically detailing professionals will […]

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

How to Restore Headlights by Hand Sanding

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Gone are the days of the simple General Electric or Wagner brand round sealed beam headlamps. These old headlights were made from glass which meant they would never fade, oxidize or turn yellow. You could purchase a replacement back in the day for around $5.00 and install it in the parking lot of the auto […]

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6 Tips to Detail a Car FAST for Date Night
14
Feb
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, How To

6 Tips to Detail Your Car Fast (For Date Night!)

Posted on by Mike Phillips

TRANSCRIPT Have you ever been in a situation where you got something coming up — it’s date night, or you got a car show — your car’s dirty, you don’t have a lot of time, but you want to get it looking as good as you can?  You know, you never have a second chance […]

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