3 Day BIG Detailing Class with Mike Phillips & Nick Rutter - Dates Available in May & September

***UPCOMING CLASS DATES:***

May 12th, 13th, and 14th

September 22nd, 23rd, 24th

Each student will receive a $100 merchandise credit towards ANY purchase at Autoforge.net after completing the class!  

AutoForge is the worlds premier supplier of car detailing tools and supplies.  Mike and Nick are world-renowned professional detailers and instructors in the craft and art of automotive and marine detailing.  These classes are tailored for beginners and professionals alike!

Mike and Nick’s detailing classes are known as the finest and most hands-on detailing classes on planet Earth!  Theses are 100% on your feet, hands-on classes because we know people learn better by doing versus sitting in chairs.  Of course, there are chairs if you need a break and for topical discussions, but 90% of the class is learning and working with your hands with the best tools, pads and products in the industry.

About our classes

Day 1 - Multiple-Step/Show Car Detailing

Day 2 - One-Step Production Detailing

Day 3 – Dry Sanding for a Show Car Finish - Real cars - not demo panels!

FRIDAY – Day 1: Extreme Prep Washing & Multiple-Step or Show Car Detailing

Morning session - Extreme Prep Washing

1. Pre-Prep Wash Inspection – check for road tar
2. Headlight correction
3. Wet wash engine detail
4. Glass Polishing
5. Correct Canvas and Vinyl Top Cleaning
6. Proper wheels and tire cleaning
7. Chemical decontamination
8. Foam cannons & foam guns
9. Single bucket wash vs multi-bucket wash method
10. Mechanical decontamination
11. Wet-on-wet ceramic coatings after final rinse

Afternoon session – Multiple-Step or Show Car Detailing

In this class students will learn how to take a car’s finish to its maximum potential!  Including,

How to do a proper PREP waterless wash

Just like there are two types of normal wash styles, there are two types of styles for doing a waterless wash, Prep Waterless Wash and Maintenance Waterless Wash.

Visual Paint inspection – Topics covered,

How to identify various paint defects and determine if they can be safely fixed or not. 

Why to inspect vehicle for previous damage and document on the Vehicle Inspection Form/App.

How to inspect windshields for sub-surface defects like wiper marks, swirls and scratches.

How to inspect for clearcoat failure or other unfix-able paint issues.

How to inspect for defective parts or components including, side mirrors, antennas, mud flaps, etc. document and notify owner. 

Tactical Paint Inspection – Students will learn how to correctly inspect for contamination using the Baggie Test, as well as the correct way to show customers the level of paint contamination on their vehicle.

Mechanical decontamination

Unless a car is brand spanking new, most car are going to have some level of bonded contamination on the exterior surfaces.  This session covers how to remove the contamination and why you simply cannot count on machine polishing to remove contaminants.

Paint Thickness Gauges – students will learn how to use a PTG to determine the thickness or thinness of the paint and how to safely proceed to the next steps.

Tape-off and Cover-up – students will learn which types of materials or areas should be covered and protected from machine buffing and product splatter.

How to do a Test Spot – The single most important thing you should do before any paint correction on anything is to do a proper Test Spot.  The importance and value of doing a proper Test Spot is explained in detail.  How and where to perform a Test Spot is taught in detail as well as how to inspect the results.  How to dial-in the paint correction process is taught based upon results from Test Spot.  Mike Phillips coined the term Test Spot for the detailing industry so there’s no better person to learn how to do it right the first time. 

How to correctly use a Swirl Finder Light

Quality inspection lights are necessary throughout the detail process.

How to use a panel wipe to inspect for accurate and true paint correction.

Polishing oils, fillers, waxes and other ingredients can give a false appearance causing you to think the defects are removed.  We show how to use a panel wipe to obtain true and accurate results.

Paint Correction

How to correctly use a rotary polisher – This is the most powerful tool when it comes to doing paint correction.  Correctly used it’s like a scalpel in the hands of a world-renowned surgeon.  Improperly used and you can get into trouble real fast.  Mike will make learning the way of the rotary polisher fun, safe and easy.

How to use an orbital polisher – Orbital polishers are safe and effective and Mike will teach you all the correct techniques to maximize your time while consistently achieving pro quality results.

Installing a Ceramic Coating

How to use a panel wipe – A panel wipe is a solvent used to prep paint for installing a ceramic or graphene coating.  Mike teaches a 2-step approach to ensure the surface is surgically clean for maximum bonding, longevity and performance for any coating you install.

How to install a ceramic or graphene coating – Coatings are truly the best way to protect your paint when it comes to protection, longevity and atomic gloss!  Mike’s first article on how to use coatings dates back to 2010!  He may not have been installing ceramic coatings as long as some but definitely longer than most people still breathing.  Learn from Mike’s years of experience how to do it right and avoid the hassles of high spots.

Finishing touches –

Cleaning interior glass

Using glass coating.

Restoring and protecting exterior plastic trim

Polishing metal surfaces

When and how to use tire dressings and/or tire coatings.

Coating and protecting wheels

 Detailing door, hood , trunk and hatchback jambs

Cleaning and conditioning rubber door and hatchback gaskets.

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Saturday: 1-step paint correction & ceramic coatings plus 1-step paint correction using AIOs 

Topics covered

Morning session - 1-step paint correction & ceramic coatings including,

• How to do a proper prep waterless wash
• Visual paint inspection
• Tactical paint inspection
• Mechanical decontamination
• How to set your own or your customer’s expectations for a one-step paint correction.
• How to use and master gear-driven orbital polishers to reduce time and maximize paint correction results.
• Topical glass polishing
• Panel Prep
• Installing a ceramic coating
• Finishing touches

Afternoon session – 1-step paint correction using AIOs

This is a foundational skill everyone car owner should possess, and every professional should offer in their detailing business.  This skill applies to anything with wheels, floats or flies.

• How to do a prep wash
• Visual and tactical inspection
• Mechanical decontamination
• Tape-off and cover-up plastic and other sensitive areas.
• Doing a Test Spot with an AIO
• Choosing the right pad for the paint hardness and/or softness and why this is so important.
• How to turn the FLEX BEAST, Supa BEAST or CBEAST into a time-saving, brain saving, energy saving, money making machine.
• How and why to top an AIO
• How to under promise and over deliver for customer’s expectations and dominate the competition.
• Finishing touches

Sunday: Machine sanding for a true show car finish

Topics covered:

How to sand custom paint to remove orange peel

How to create a true show car finish on custom paint jobs

The highest skill and knowledge base most detailers strive to possess is how to carefully sand flat a custom paint job to remove orange peel and create a true show car finish with maximum D.O.I. or Distinction of Image.

Sanding paint

99.9% of the people on Earth should never sand paint.  But for the 1% that have the desire to learn how to do it and do it right, this is the class for you.  The ability and know-how to sand paint sets you apart from the rest of all the me-too detailers.  Just being able to talk intelligently about it after gaining firsthand, real-world experience is worth the price of the class.

Overview

This class covers four different sanding techniques to level orange peel and other surface textures for creating a true show car finish with 100% D.O.I. as the goal.

D.O.I. = Distinction of Image

The goal when creating a true show car finish is to level the paint as flat as possible using sanding techniques and then after sanding, removing the sanding marks to restore a clear, high gloss shine.

Techniques covered,

• How to machine sand paint flat using 6” and 3” sanders.
• The proper use of rotary polishers, wool cutting pads to remove 100% of the sanding marks.
• How to use orbital polishers with foam pads to finish out hologram and swirl free finish.
• How to seal the paint using either a wax, paint sealant or ceramic coating.

Real cars – No demo hoods

Mike and Nick are known for brining in the real-deal, that is instead of teaching you how to sand and buff on a demo hood, Mike and Nick bring in the coolest cars with fresh custom paint jobs and loads of orange peel for a truly authentic learning experience. Anyone can sand a section about the size of a microfiber towel on a flat panel waist high, learning how to tackle a real car is what’s really valuable and has IMPACT!

Rotary Polishers

After sanding the paint flat, students will draw from the foundational skills learned on Friday and Saturday, like how to use a rotary polisher with a compound and a wool pad to remove 100% of the sanding marks without making mistakes or leaving your signature as Mike likes to call it.  

Orbital Polishers

After removing all the sanding marks, next you’ll remove any holograms in the paint and then maximize gloss and clarity in preparation to seal the paint with a wax, paint sealant or ceramic coating.

You’ll want to get a good night’s sleep Saturday night because Sunday is going to require all your energy and focus to keep up with Mike and Nick!

Certification Award Ceremony

After the cars are sanded and polished to perfection, you’re going to be tired.  You are among the elite in the world that have now made it through to the end of the 3d day of Mike & Nick’s BIG 3-Day Car Detailing Classes!

Your reward is the coveted certificate, signed by Mike Phillips and Nick Rutter that tells the world you survived and even thrived throughout the 3-day class.

Final questions, wrap-up and class is over!