I had no idea who Mike Phillips was 'cept he had a black shirt on, and it had a meguiars logo, so i guess he's running this ship. What I found out about this guy over the course of the day was that not only is he guy who has way more energy than one should, he is a complete and utter fanatic about car care. His collection of wax's, cleaners (even compounds) is on the level of stamp collectors. He really does love his work.
Well, it's rare that you get to talk to someone like this, and even more the treat when someone of this caliber seems to get no more joy than sharing what he's discovered with others. We had an extremely informative class talk beforehand that set us up with the tech behind the product. This let us know really what the product is doing to the surface of your paint, and how and why that matters. No longer was I going into this blind.
Now take Mike, care care fanatic, and put him in front of one of the things most dear to you.... your car. And you get this guys opinion on your car! To get a guy like this to work on your car for FREE is amazing. Your talking MAJOR bucks normally for someone of this caliber helping you out. Dream come true for someone like me who has a black car who's paint has seen better days, and really needs a pro looking at it. I was in heaven!
Did I say one pro?
I'm not an Autotopian (yet). I have one post, and it's to sign up. I think i have more posts to Lynn (total sweetheart!) setting it up and asking questions than posts on the forum. (BTW, Lynn, Mikes wife, gets paid nothing for what she does). I had no idea that we were very lucky that day... because Autotopia had attracted several professional detailers to this particular event. Yep, we not only had Mike, but Jimamary, Rjstaff, Scottwax, Rdarwa, SqkyKln, Superior Shine, and Aurora4O walking around, sharing their tricks of the trade, talking shop, and basically expanding the knowledge level on detailing through the roof. Not only that, but a few of them seemed to have brought their own tools, so there were PC's, rotarys, and all sorts of stuff all over the place.
Now, it sounds good, right? Well here's my particular situation. I have some friends, my car, Mike, and 2 or 3 pro detailers all deciding what my car needs. (If ever someone wanted a second opinion....lol.... this was the place to be! It was like having 3 or 4 surgeons working on your procedure!) They not only helped me wash, but clay, buff, TEACH the dual action technique, give pointers... and all applying a healthy amount of elbow grease in the process. My hood was used for a demo and subsequently some nasty scratches were pulled and massaged away.
Barry Meguiar himself even made an appearance and talked shop with us all for a little while. We got some nice pics with him and the group as well!
Needless to say, I was VERY happy with the results. My paint has never looked so good. As the flagship for my company Import Precision, this car is very visible. I have to take this car to many car shows and demo our vertical doors constantly. But its no garage queeen... this is also my daily driver and it takes a beating in the socal sun. To now have my paint looking great from the Meguiars products is really a big help for me in presenting the best face possible to potential customers.
I never knew how much damage I was doing myself by not properly washing my car. I never knew how easy it could be to properly take care of the car and revive a tattered paint job.
I've ordered the pro package, the dual action buffer, and a suite of products to use with it. With the help from so may great people, I really do feel confident with that buffer in my hand. Advanced care care (and by that I mean more than just hand waxing) was a mystery to me, and I was afraid of screwing my car up. But the tools of the trade seem so easy to me now thanks to this event.
I'd like to thank all of you that lended me a hand on my car. Every time I'd look up someone would be finishing up an area, and it just seemed like everything was done so quickly! I really enjoyed working on the 350Z (perfect paint!), Brians 3000GT (amazing restoration.... the red glows with a deepness I disn't think it had in it!), and of course my 3000GT Spyder. I'm pretty sure I worked on another red car, but I can't recall the make. Thank you to Meguiars for the food, free product for the detailing, as well as the free product goodie bags that must have at least another 60 bucks worth of stuff in them they gave us to take home!
I'll be posting this text on my website soon (importprecision.com), as well as some pictures from Mike he took of my car and his write up of the days events.
Great experience all the way around.
, time flew by!.
Talking shop with all the cats from autopia was excellent. There were some beautiful cars there and as Mike said, possibly the cleanest class he's had, ever. Quite a compliment. Hopefully we can make it an annual meeting of the minds. You're generosity is much appreciated Mike (and Lynn). Thanks for the good time!
