So I Have to Give a Speech on Auto Detailing...

J

Jo Donny

New member
Like the title says, I'm in college and I just got assigned to give an informative speech for my communications class that is 6-7 minutes long.



I decided to teach the class how to wash/detail their personal cars, and I'm thinking I'll have a PowerPoint with pictures and such (I'll definitely give a shout out to Autopia at the end). I was wondering if the guys here on Autopia had any creative ideas on how I could structure it/what I should talk about (keep in mind it's for the average college student who doesn't know anything).



She told me she doesn't just want it to be a step by step process completely (but it's going to have to be somewhat)



Any help would be awesome.
 
I thought about doing this too but decided against it because I thought it could potentially be boring.



But, I would definitely include some of those cut-away diagrams of scratches, etc, and what polishing, filling them does.



Dont be too technical and try to use as many lay terms as possible. Definitely show some trashed cars and what they can look like after being detailed.



Maybe give a tip or two about how the average Joe can keep their car looking good.



Good luck!
 
I would focus on the basics relating to how to wash the car using two buckets to avoid grit, then how a clay bar works, then a simple (and I repeat SIMPLE) explaination of removing swirls followed by a wax.



Don't go into immense detail as I am telling you, the greater majority of your class isn't interested interested in the details of how to clean a car. For them the soft cloth or touchless is their idea of "detailing".
 
Well although it is a presentation for the class, the goal is to get a good grade right? Is it rated on content or presentation?
 
Explain some things that could be beneficial too like tell them about some really cool products like rainx or aquapel and you pretty much dont even need your wipers during a heavy rain storm.



Or like dont do swirls when washing/applying stuff and to do long straight strokes to minimize swirls etc.



I think the process a detailer takes too is good, almost like selling the service to them, explain how you use abrasives to remove a thin amount of paint to level the surface etc, but you don't have to explain what the actual processes is like M105 with orange pad at 1600 rpm lol.



Hope that helps a bit.



I'm taking communications next semester and I'm probably going to do something automotive related.
 
6-7 minutes will fly by in a flash; you won't have time to go into much detail. I suspect you will have to stay pretty high level on this topic, or focus on one aspect of detailing, such as washing mentioned above.



To keep it interesting to your audience, you might want to deal with something like: Four Myths of Car Washing (or 5 or 6 or whatever); The Do's/Dont's of ???; Polishing vs Waxing: What They Really Mean.



I doubt they will want to know how to wash a car unless you "shock" them into understanding everything they thought they knew and have been doing is a superficial understanding, and that there's more to it if you are a detailing purist.



I'm guessing you will have time to make 3-4 main points, offer some advice & instruction, and provide a conclusion.



Good luck.
 
it would be cool if you could make a video of you polishing half a panel and then pulling the tape off and wiping the panel down to show what a difference it makes.
 
id start off by finding a diagram of paint... like, showing wat swirls are, and scratches, and what has to be done to remove them, or atleast make them not visable..you could tell about each type of product and what it is used for..

go in depth about compounds, cleaners, polishes, glazes, waxes etc... you could always tell about different types of waxes or sealants like carnuba, silicon, acrylic, polymer, etc... also being a college student.. i was actually assigned a simmilar project earlier today, and the first thing that came to mind was detailing, but i decided to do it on forced induction instead..
 
you could also desrcibe wat order to do things in, and how often you should do each etc etc... how different companys have harder or softer paint.. cleatcoat care vs single color coat etc etc.. .. just some ideas
 
Seriously, wow, I'm in speech class and have an informative 6-7 minute speech coming up, too! I'm definitely doing it on detailing! Wow



edit: Jo, is that your red 240sx? I used to have an s14 a few years back.
 
Definitely cover some of the myths about detailing such as:



-Cheap $75 details are good details

-Dealer protection packages last for 5 years

-You only have to wax once a year





Also, if you mention how it increases the value of a vehicle, you may even be able to swing a few customers.
 
I'd just show them these two videos (a little over five minutes total):



YouTube - Auto Detailing Tips : How to Wash a Car

YouTube - Auto Detailing Tips : How to Wax a Car



Maybe add this one if you need to use more time and you want to touch on the interior:

YouTube - Car Washing & Detailing : How to Clean a Dashboard



A+ for certain.



:-)



On a serious note, I'd definitely keep it simple, the basics on how to properly hand wash a car would be good, maybe cover adding some protection to the paint (forget polishing, engine detailing, steaming carpet, treating windows, polishing headlights, etc.).



Regards,



Rich
 
finalfinish said:
Seriously, wow, I'm in speech class and have an informative 6-7 minute speech coming up, too! I'm definitely doing it on detailing! Wow



edit: Jo, is that your red 240sx? I used to have an s14 a few years back.
Click to expand...



Do you go to Belmont??? it says you're from Nashville. I'm from Philly but go to school at Belmont, we're probably taking the same class haha...



that was my S14, I sold it right before coming to school here sadly....







Thanks so much for the help guys, I really didn't expect this many responses!

I guess I can always count on Autopia to help with anything.
 
Be sure to mention at the end that they should check the paint on their own cars, or other vehicles in the parking lot. with the knowledge you provide, they may be inspired to take better care of cars in the future.
 
Truthfully I think this is a poor idea for an "informative speech." Auto detailing is an acquired taste really. You either love it and spend hundreds of dollars a year trying to satisfy the craving for perfection, or you take your car through the local swirl-o-matic once every two months, and never notice you're rolling around in swirlzilla. Is your professor male or female? Think this will interest many of the females in your class? Not to say their aren't a few on here, but your "traditional female student" (18-22) couldn't care less about details.



I was faced with this same project, in the same class a few years ago. I spent some time in my professors office just shootin the breeze; figured out what her interests were and then tailored the speech around her interests. The class was bored, but I didn't give a f**k. I got an A, that's all that matters.



Good luck in any event,



Dan
 
Dan brings up a good point. While it may interest you, and may get you a good grade if done well, it probably won't land you any girls' numbers. You'll get a few snide jokes about "can you wash my car?", etc.



But we can fix this, and still make it fun for you. It's a very simple tweak really. Do your presentation on "How to detail.... MY FERRARI". Sure it's lying (I'd think, I dunno if you have a Ferrari), but it's sure to land you a few dumb chicks. Just make sure to talk about your Ferrari, and get your story straight first and you should be fine.
 
I had to do something very similar last semester, but I hate power point and didn't feel like bringing in a crap ton of supplies. I'd do it by just going down the line of how you would actually detail a car (wash, clay, wetsand if needed, compound, polish, jeweling, sealant/wax). Leave out or add in as many steps as needed. It would be really cool if you could find a busted fender or something that you've done a 50/50 on and show the class that and even though your doing powerpoint actually bring in some product.
 
well if you think about it there aren't many "informative" speeches that will really please all the people in the class, especially a topic that I already know a lot about.

I realize that most people aren't perfectionists about their cars like we all are, but I think I could just give the basics for those who might want to take care of their cars.

And it does relate to pretty much everyone someway since pretty much everyone owns a car...they'll be able to take something away from it no matter what

My goal isn't to impress any girls...it's a speech class...what speech in a speech class really does?

It's either this, car racing/performance, photography, or guitar (which is very cliche at a music business school)
 
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