As some of you may be (painfully?) aware, I've been trying my hand at the whole detailing thing. I purchased a Flex 3401 and Menzerna SIP/SF from Moe, and have practiced on my silver Boxster and then on my brother in law's really beat up Saab. I've read and watched as much as much stuff on the internet I could, and felt confident tackling my 996TT.

I started off well, but I felt like I wasn't getting the results that I wanted, and, frankly, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't way off base on anything. With that in mind, I scheduled a 1 hour tech session with Moe. Now, $125 for an hour is, at least to me, not particularly cheap, but I'd already spent so much money on equipment and products that it made sense to spend the money to make sure I was using all this stuff correctly.

Made the (long) drive down to Moe, spent a some time talking, a more time working, and a little more time talking again. Drove home. WELL WORTH THE TIME AND MONEY.

A few things I learned:
1. How to look at the paint and scratches to estimate the seriousness of the situation and the product/pad needed.
2. How to use different parts of the pad for different areas, edges, curves on the car.
3. How to work WITH the Flex, rather than against it (aka, how to deal with its seemingly constant desire to run away from you).
4. How much pressure to put on the Flex at various stages.
5. How to tell when the product is breaking down, and how and how much to go afterwards.
6. How to inspect/judge your work. When to try again, and when to wait for next year's polish.
7. A really good polish should remove no more than 3-5 microns of clearcoat.
8. A bunch more nuance-type pointers that, frankly, would probably have taken me many, many more "polishes" and probably a few mistakes along the way to learn and that, all in all, would have cost me WAY MORE than $125 (and the driving time). And since I'm only doing this as a hobby, that probably would have meant a year or more of "mistakes" before learning what I learned from Moe in the tech session.

If you've bought the Flex, CR Spotless (a must have!), pads, polishes, microfiber cloths, soap, mits, wheel cleaners, clay bars, clay lubes, pre-cleaners, waxes, etc., etc., and you're not 100% confident (or just want to reassurance that you're doing everything right), then a tech session may be worth it to you. I'd recommend first learning as much as you can from the internet and then practicing on your brother in law's car , but nothing is the same as hands on, one on one instruction.

Hope this helps anyone who's considering doing this.

ps., Moe's pretty generous with his "one-hour" time limit

 

Joe,

Sounds like you enjoyed yourself. Unfortunately, the only way I could reasonably follow your lead would be if Moe took his show on the road. How about it, Moe?

Jeff

 

That's awesome to see Moe educate his customers to DIY!

Bet we could talk Moe into a "vacation" to Florida, I'd gladly offer to help.

 

It was a pleasure Joe. I'm glad you pulled the trigger on the tech session as I knew it was the missing link. Most often, a short time with a professional can save you hours and hours of reading and watching videos online. Thanks for the opportunity.

 

We'v always educated our clients. To me, proudcts are only 50% of the equation. You need to know HOW to use the great products and it will vary by car and client. So, to have a one-on-one with YOU, YOUR car, and YOUR questions, is a great investment and value when one purchases these quality products.

Florida....hmmm...I can take my wife and 13-month-old daughter to Disney World. Sounds tempting

 

If we get more people from Florida, I may just have to get a wagon, throw the products and family in the back, and ride into town

 

Florida Trip...Seminar....I would be in.

 

How about a so cal seminar?

 

We'll be holding our first one later this month. I'll have a thread up in the next few days.

 

That makes 3 of you guys....if we can add more people to the roster, and a good venue, I would give this serious thought. I would be honored to share what little I know with you guys

 

I'd be interested, Boca Raton, FL here

 

A sound understanding of the proper technique and the correct process will produce excellent results even with a mediocre product. A quality product used without the proper surface preparation or application technique will never obtain a satisfactory result.

Proceed with this in mind; the products you use constitute a very small factor in the equation. Methodology and technique constitute 95%; the reasoning behind the choice of quality products is to eliminate any limiting factors, thus enabling you to place emphasis on technique used.


Application methodology is as important as the product itself. Either, product or application process; if incorrectly chosen has the potential to damage the material it’s applied to.

 

Definitely a great way to learn. Good to see your Tech Sessions are a success Moe. I started offering them for the exact same reasons.

 

One more from FL here. I am in for a clinic.

 

I'm open to suggestions on how to move forward with a tech event in FL for you guys. Let's work on the logistics. Any suggestions?