Category Archives: Exterior Detailing

Mike Phillips and Dr. Beasley's guide to polishing compounds

The Ultimate Guide to Polishing Compounds for Car Paint (2025)

Doing a major paintwork correction on a car with deep swirls, scratches, water spots and/or oxidation often requires something called a “compound” or “rubbing compound” that cuts paint faster and more aggressively than a polish.  There are a lot of different compounds on the market today using a lot of different technologies. In this article, […]

EGO Power+ Pressure Washer Full Guide and Review

EGO Power+ 3200 PSI Pressure Washer | Complete Review & Guide

If you like to wash your car regularly, one of the handiest tools you can own is a pressure washer.  Pressure washers excel at cleaning just about anything with minimal effort. The high pressure water jet blasts the contaminants away while you simply hold the wand and aim.  There are a lot of consumer-friendly options […]

How to Remove Oxidation from Boat Gelcoat

How to Remove Oxidation from Boats

There’s nothing like spending the day on your boat enjoying some relaxing time out on the water.  But enjoying your boat is only half of what it means to own one. The other half? Maintaining your boat.  Beyond repairs and general upkeep, one of the hardest parts of owning any boat with a gelcoat hull […]

How to use a paint thickness gauge

How to Use a Paint Thickness Gauge

A paint thickness gauge (PTG, also known as a coating thickness gauge) is an electronic device used in the auto detailing industry to accurately measure the thickness of a car’s paint and/or any protective coatings applied to it.  In this article, I’ll explain what paint thickness gauges are used for, how they work, when to […]

How to Use a Foam Cannon: Step-by-Step Guide

How to Use a Foam Cannon (Step-by-Step Guide)

Foam cannons are unique soap-delivery systems for washing cars. They spray layers of thick, sudsy soap foam that help loosen and break down dirt, grime and other types of contamination.  Professional detailers love them because they speed up the washing process and provide extra lubrication between your wash mitt and the paint to prevent scratches.  […]

Dr. Beasley's 1-day auto detailing class in Chicago

69 Photos from Dr. Beasley’s 1-Day Detailing Class in Chicago (April 2025)

Earlier this month we hosted another 1-Day Auto Detailing Class right here at our HQ in Chicago at Simon’s Detailing! These single day classes focus on auto detailing fundamentals like washing, claying, polishing and ceramic coating to give students a foundation of knowledge they can use in their own garage or on the job working […]

Dr. Beasley’s NSP CoreCut & CoreCut+ Are Now Available

The wait is over. NSP CoreCut and NSP CoreCut+, our new heavy cutting compounds with Nano Surface Primer technology, are finally here and making their way to all those who preordered.  We’re working hard this morning shipping out all those preorders to the early adopters eager to try out the new formulations. We can’t thank […]

How to Lubricate Felt Ring on Harbor Freight Hercules Forced Rotation DA

How to Lubricate Felt Ring on Harbor Freight Hercules Forced Rotation DA Polisher

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 […]

What's the Difference Between Compound and Polish?

What’s the Difference Between Compound & Polish?

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 […]

10 Tips for Speeding Up Your Paint Correction Process

10 Tips for Faster Polishing from Expert 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 […]