Tech Session at Automotive Aesthetic

By Jim Condon

Daniel Wendell, the owner of Automotive Aesthetic in Charlottesville, opened his shop to a large contingent of Shenandoah PCA members and other “car guys” for a tech session on January 20. Daniel is a lifelong PCA member from a PCA family.

To see the photo gallery from this event, click here.

After gathering for coffee, donuts, and talk, we sat down and learned about detailing from Daniel. He covered the three stages of detailing: (1) decontamination, (2) rejuvenation, and (3) preservation. For decontamination (washing) he recommended the “three bucket” system. The first bucket is for wheels, which should be done first because they are usually the dirtiest part of the car. He uses special chemicals that attack the iron in brake dust, dissolving it into a red liquid that can be rinsed or wiped off with a soft brush. For washing the paint he uses separate “clean” and “dirty” buckets with plastic grids on the bottom where dirt can settle out. This reduces the chance of adding swirl marks to the paint by washing it with a dirty mitt. For drying he uses a blow dryer or a thick microfiber towel.

The second stage is rejuvenation — polishing, removing scratches, correcting paint flaws, etc. Knowing how to do this and having the right tools (e.g., orbital polishers, paint depth gauges) is important, and is often best left to the pros.

The third and final stage is protection, which can be anything from simple waxing to applying “glass” or “ceramic” coating to covering with plastic film. Daniel recommends carnuba wax primarily for show cars and garage queens because it is not very durable. He also applies Modesta glass coatings and plastic films. His takeaway message is that the skill of the person doing this work is critical.

After a question-and-answer session, Daniel demonstrated polishing on Steve Upman’s 911 Carrera. Daniel also rents garage space for people to store their cars. For example, Dave Lasch stores his recently restored 356SC there because he doesn’t have a suitable garage at home. The tech session concluded with pizza and drinks for all.