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The Detail Asylum - Detailer’s Academy, Hornell, NY (2026)

10/20/2024

Been a hot minute since I’ve posted in here with a lot of different cogs working lately!
But today I’m Featuring Andrew's Auto Detailing from Shippensburg PA for today’s post!!

Andrew just completed 5 fairly intense days with me 1on1 covering my Paint Correction 101, 102, and ceramic coating certification course topics! Over the next couple weeks I will be highlighting specific days of his training in detail. Pictures will also be shared on my other pages 🙂 so be sure to follow PMS Photography as well in case you miss posts here!!

09/09/2024

Day 2: impromptu training with Dakota Ryan
We finished up the log truck today in prep for the parade in Naples!
I finished polishing the step treads, breathers, dio my hand blending on the fuel tank, and started putting stuff back on.
Dakota had a busy day working back to front to finish putting lugnut covers on, final coats of dressing on tires, cleaned the glass inside and out, polished elephant ears/visor/bumper/mirrors, and then climbed all over every inch of the cab to dry wash and wax the paint. He did a great job learning how to identify chrome vs stainless vs aluminum and learned how polish each one.
He absolutely slayed his first big rig exterior detail!!! The owner was happy, and Dakota loved seeing it outside loading all shined up...like a kid at Christmas!

09/08/2024

Day One: impromptu training with Dakota Ryan who came out all the way from Harrison, Of for paint correction and coating class.
He got here about noon a day early so I had him help me on a rig by doing some detail work. He was wondering why it is that I get so black when I'm polishing, so l tossed him the grinder for a little bit, and gave him a crash course on polishing
"theory" and how to color aluminum. He turned black a little bit, and then he understood LOL!
After that he jumped on the tedious task of washing and polishing 80 lugnut covers, 4 top hats, 4 hub covers, and 8 wheels and tires. By the end of the day, there was 2 coats of dressing on the tires and he had half the chrome back on. He also went top side to clean the DEF residue off the exhaust tips and get them polished up.

01/21/2024

Day 5 of training with Sam:

This was a run down day for a couple different things that mostly encompassed detailing.
Started off with a hydrophobic demo on the bike he corrected and coated on day 4. We talked about what hydrophobics, surface tension, and contact angle is and was able to get the pic of the water beads to show it better…..
After that we did a demo of the carpet/upholstery extraction process.
Then Sam had a chance to work on a piece of diamond plate that wasn’t completely roached like the piece I was showing him on the day before. This gave him a chance to see what the muslin buffs were all about and why I love mineral spirits and mixing my greasy and dry bars.
After he got the diamond plate done we reviewed different types of wheel cleaner (acid vs non acid), how they work, when to use them, and how to use them. He also got an iron remover demo on my truck so he can see how that works as a stand alone product in a touchless wash situation.
The last thing we went over before packing his bags was polishing motorcycle chrome and using engine brightener to complete the total motorcycle detail.

He was able to go home with a book full of notes, a solid foundation to be able to use for reference points, and a belly full of tri-tip! Lol 😝
5 days of lessons, 1 day of motorcycle riding, and 1 awesome night of being able to hear him play his music! Wouldn’t have traded last week for the world!!

Menzerna Polishing Compounds
DEWALT
Spectrum Alberta Ltd.
Premier Mirror Shine
3M Auto
FLEX Power Tools - North America

01/20/2024

Day 4 of training with Sam:

We covered the full ceramic coating process including the following:
—The steps, chemicals, and tools required for a decon wash
—how to use iron remover and clay bar and WHAT they are for
—how to identify paint defects, what they are are, what causes them, and how to properly address them
—how to use a paint thickness gauge to assess the amount of material on a surface and how to measure in both mils and microns
—how to perform a paint correction including pad/compound combinations and how to asses the next step based on results, and the difference between cutting with wool, microfiber, and foam
—how to properly run a rotary polisher for heavy cutting
—how to wipe the surface down with panel prep without introducing new scratches to the surface, and why we do it
—how to apply and “level” a ceramic coating and what to look for that tells you it is ready to be buffed clean

The only thing I actually showed him was a test hit with the rotary to show him the movement and angle and how to apply the coating in cross hatch patterns everything else was explained and he did the task with no other guidance like a champ! The paintwork on this Harley turned out incredible and the instant gratification on his face when he saw what he had accomplished was awesome to see:) I think it’s safe to say he’s might be as hooked as I am to the paint correction side of things, and he completed one hell of a first project to say the least!

01/20/2024

Day 3 of training with Sam:

Todays focus was wheels! Getting comfortable with sanding at different angles, getting comfortable with running the grinder around holes (and how to avoid catching them or the valve stem). He worked on identifying pits on lips and back walls and how to adjust his grits in each section. He was also showed the angles to use when using a rotary and how to work from the center-out, although he didn’t try the rotary for himself. He will be practicing that on some cracked rims he has at home once he buys an Inox 🙂
After going through a bunch of paper he did a two step polish to mimic what he will be starting off doing at home (since he already did 3 and 4 step on the tank he wanted to try another method).
I’d say for a first time wheel job, he did pretty darn good!

01/20/2024

Day 2 of training with Sam:

On day two he felt comfortable enough with the sanding steps to move into a grinder. We started with endcaps first…this will make other polishers cringe but there is a method to my madness and it worked!

He learned the main bar/airway combinations used in my shop as well as a couple alternate combinations to use in case of not favorable conditions. We started off with cutting and coloring endcaps then moved the tank into the sun to demonstrate how different light (direct and indirect) can help and hurt you as a polisher, as well as how giving a tank a half turn can completely change the way the light is reflected off the surface. In splitting the tank in half and teaching both da and rotary sanding on one end cap, he was also able to see the difference in the way both styles polish out side by side.
On the barrel of the tank we split it into 3 sections: 3 step no sanding, 3 step Menzerna, 3 step Marpol. This section gave him the biggest lesson in how dry and greasy bars act on the same piece of metal under the same conditions and also with very similar brands, as well as the reflection (even though distorted) obtained on clean aluminum when no sanding is involved. He also learned how to tweak the position of his grinder and adjust his arm speed to minimize hash marks (buff trails) through the process. We addressed how different compounds receive heat as well; in that some perform better than others when you add more heat, or work in direct heat, as well as the different things that heat buildup can be caused by!
I tried to upload videos on the post as well but it didn’t want to work 😕

Premier Mirror Shine
Menzerna Polishing Compounds
Spectrum Alberta Ltd.
DEWALT

01/20/2024

Day 1 of training with Sam Shilts:

Spent the morning going over safety information, discussing different styles sanding and how and WHY we do it, and talked about the different tools and materials used in the polishing process (chemical prep, sanding, polishing, and super finishing).
We then proceeded to actually execute what was discussed. Marked out a 140gal fuel tank that is brand new and “polished” from the factory but has pitting in the end caps and heavy gouging from poor shipping. Sam learned how to gauge what grit paper he will need to start with based on the condition of the metal, how to read aluminum grains, how to look for and chase different types of sanding marks, and got all sections prepped and ready for polishing.

After a successful day of running sanders and burning up paper, he was attacked by the vicious shop dog Aspen!

Premier Mirror Shine
Menzerna Polishing Compounds
Spectrum Alberta Ltd.
DEWALT

01/19/2024

As many know from following my personal page, I have been on the road since Nov 1st teaching all over the place.
Over the course of the next couple weeks I will slowly be going through all my photos and videos and will be uploading posts highlighting what we did each day of class.

Please bear with me as I may be uploading multiple posts per day at some points.

ALSO; please keep in mind that after pictures you may see are not always going to be perfect. Remember that these are students and that many of them have never run these machines before. 2-5 days of training with anybody is not enough time to become a pro…..it takes a lot of time and a lot of money spent on materials to practice with. The point of these classes is to work hands on but to also teach the fundamentals needed for them to go out on their own and be able to use common sense to work around issues they may encounter. Not every scenario we face in this business is the same, not every similar scenario warrants the same solution either.
My hope is that students embrace the basics quickly so we can move into the more advanced theories and techniques, but I never try to talk or move faster than they can comprehend. Sometimes what takes one person 8hrs to grasp may take another person 2 days, and that’s okay with me!

01/19/2024

Thank you to all who have chosen to accept my invite to like this 3rd business adventure of mine. If you enjoy seeing what my students and I are working on, hit the like button and share:) it takes 5 seconds to support a business owner, doesn’t cost a dime, and helps us more than you can imagine!

As many of you know, I have extensive experience in the detailing/auto refinishing worlds and have gained some pretty decent traction in the metal polishing side of things within the last 6yrs or so. I have been blessed with the ability to teach others in ways they can understand, and after a lot of consideration I’ve decided to open myself to offering hands on classes. The decision doesn’t come easily as I know this will only add more to my work load; but I also know that I won’t be able to sling grinders forever. This will give me an avenue to not only stay involved in the industry but also help the next generations of detailers without taking a massive toll on an already busted up body. It will be a while before I hang it up, but I want to have traction in the training field when I do 🙂 This journey into training has already been a wild ride and it hasn’t even been 8mo yet LOL! Hope you’re buckled in, cause it’s gonna be a wild ride:)
——For anyone interested in attending classes, shoot me a message and we will figure out the logistics! I look forward to being able to help you build the skills needed to take your business to the next level!
Warmest regards,
Perry S - Owner Premier Mirror Shine, reFLEXions Detail Supply, Detail Asylum

P.S.
Some may call me greedy, some may call me crazy or may even think it is unfair for me to charge for the things I teach….all I can say is that if you feel that way then you are welcome to apply for a position as an office manager where you can field calls, emails, texts and FaceTimes all hrs of the day and night for free. That will be your only job and will free me up to take care of shop operations myself instead of being on my phone🤣 Maybe you’d feel differently after a couple weeks of living in my shoes.

The Detail Asylum - Detailer’s Academy

10/20/2024

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