Pictures - September 18th 19th 20th 2026 Class in Stuart Florida - Dr. Beasley's & Mike Phillips

[Mike Phillips]

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Step 2: Machine Dry Sanding—Refining the Sanding Marks!

With the initial hand sanding completed, the class moves on to machine dry sanding our 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner using Eagle Abrasives by KOVAX Buflex 2500 sanding discs.

For this step, we’re using:

FLEX FX3411 Finishing Sander: A 1.6mm orbit with 6-inch Buflex 2500 sanding discs.

FLEX PiXiE: The 6mm drive unit with 3-inch Buflex 2500 sanding discs for smaller areas.

Both tools are equipped with appropriately sized RUPES foam interface pads between the backing plate and sanding disc.

The goal? Replace the 1500-grit hand sanding marks with finer, more uniform 2500-grit machine sanding marks.

These shallower marks are faster and easier to buff out, reducing the amount of heavy compounding needed and helping limit heat buildup during the buffing step.

A little more time refining now makes the next step easier!

Looking good guys!


Mike

 

[Mike Phillips]

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Here's the results after a 2-step sanding process to the 11969 Plymouth Roadrunner.

If you look closely, the thin, yellow painter's tape has been removed from all the raised body lines and then the class used some 2500 grit sand paper to SCUFF the raised body lines and remove the glaze. This is a ery light sanding and if you don't do this - the final results won't look right.

So far, so good, keep up the good FOCUSED work as next we're switching over to wool cutting pads on rotary polisher using Dr. Beasley's CoreCut compound to cut the paint and remove the sanding marks.

Mike

 

[Mike Phillips]

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“Mike, why do you teach rotary polishers FIRST THING on Saturday morning?”

Because by Sunday, I need EVERYONE up to speed with this type of polisher!

Many of these students have never used a rotary polisher. Others have used one, but have never tackled removing sanding marks after sanding an entire car.

Saturday morning’s training builds the skills they’ll put to work on Sunday—on somebody else’s 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner!

Step 3: Remove the Sanding Marks!

The class is now using rotary polishers with 8-inch wool cutting pads and Dr. Beasley’s CoreCut compound to remove 100% of the sanding marks before moving on to polishing.

This step is VITAL!

The foam pads and finer polishes we’ll use next usually don’t have enough cut to reliably remove leftover sanding marks—especially around edges, narrow sections, and intricate areas.

Those marks need attention NOW. Otherwise, you can get through the polishing steps only to discover sanding scratches that require going back and repeating work.

This is also one of the riskier parts of the process.

Spend too much time buffing one small area, and you can build excessive heat or remove too much clearcoat. Edges and raised body lines require particular care because it’s easy to cut through the finish.

I need everyone FOCUSED on the task at hand.

That means controlling the polisher, watching where the pad is cutting, and stopping to wipe off the residue and inspect the results. Shiny paint doesn’t automatically mean all the sanding marks are gone!

The pictures also show my “Finger Painting Technique”—placing compound with your finger exactly where you need to buff. It helps position the product when working on small or intricate areas.

The better the class performs this cutting step, the faster and easier every polishing step that follows becomes.

Saturday’s practice is paying off—and the shine is coming BACK!

Awesome work guys and ZERO MISTAKES!


Mike