Car Show Gurus...How many see a lot of this?

S

stilez

New member
Recently posted on another forum I frequent, mentioning how he entered his car into a car show. I would be ashamed to have entered this car in...



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Lots of mods no doubt, but the biggest downfall is the nasty swirls and holograms all over the hood. Is this a common thing? I plan on entering my teg into some shows this year and will be doing countless hours of prep work. :)
 
I'm presuming that there is nothing in the makeup of CF hoods which would preclude a swirl free finish? Are they just clearcoated like a regular hood? Or is it the epoxy resin at the surface?
 
I saw this at SEMA, LA Auto Show and every import show that I have been to. It's like they don't know the flaws are there or something.
 
Maybe that's why he doesn't have any trophies next to it :nixweiss



It's a really nice integra too bad the owner never took the time to detail it or have someone do it.
 
Went to the New Car Show in Sandy, UT last weekend. Was checking out the new BMWs 530i very nice car, but had orange peel on the part where the bottom of the car and roof meet, that little strip in between. For a $50,000 plus car that's not acceptable to me. I was very disappointed.
 
A lot of the local shows tha I have attended have had cars that look worse!! Funny thing is, they usually win!! I guess the judges love swirls!!



I put on the local car show in my town, we have 100-200 cars, and they first thing I look for is swirls, scratches, etc. Then they really hate me when I break out the mirror to check their undercarriage!!
 
I think it must be the carbon fibre because there were similar problems on the cf equipped units at Detroit last week. The swirls looked terrible on the cf parts.
 
It's funny but the only people who really notice some of these things is us!! Most of your average car lookers and even some of the real enthusists don't notice the details. Its seems that a lot of the shows today are all about the "bling" and not the quality or attention to detail.:nixweiss
 
If that's the typical show-car finish, Sean, I don't think you'll have any trouble. Have you asked any judges on what they think is important?
 
92MX83 said:
If that's the typical show-car finish, Sean, I don't think you'll have any trouble. Have you asked any judges on what they think is important?
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I know there are some here on this site, so I'm waiting for them to chime in. The shows around here are pretty much based on mods unfortunately. I have a bunch, but some people go really crazy. Time will tell.
 
First off I would be ashamed to drive the car, but whatever floats his/her boat....



EVERY car show I have ever been to that has been the norm. :confused:
 
ebpcivicsi said:
First off I would be ashamed to drive the car, but whatever floats his/her boat....



EVERY car show I have ever been to that has been the norm. :confused:
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I guess that's why you win :)





Any quick tips you can give me for show car tips?
 
You guys should be worshiped at import meets !!! Some of the most neglected finishes have thousands of dollars invested in upgrades everywhere else on the car.



BTW... Classic car shows can hurt the eye also. Bodywork waves that beg you to grab a board and hang ten, and uneven gaps.



But I guess we notice thing like that here !!!



;)
 
John Styrnol said:
Went to the New Car Show in Sandy, UT last weekend. Was checking out the new BMWs 530i very nice car, but had orange peel on the part where the bottom of the car and roof meet, that little strip in between. For a $50,000 plus car that's not acceptable to me. I was very disappointed.
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I regularly see BMWs, Mercedes, Lexus, Audis, etc., with awful orange peel over the entire car. :(
 
Sean the more shows you attend the more you will realize just how trained your Autopian eyes are. I've been involved in the local show circuit here going on 6 years now and I am still amazed at how poor the condition of the paint of some of the "show stoppers" are. They will have immaculate, orange peel free, mile deep paint jobs and be covered in swirls. To the average Joe, even the average show enthusiast, their eye is just not trained to see a swirl. Ignorance is indeed bliss. What you and I would see as a paint surface in need of gawd forsaken hours of prep to them will look perfect. I am reminded of the thread a while ago when Meguiar's had their Autopian day. Scott, Bob and a few other Autopian's got to see Jay Leno's car collection and see the nastiness of "swirl city". To "normal" people...those cars looked just fine.



Don't get me wrong...there are folks out there that do know what they are looking at when they see paint that has been prepped to the 9's...but they are few and far between.



I have learned to be my own judge at a car show. I know my car will be up to my standards...and at the end of the day...that is all that really matters.
 
thats a portland car. im going to practice the "if you dont have anything nice to say then dont say anything" approach :)



These portland "show" cars are absolutely terrible except for a select few.
 
1 Clean WS6 said:
Sean the more shows you attend the more you will realize just how trained your Autopian eyes are. I've been involved in the local show circuit here going on 6 years now and I am still amazed at how poor the condition of the paint of some of the "show stoppers" are. They will have immaculate, orange peel free, mile deep paint jobs and be covered in swirls. To the average Joe, even the average show enthusiast, their eye is just not trained to see a swirl. Ignorance is indeed bliss. What you and I would see as a paint surface in need of gawd forsaken hours of prep to them will look perfect. I am reminded of the thread a while ago when Meguiar's had their Autopian day. Scott, Bob and a few other Autopian's got to see Jay Leno's car collection and see the nastiness of "swirl city". To "normal" people...those cars looked just fine.



Don't get me wrong...there are folks out there that do know what they are looking at when they see paint that has been prepped to the 9's...but they are few and far between.



I have learned to be my own judge at a car show. I know my car will be up to my standards...and at the end of the day...that is all that really matters.
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This pretty much sums it for me. Well said 1 Clean WS6 :xyxthumbs



Sean, trust me your attention to detail and skill level will be all that is needed in the show. Your daily driver will be ten times cleaner than any garage queen there.
 
well first of all im starring at the red rsx (?) thats in the background of that picture, nows thats some nice paint. anyways, i do think its pretty common. the last show i went to in hawaii had lots of swirled cars. it was especially apprant under the lights. however, there was also a car show that featured strictly exotics, and i noticed that many of the nice ferraris seems to be detailed very well, though there was a fair share of those that were swirled. anyways, i would say that its pretty common amongst show cars :mad:
 
GSRstilez said:
I know there are some here on this site, so I'm waiting for them to chime in. The shows around here are pretty much based on mods unfortunately. I have a bunch, but some people go really crazy. Time will tell.
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I used to show but stopped a couple of years ago.



Yes swirls are part of these shows for most cars. As long as the paint is shiny is all that seems to matter.



On another note, seeing how everything evolved in the car show scene in the last few years, you would have to spend a fortune to compete with these cars. Not sure if it would be worth it.



What are your plans?
 
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