The Simoniz Garage Open House – 2019

On March 23^rd, the CT Valley Chapter was welcomed to The Simoniz Garage in West Hartford for an open house event. Despite mother nature throwing us a curveball that dumped some significant late season snow in parts of the state, we still had 19 hearty and curious souls attend the educational presentations and demonstrations delivered by Will Gorra, Owner and General Manager of The Simoniz Garage. This facility serves as a major training center for Simoniz’s commercial clients nationwide, as well as a rather busy automobile cleaning and detailing shop, one that has earned a stellar reputation in the area.

With lunch and snacks provided by the Chapter, we settled into their Customer Lounge to listen to Will set the stage of his family’s history with the Simoniz brand. He “detailed” the significant roles played by his father & grandfather, both chemical engineers, in fabricating, testing, and evaluating products in response to the changing materials used by auto manufacturers over the years. His appreciation of the auto detailing industry’s history, and Simoniz’s role therein, is evident throughout the shop, which is filled with Simoniz promotional memorabilia from across the decades. These include major sponsorships on Indy cars and of CanAm racing teams, along with creative advertising examples and other significant historical items.

Will, along with his Detailing Tech leader Logan, guided the group through discussions on proper washing and pre-polish paint preparation. This included the many steps involved in the proper cleaning and waxing for automobiles, and even the use of ceramic coatings and other paint protection materials. The importance of using the correct materials, and the correct tools, was enlightening to us all.

Will demonstrated some scratch removal, trim restoration, and paint preservation materials and techniques on your author’s 2018 X3; the Dark Graphite Metallic paint really showing its imperfections under the shop’s specialized LED lighting system. He also showed us how cleaning hazy or yellowed polycarbonate headlamp covers can restore them to virtually as-new condition, and rather quickly too, but only if you know what you are doing.

Advice on using carnauba-based and/or chemical-mixture products, claying, and how to get into all those crevices when cleaning the interior were among the wealth of topics covered – all important information, whether you practice DIY car care, or you just want to ask better questions of your detailing shop. Insider tips and tricks, like what differentiates a good microfiber towel from the rest, or using hand sanitizer to loosen and remove tree sap, were shared. Additionally, some lucky attendees walked away with a goodie bag full of detailing supplies.

It’s great to know such a knowledgeable, professional, and accessible resource exists in the heart of our Chapter’s territory. It was a great way to gain some valuable knowledge over just a couple hours on a Saturday afternoon.

The Simoniz Garage is located at 283 Park Road in West Hartford, CT. Visit www.thesimonizgarage.com for more information on their offered services.

~Tim Healey