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2:33 pm
June 5, 2011
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QuoteIt is very exciting that the population of this forum is growing, and is growing with very active members. We're a bunch of very like-minded folks … but, I wonder … what else are you guys into?
I'm guessing similar pursuits, like walking, running, cycling, weightlifting, watching womens' beach volleyball … that kind of thing.
What else are you into?
Me? I like car "detailing".
Detailing? Yes, take a car … any car … and clean, polish and "detail" it until it looks better than new. I find the whole arena of polishing to be very therapeutic! I love losing a few hours setting about what might appear to be a fruitless task of machining a car and building up a beautiful shine and finish. I can offline – I can go into almost a daze, almost a trance. I do need to be alert, since machining a car does require you to be on the ball … all of the time … but equally, once you're in the zone … you're in.
Some of my work?
Living in the Ice Age
http://livingintheiceage.pjgh.co.uk
8:44 pm
July 7, 2011
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8:55 pm
July 7, 2011
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10:50 pm
February 22, 2010
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Rob, did you just ollie a shopping cart?
Fuuuuuuuck.
Even if you started on that raised curb, I'm still impressed.
Paul:
Certain repetitive tasks basically become a meditation. I've got a theory around "crafts" and "hobbies", which is that they relate to the impulse to make stone tools and weapons. For millions of years it was very important to make spears that were straight, sharp, and wouldn't break, and precision craftsmanship became steadily more important as we progressed to composite weapons (stone points), atlatl/dart and then bow/arrow.
And, of course, flaking hundreds of stone axes, choppers, and points -- mostly for butchery, as stone goes dull quickly when asked to cut tough things like bison hide. The reason there are lots of points around kil sites is because they were basically a disposable item.
Most of what I do now I've already posted the pictures of...skiing, mountain biking, etc. Beyond that, I spend time learning about nutrition and diet, and writing, which you already know about. While I've got recordings of my music, there's little photographic evidence to prove it. And I've got lots of stories to tell, but they're best told in person.
So, alas, I don't have a lot to share that you haven't already seen. But I greatly appreciate the glimpses back into your lives.
JS
11:05 pm
July 7, 2011
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11:12 pm
July 7, 2011
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And, needless to say, I love to cook.
That ribeye with brussel sprouts was amazing. I bought a two-pound piece of grass-fed, dry aged ribeye, rubbed with pepper and cinnamon, broiled it at 500 degrees F for about 12 minutes a side and there you have it. Absolutely perfect color and texture. Heavy, delicious. Boiled the sprouts briefly, then pan-seared them with imported Irish butter and a dash of salt.
Sometimes life is too good.
In the spirit of the hunt,
Rob
11:49 pm
October 7, 2011
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I'm a tattoo artist, and shop owner! Drawing, painting, tattooing is what I breathe to do. I don't really do much else. Nose to the grindstone and all that 🙂 Here's some fun things I've done:
11:56 pm
July 7, 2011
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12:03 am
July 7, 2011
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Paul,
I went back and took another look at the work you did on those cars. Try as I might, I couldn't find one single imperfection in your work. Bravo, sir. Very nice indeed.
In the spirit of the hunt,
Rob
12:05 am
October 7, 2011
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Yeaaahh those cars are super shiny. Too shiny!!
12:08 am
July 7, 2011
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1:34 am
June 5, 2011
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Many thanks for the kind replies over my car polishing.
To continue what J said, it is very useful to hone a skill of seeing the detail within the big picture. Applying detail to whatever it is we do is something which produces quality; something beyond simple necessity and provides the richness. I've often talked about savouring - savour food, savour a sunset, savour hunger even! Seeing a sunset is the big picture, sitting down to watch it is the detail.
I'm also a big foodie! I love food! I love eating good food and I particularly enjoy the detail - strive to make every component excellent and present it in a way which is sublime. I take a lot of photographs of my food and have a paleo blog for the converted and the curious - my intention is to show that paleo food is more than ingesting the right and necessary energy and nutrient, it can also be beautiful to the eye. The first bite is with the eye and I betcha hyaenas are already salivating at the look of a tasty gazelle long before it sinks its teeth into it.
My food pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/107179421315824659117/Cuisine ... and my food blog: http://livingintheiceage.pjgh.co.uk/
Oh, and if you liked those shiny car pictures, you'll find a lot more here: http://www.pjgh.co.uk/gallery/
Here I am, in action, at a recent gathering of like-minded car polishing folks:
Living in the Ice Age
http://livingintheiceage.pjgh.co.uk
7:29 pm
February 22, 2010
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brynn:
Those tats are gorgeous! I like the subtle shading on the pinup girl: it looks like a simple piece of flash at first glance, but the shading gives it depth and dimension. Can you link to more of your work? I'd love to see it.
Rob:
Cooking is another excellent meditation. Someday I'll get around to posting pictures of some of my handiwork...it'll be much bloodier than yours, though. I don't cook red meat beyond blue rare unless it's in a crockpot.
Paul:
Your food photography is solid. Doesn't all that polishing eventually take the paint off your car?
JS
8:00 pm
October 7, 2011
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Oh yes of course! The shop is still so new, and don't have a nice website set up, so my current portfolio is on facebook for now:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.144080375674410.36987.143455305736917&type=3
Enjoy!
11:44 pm
June 5, 2011
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J. Stanton said:
Doesn't all that polishing eventually take the paint off your car?
JS
Yes, it does ... but ...
Modern paint is about 120 plus microns thick, which is made up of about 50% clearcoat, a thin slip of paint and primer, so there is usually 60 ish microns of clearcoat. Total correction of even a very swirly car can be achieved usually in around 5 microns, much less thereafter. Older single stage paint (primer and paint with no clearcoat) is usually thicker and a greater percentage of paint.
Manufacturers vary, too. SAAB, which I work on a lot, has good thicknesses right through to the modern cars. Subaru have particularly thin paint (80 microns, often). Hardness varies - Jaguar rock hard, Honda you can marr with a microfibre towel, Vauxhall somewhere in the middle.
It all comes down to judgement and experience - I use a paint depth reader which is capable of reading thicknesses on both ferrous and non-ferrous metal. That can give me a good indication if the car has been machined before, how ferocious they were, if areas have been resprayed and if areas have been filled. I've only worked on fibreglass a couple of times.
It's not the old-fashioned wool mop and liquid sandpaper.
You'll never "correct" by hand without very concerted effort and by machine, it does take time. Once corrected, that can be maintained easily with an annual buzz over using a finishing set - this might remove only a couple of microns.
Living in the Ice Age
http://livingintheiceage.pjgh.co.uk
4:34 pm
September 24, 2011
Offlinewell i work alot and my job is very physical so it sorta became my workout, but i do love to run. barefoot. i play the bass and drums when i get a chance. sometimes i'll work my heavy bag. i read ALOT. my appetite for non fiction is insatiable. TGC is the first fiction (ish) book i've read in years. i also enjoy stretching. not exactly yoga, but more leftovers from my martial arts training. i just adapted it to suit me better and extended the time in each stretch. i think stretching and running are my only real releases anymore. cleaning my apartment is enjoyable to me as well. sweeping is meditative for me. i like being able to look back at a clean floor and know i did a good job. great thing about my work is that it is all oriented that way.
11:55 pm
June 5, 2011
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TGC was the also the first fiction I'd read in years. I can speed read to absorb facts, so had to become very disciplined to read and savour TGC.
Living in the Ice Age
http://livingintheiceage.pjgh.co.uk
2:54 pm
September 24, 2011
Offlinesavour is the best word i think. there was so much in it. personally, i cant stand fiction books and i didn't have any interest in reading TGC until i read more of JS's posts and such. by then i pretty much knew we were on the same page so i figured it would be enjoyable. and it was much more than that. i generally have no problem reading things that conflict with my own point of view. sometimes i prefer it. but i've never read anything that so perfectly fit where my mind sits at today. really a great read and much more than simple "fun". i had alot of respect for JS before but i have alot more now.
and i have to say paul, your cars really are amazing. i dont dole out compliments that often and i used to work in a detail shop and have seen some badass work. yours takes the cake though. bravo sir.
3:04 pm
June 5, 2011
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Thanks DT. That really is a compliment! For me, it's fun ... it's relaxation. I guess if I did it for a job, I'd be inclined to cut corners and not put in the hours that it takes to achieve such a finish. I get a real buzz from teaching others how to do this - yes, it might take business away from professional detailers, but equally, it empowers people to put in the extra that a detailer might not to get their own pride and joy up to their standard of excellence.
Living in the Ice Age
http://livingintheiceage.pjgh.co.uk
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