How To Polish A Car: Tips, Techniques, & More

A polish on your car adds extra shine and luster to your car to make it look newer, fresher, and more stylish.

While a well-polished car is undeniably preferred over a dull and splotchy vehicle, the process itself can be intimidating. There are many great polish and wax products and compounds available, and several ways to apply them. In this article we’ll explore what you’ll need to properly polish your car, and the important tips and techniques to ensure that the process effective in bringing your car to its highest level of shine. If you’ve ever wondered how to polish a car the best way or “right” way then keep on reading.

What You Will Need

To keep your car’s finish looking fresh and new, you won’t need to break the bank on equipment. Polishing by hand is entirely an option, although it can take quite a bit of time as you follow Mr. Miyagi’s lesson to Daniel-san, engaging in a long exercise of wax-on/wax-off. If you’d prefer to have your wax completed at a significantly faster pace, you can pick up a rotating wheel. The rotating wheel can be electric or battery powered depending upon your preference, and spins in a circular motion quickly to replace your hand-motions.

With either your hands or your rotating wheel prepared, you’ll need the polish or wax compound of your choosing. Refer to your manufacturer’s manual for any recommended brands. Brand-specific blogs and social communities are also a fine source to find recommendations on what works best for your particular vehicle. Polish and wax compounds, however, are generally effective in line with their quality and will work on any brand of vehicle.

Tips For Polishing Your Car

Polishing your car may seem relatively straightforward, and it certainly can be. But there are specific things that can improve upon the efficiency and outcome of hard your work.

Keep It Moving

If you’ve decided to use the rotating wheel, make sure to keep it moving at an even pace. When you’re polishing your vehicle with a rotating wheel, also known as “wheeling”, the wheel temporarily heats the paint’s clear coat until it softens into a viscous liquid that fills in and decreases any blemishes that may be present. If you keep the wheel for too long on a specific point, it can do damage to your clear-coat that can be irreversible, and may even damage the paint itself. So, be sure to keep the device moving at an even pace at all times. If you need to take a brief break, remove the wheel from the paint.

Don’t Overdo It

Polishing your car is important and can extend the life of your clear-coat and paint job by a significant amount of time. However, polishing your vehicle too often may lead to damage to the paint – just the opposite of what we are trying to achieve. To prevent such damage, only use the rotating wheel or “wheeling” method of polishing once each year, while reinforcing the treatment with waxing every few months. The initial polish will achieve that like-new look, and the ongoing waxes will maintain it while keeping your paint in good health.

Not overdoing it applies to both the number of times we polish and wax our cars, as well as the amount of polish and wax that we use when we do. It is important to apply only as much polish as is necessary for the panel that you are working on. Applying an excess amount of polish can lead to excessive clean-up, and also leads to waste and faster build-up on your pad.

Mind the Color

Not all car colors are created equal, and some more than others show the signs of aggressive polishing or waxing with too much pressure or harshness on the pads. Darker cars are particularly sensitive to swirl marks, so it is best to use softer pads and polishing compounds on them to prevent the need for a second pass. With lighter colored cars, more aggressive compounds and pads can be used without worry of noticeable swirl marks.

Keep the Pad Fresh

To maintain optimum polishing ability, which requires the pad to eventually absorb the excess compound and water to make your car shine, wash it as often as necessary. When the pad is beginning to show signs of being saturated or gummed up with compound, rinse it out thoroughly with a hose or a power washer. By keeping the pad clean, its ability to perform its function effectively is supported, helping you to finish the job more efficiently, and more effectively.

Techniques for Polishing Your Car

There are several different techniques for polishing your car and these can vary from person to person. Even so, there are some fundamental techniques that are essential to doing a comprehensive, top-notch job every time.

Extensive Washing

Before you understand how to polish a car, we must learn how to wash one. When you wax your vehicle, you are rubbing it extensively or running the motorized rotating wheel over it. If there is dirt or grime on top of your paint, it will serve as a corrosive material between the rotating wheel or hand-polisher, causing scratches and damage to your paint. Removing environmental pollutants and debris such as soot from emissions and sap from trees is also essential to ensure they are not being rubbed in while you work. After washing the car, preferably in a shaded area so the rotating wheel does not encounter an already hot vehicle, rinse it and leave it wet.

Preparation Equals Performance

Knowing how to polish a car begins with knowing how to prepare. To make the polishing project come out as well as possible, and with as little after-the-fact cleanup as can be hoped for, prepare extensively. When wheeling your paint, wax compound or polish is likely to find its way in every direction. This can get onto the windows, other vehicles, your pets or family members in the area. So, be sure to secure your workspace and cover up any items that you’d prefer to not have to clean polish from after you’ve finished. Using paint-safe tape and plastic over windows and mirrors is an effective way to avoid having to scrub out nooks and crannies later.

Techniques on How to Polish a Car 

To begin polishing your vehicle, slightly dampen the pad, and if using a polishing wheel, mount it. Place a moderate amount of compound on the body panel you’ll be starting with. With a medium speed, spread the polish with the wheel across the surface of the car. Make sure to keep the spinning pad or your hand parallel to the car’s surface to prevent the development of swirl marks.

When moving the wheel back and forth on the car’s surface, apply constant pressure as you work back and forth over the entire surface of the panel you’re working on. When the clear-coat begins to gain heat and the paint becomes warm to the touch, the scratches that are present will begin to disappear. As the compound and water are absorbed into the pad and removed, the finish of your car will be noticeably brightened. You’ve achieved completion on the panel, and now it is time to move on to the next, moving over the entire vehicle.

Mind the Angle

The outer edges of the rotating wheel move faster than the center, and due to increased speed and friction can cause wear on the clear-coat and finish. For areas that can only be addressed with the outer edges of the wheel, such as contoured edges of your car, be particularly careful. Applying excessive pressure with the outer edge of the wheel can quickly wear down and damage your paint.

Final Wash

After we’ve carefully moved over each body panel of the vehicle with the rotating wheel or with our hands and cloths and pads, it is time for a final rinse. Now that we’ve learned and executed how to polish a car, hand-wash the vehicle to remove any excessive compound, bringing out the final brightness and shine of the finish. After washing it, dry it thoroughly, wiping away any smudges after having removed the scratches. Revel in the outcome of your work and congratulate yourself on a job well done.

Conclusion

Polishing your car can greatly improve upon its appearance by adding a glimmer that brings it back to the glory of its showroom days. Effectively polishing your car not only adds to its appearance, but also increases the longevity of your paint job, and adds to the resale value of your car.

When considering how to best achieve your goal of a well-polished and waxed car, consider the color, current state of the paint, and whether you’d prefer automated or manual methods of polishing. If you’d rather hand wax and polish your vehicle, the progress is clear and obvious, and by minding the aggressiveness of the compound and pads to the color of the car, you can control the outcome. With the wheeling technique, keep it moving and make sure to not to overdo it. Knowing how to polish a car will help you maintain appearance and resale value.

For more tips on how to keep your car in showroom condition with a glimmering polish, check back to Keeping Cars Clean for more tips and info.