Need tips for car polishing? Do you want to repair paint scratches or do you want your car to look shiny again? All you have to do is polish your car. In this article, we'll tell you how to do it. Are you ready to go? Then the car polishing can begin!

The basics of car polishing

The car's paintwork has to endure a lot every day. Sunshine, stone chips, insect remains, bird droppings, dust, dirt or whatever. Over time, the paintwork begins to look dull and scratches spoil what was once a perfect finish. This is where car polishing comes in. Car polishing means nothing more than bringing the paintwork back into top shape with an appropriate, gentle polishing process that only treats the top layer of paint. The base coat and primer remain untouched.

Did you know. Unsuitable cleaning agents or some car washes can also damage car paint. Brushes that are too scratchy or solvents that are too strong corrode the paint and leave marks. To remove these scratches, you can polish the car and seal the paint. 

When and how often to polish your car?

When (and how often) should I polish my car? It is important to know that the layers of paint are not infinite. In other words: If you polish your car too often, you damage the paint, but if you treat the paint too little, it's not good either. Untreated damage and dirt can lead to worse damage and, at worst, corrosion and rust. So what guidelines can you follow? We recommend the following:

  • It is best to polish car paint once or twice a year.
  • After the winter is a good time to polish the car. The car has often had to endure a lot during the winter and can use a boost during the spring service. It can also be advisable to do this just before the winter starts so that the paintwork is well protected going into the winter.

Polishing supplies

For polishing with a machine you need several things, make sure you have at least the following on hand:
  • Polishing machine: eccentric or rotating? If you want to treat the car with a polishing machine, we recommend you to buy an eccentric one. It is perfect for home use and is also cheaper than the rotating version.
  • Polishing pads that are suitable for the purpose you want to achieve.
    • Pads are available in different sizes. Smaller pads are suitable for the finer work and larger pads for the larger surfaces. Of course, you can change the pads in between depending on the surface to be treated.
    • A cutting pad is suitable for coarser polishes. These pads often have more hairs and are mainly suitable for removing scratches.
    • A polishing pad is more suitable for restoring the gloss of the paintwork. This pad is less coarse and will also have less effect on any scratches. These pads are mainly to make your car shine again.
  • Polishing agent: There are various polishing agents available, all of which have a different application.
    • A standard polish mainly provides more gloss and has a fine structure.
    • Abrasive is suitable for removing scratches and has a coarser structure.
    • A combination of the above polishes is suitable for both removing scratches and bringing back more shine to the paintwork.
  • Car shampoo for proper cleaning of the paintwork.
  • Car clay for removing stubborn dirt deep into the paintwork. You can use Sonax clay for this purpose, for example.
  • Microfibre cloths for wiping paintwork. Good microfibre cloths absorb a lot of moisture and do not leave scratches.
  • A water spray.
  • Painting tape for masking off lights, rubber, frames and other surfaces adjacent to the paintwork.

Wash the car thoroughly

sonax car clayProbably needless to say but before you start polishing the car, make sure that the paintwork is clean and that you have clayed the paintwork to make sure that no dirt is left behind that could cause damage during polishing. Before washing the paintwork, you can use car shampoo that will allow you to thoroughly clean the paintwork. After washing the car, you can further clean the paintwork using cleaning clay (car clay) such as Sonax clay. With this clay, you can still remove stubborn dirt left behind. When this is done, dry the car well with microfibre cloths so that the paintwork is completely "naked". There should be no agents left on the paintwork such as wax, grease or other protective agents.

Additional precautions

Before you start, you should take the following precautions:

  • As a precaution, check whether you recognise any scratches on the car that need pre-treatment.
  • If the scratches are very superficial, there is no need to do anything else. Because such scratches can easily be removed during polishing.
  • If you recognise small stone chips, this is usually not a problem.
  • You can pre-treat and repair damaged spots, deeper scratches or rusty areas before you start polishing.

Covering with tape

Take the time to tape lamps, rubbers, frames, stickers and other surfaces adjacent to the paintwork. Make sure that you apply the masking tape neatly, this prevents the car polish from affecting the rubber and causing new stains or the like. Of course, the paintwork must remain accessible so that you can polish the car properly.

Stay away from heavily adhesive tape, duct tape and the like! You would only damage the paintwork - and you don't want that. For your paintwork, definitely use adhesive tape that is suitable for polishing cars. It is best to do it with, for example, painter's tape or special masking tape so that you can protect the spots perfectly.

Step-by-step plan for car polishing

car polishing roadmapNow that you have finished the preparations, you can use the following steps for successful polishing of the paintwork.

1. If you are going to use a polisher for the first time, it is advisable to first turn the machine on without putting it directly on the paintwork. Let the machine run for about 10 minutes before using it, make sure you attach a pad to the machine during the trial run.
2. You are now ready to start. Apply the polish to the pad, a few drops are enough. For a new pad, up to 6 drops are enough, for a used pad, 4 drops are often enough.
3. Spray a small amount of water on the surface to be treated, this will ensure less dirt gets into your pad. Make sure the water does not drip off the panel as you will have used too much water.
4. Press the pad containing the polish onto the part you want to treat. The machine is not on yet! Start with a small area no more than 5 to 10 times the size of the pad and apply small amounts of polish here. Make sure the compound is fairly evenly spread over the area you want to polish before turning on the machine.
5. Place the machine on the surface and turn the machine on. Start on setting 1 so you can start polishing calmly and spread the compound evenly over the paintwork so that everything looks greasy. Let the machine do the work and do not apply force while using the machine.
6. Make sure you make overlapping movements so you don't miss a spot and always keep the machine moving. Move slowly back and forth across the paint, first from left to right, overlapping the lanes you create with the machine. Repeat this from top to bottom as well.
7. Finish the entire car and try to follow the lines of the car as much as possible. If there are spots that need extra attention, make sure you polish them. If necessary, put the machine on a higher setting for deeper scratches. After polishing, the polish should be completely spread out and dissolved. A white haze remains on the paintwork.
8. Now that polishing with the machine is finished, it is important to clean the surface. Do this with a microfibre cloth (insert link) to ensure that no streaks are left behind and that any residual polish is removed.
9. Once this is done, move on to the next part of the paintwork you want to polish. Repeat the above steps for each section until the entire car is polished.
10. Are there spots on the car that are difficult to reach with the machine? Then polish this by hand. Put some polish on a microfibre cloth and treat the surface. Then clean this surface again when you are done.
11. Now that everything is ready, you can check the car, hopefully the result is a shiny car and you are satisfied. Still not completely satisfied? Then repeat the process. If there are any scratches that you have not been able to polish away, you can opt for harder pads on the 2nd treatment that will hopefully be able to remove the scratches. However, remember that polishing will not always remove all scratches. Polishing is especially suitable for light and less deep scratches. A common rule is: if you can hook your nail into the scratch, then the scratch is probably too deep to polish. If you have really deep scratches in the paintwork, then you can really only solve this by sanding, polishing, spraying and varnishing.
12. Are you finished polishing and satisfied with the result? Then we recommend waxing to protect the paintwork. Apply a little wax to a microfibre cloth and apply it to the car in circular movements. Let the wax dry for about 1-2 minutes and then remove the excess wax with a microfibre cloth so that no residue is visible.
en_GBEN