A question often asked on detailing forums and social media is, “What is the best car polish?” It is a great question. Unfortunately, the answer to it is complicated.
What to Keep in Mind When You Ask This Question
Many detailers are searching for a “good quality” product. This could mean that they are looking for a cheap product (low priced), one that smells good, one that has a little or a lot of cut, an AIO, a SIO2 infused primer, etc.
It is important to know what you are looking for if you want to match the product to your required results. Are you looking for a wax that offers mainly gloss and protection? A polish that has minimal cut? A cleansing polish without any abrasive? A high cut abrasive polish?
The point is, polish abrasives are defined on many levels based on their traits.
So, it is important to be aware of what you are looking for and to know that there will be cases in which two properties—which you want— can’t be combined.
For example, a shampoo that is brilliant at washing away stubborn grease cannot be wax safe. This is because you need a certain level of harshness to remove grease—harshness that is more than the wax can handle. Even sealants are likely to be affected by this.
The Differences Between Various Car Polishes
There can be many differences between polishes. Certain characteristics, like lubrication and abrasiveness, can be very important; however, not all polishes may exhibit these characteristics in the same way. Some polishes are more lubricating than others.
Here are some qualities that can help you differentiate between polishes:
- Level of abrasiveness (high, medium, low-cut, chemical cleaner)
- SMAT or DAT
- Amount of particles per ml
- Amount of lubrication
- Water or oil-based?
- Time it needs to be worked in
- Better on soft or hard paint
- Designed to be used by hand, DA, or by rotary
- Cost
Which Polish is best suited to you then?
The answer is Not that simple. It’s not like you can pick a random polish and put it on a random foam pad and call it a day there’s a lot more that goes into this decision.
What sort of job are you doing a quick shine and drive or a very elaborate detail? What sort of paint defects are you dealing with, what sort of customer expectations have you set, the amount of paint thickness available, these variables will Guide your choice of Buffing liquid.
Something to Remember
Not every manufacturer calls the polish with the highest cut a compound; they may refer to them as polishes with a high cut. Some brands might even come up with a specific name for the high-cut polishes they make.
There may be differences between the highest cuts offered by brands—the highest cut from a certain manufacturer might not cut as much as the highest cut from another brand.
For efficient results on paint, the correct compound, the correct pad, the correct machine, and the correct technique—the perfect marriage between these FOUR will give you mind-boggling results.
The Takeaway
It takes skill and experience to understand which polish should be chosen for what situation. However, you can determine the polish you need to use not only by observing the packaging itself but also by finding out the polishing machine somebody is going to use, the pad they are using, the type of paint on the car, the color of the paintwork, and the weather.
Author: Effaf Hassan
