In this age, polishing your car will help to extend the life and beauty of its paint and exterior. In fact, polishing is the often forgotten step between washing and waxing but if done properly, then it will completely revitalize the car’s exterior finish. Likewise, a thorough car polishing will remove firmly bonded surface contaminants and subsurface paint defects while preparing the surface gloss for wax application. However, polishing your vehicle may require a polishing wheel but you can also complete the polishing by hand. So, below are some of the basic steps you need to thoroughly polish your car before applying any wax.
STEP-1: Preparing To Polish Your Vehicle:
-Park the car in a shaded area: Park your vehicle in a shaded-area and then wash it thoroughly. In fact, direct sunlight could cause the soap you use to dry onto the paint which will dull the finish. So, always find a place that keeps the entire vehicle out of direct sunlight and park it there. Additionally, make sure you park the vehicle on a solid surface.
-Cover or move any things you don’t want to get messy: Polishing your car can be a messy process whereby the polisher may spray rubbing compound as it starts to spin. So, make sure your pets are inside and there’s nothing around the vehicle that might get sprayed with some loose polish. All in all, keep children and pets away during the polishing process.
-Rinse the entire vehicle using a water hose: Spray water all over the entire car to prepare it for hand washing. In fact, consider, using water to remove any large bits of debris or dirt that are stuck on the paint of the car. Additionally, start from the top and work your way down to the bottom of the vehicle as you rinse it. Additionally, make sure to rinse the wheels and bottom portion of the car thoroughly.
-Clean the car wheels and tires: In case you intend to wash your wheels and tires on the same day that you polish the paint, then make sure to clean them first. However, use a different sponge and bucket to clean your wheels than that you use on the car’s paint.
-Wash the vehicle using automotive soap: Fill the bucket with water and apply a small amount of automotive-soap. However, select a soap that does not have wax or polish in it. After, dunk a clean sponge into the bucket of soapy water and begin washing your car from the top while working your way down. Rinse the sponge in the bucket or with your hose as necessary.
-Get the appropriate pad & compound for your vehicle body: Dark colored cars are more prone to swirling the paint when you polish them. So, use a softer pad and compound if your vehicle’s paint is dark. On the other hand, use more aggressive pads and compounds on lighter color cars with little issues.
STEP-2: How To Polish Your Car:
-Use a damp pad & polishing wheel on the compound: Take the pad of the polishing wheel and get it wet with clean water. After, wring it out so it remains damp but not soaking wet. In fact, the pad must stay damp through the polishing process to avoid damaging your car’s paint. Additionally, keep a bucket of clean water or a hose nearby throughout the polishing process.
-Apply rubbing compound on each body panel at a time: Put a moderate amount of polishing-compound on the pad and then turn on the polishing wheel and press it into the paint of the vehicle. You may also consider applying the compound directly onto the body of the vehicle then bring the polisher to it. Once you finish one body panel, then move on to the next one.
-Move the wheel back & forth using steady pressure: Consider keeping the polishing wheel parallel to whatever body panel you are currently polishing. In fact, you should maintain an even amount of pressure over the wheel as you move it back and forth along the panel you are working on. Applying steady & constant pressure will reduce chances of damaging car paint.
-Move onto the next section when the bright finish of the paint is visible: As you polish the paint on the car, the polishing compound will swirl and smear then slowly disappear while leaving only a brilliant shine of paint behind. Once you can see the shiny paint, move on to the next area and continue polishing. Additionally, don’t continue to polish shiny paint since it may dull the finish. Lastly, unlike waxing a vehicle, you don’t need to wait for the polish to dry.
-Rinse the polishing pad as necessary: As you polish your car, the polishing compound will begin to build up on the pad. So, consider stopping polishing occasionally to rinse the compound off the pad then wring the pad out again so it remains damp and fairly clean. In fact, once there is too much polish-compound on the pad, then this will compromise its polishing ability. Remember to keep the pad damp throughout the process.
-Be careful when polishing around intricate trim pieces: The edge of the pad on the polishing wheel moves the fastest and usually comes into contact with the least of the rubbing-compound. So, it poses the biggest risk of burning the clear coat on your paint. As a result, you should be extremely careful as you buff around trim components that may come into contact with the edges of the pad. Additionally, avoid pressing the edge of the pad into any part of the car’s paint. You should also be patient and rub polishing compound out of grooves that the polishing wheel can’t reach.
STEP-3: How To Ensure That The Car Paint Is Protected:
-Wash & rinse the vehicle again: After polishing every panel on the body of your car, clean the polishing pad thoroughly and set it and the polishing wheel aside. After, spray the entire vehicle down with a hose and wash it again. Make sure you wash away any polishing compound that remains on the vehicle. Rinse the vehicle thoroughly after you’re done washing it.
-Allow your vehicle to dry: The paint on the cars requires to get dry before you can wax it. So, the dry up the paint using microfiber towels for best results. If you have hard water, then use drying-towels to keep water spots from forming. But when drying a car with towels, start from the top and work your way down. Make sure the paint is completely dry before moving to waxing.
-Apply a coat of wax to the vehicles’ paint: Get a good-quality automotive wax to protect the newly polished paint. After, put some wax on the pad and apply it to your car in a circular motions. Make sure you wax the entire car since the polishing process can leave the paint unprotected from the sun. Additionally, apply the wax on one body panel at a time as well. However, make sure the vehicle is not in direct sunlight while waxing.
-Polish the wax off using a microfiber towel: After the wax has dried, buff it off of the paint using microfiber towels. In fact, you can tell the wax has dried sufficiently by touching it with a bare finger. If the wax wipes off easily beneath your finger, it is dry and can be buffed off. Once you have buffed off all of the wax, your car’s paint will achieve a brilliant shine and finish.
