Ive been looking into all different kinds of polish and wax's recently and have came across a few good site explaining them. My question is how do you guys apply your polish to your car, and are you supposed to apply it then put a coat of wax over it? Also whats the difference (if any) between polish and glaze?
tia



[Modified by twincamrex, 9:53 PM 3/24/2003]

 

A polish is an abrasive compound used to remove oxidized paint, and level out swirl marks and orange peel.

A glaze is an oil based product that temporally hides swirls by filling them in.

I am not a fan of glazes, because they are more or less makeup. After your next wash, all the oils are going to be gone and your car is going to look just as bad as it started.

Since a polish is abbrasive, you want to apply some pressure while rubbing. At the same time you only want to polish in back and forth motions, the same way air would travel over your car if it were moving.

A scratch is most visible at 90 degree's, so if you are rubbing in circles, and happen to get some dirt on your applicator.. you now have tons of scratches that are visible from every angle.

You don't need to wait for the polish to haze or anything, just keep working it into the paint until it starts to get dry and tacky. Wipe it off with a clean microfiber or 100% cotton towel, and move on.

 

Thanks for the reply.
I have a few more questions. I am planning on detailing a car and was wondering if anyone can double check the products I am thinking about using and maybe steer me away if i am making a bad decision. The reason I am thinking about going with meguiars products is because they seem to do a good job and i have not heard anything bad about them. My processs so far

1. wash entire car with meguiars gold class car wash shampoo
2. use the meguiars quick clay detailing system ( is it ok to use the clay bar with car wash soap and water mixture for lubricant if i run out?)
3. apply meguiars deep crystal polish
4. apply deep crystal carnauba wax

other: should i wash the car in between steps ( i.e. wash-clay-wash-polish-wash-then wax) or is that overkill?

sorry about all the ?'s but i dont want to get myself in an even worse situation
thanks once again

 

hope you didn't buy anything yet!

1. Gold class wash is good stuff, good choice
2. Meguiars clay bar is really crappy, get mothers or clay magic. Meguiars tends to be brittle, and flake. Yes you can use soapy water, I prefer this to expensive quick detailer.
3. Meguiars crystal polish, really isn't a polish. Its actually a non abrasive glaze, but they label it as a polish because your average joe doesn't know what a glaze is.
Instead get Meguiars swirl mark remover 2.0, or 3M Swirl Mark remover. Both great polishes, I prefer 3M over meguiars.
4. This is fine if you want.

I would wash after you clay, but you don't have to wash after you polish.