We all try to achieve that showroom shine, while protecting our car's paint. After we wash and remove all the road grim, bird droppings and dead bugs, the next step is to polish or wax our vehicle. But which is better: wax, or polish? The truth is they are two totally different things, and each has its place.
Advantages of Polishing
Your vehicle's paint isn't smooth. It has a texture to it, and if it has been washed with harsh detergents and dried improperly, it may even have minor surface scratches.
The advantage to using polishes after washing is that because they are slightly abrasive polishes will remove oxidized paint, remove minor scratches, and smooth imperfections in the paint. Where wax lays down a layer of protection, polish removes material to reveal clean smooth paint. The smoother the paint, the shinier the surface.
Disadvantages of Polishing
The major drawback to using polish is the fact that as you polish, and remove old dead paint and pesky surface scratches that dull the paint job, you are also removing the wax layer that has been applied over time. Exposing the paint to the elements like this will cause rapid oxidation as the solvents in the paint evaporate off.
Most polishes today have a wax in them to protect the paint, but the solvents in the polish weaken the wax, making it substantially less durable then wax alone.
Advantages of Waxing
Auto detailers and car care experts all agree that nothing beats carnuba wax for a deep, rich, durable shine. Car wax will fill in very minor scratches like swirl marks, and harden to a protective layer that polishes can't match. Because the wax fills surface imperfections, and doesn't contain solvents, it is harder then the waxes found in polish and results in a smooth, durable finish
Disadvantages of waxing
Because wax builds up over time, layer upon layer, it is subject to minor defects and scratches just like the paint is. Over time these defects cause dulling of the finish. While it is better to have damaged and defective wax, this can be avoided by polishing from time to time. Polishing will remove the wax build-up, and if we used good wax in the first place, will restore the lost shine .
Summary
The purpose of polishing or waxing your car is to keep it looking its best.
To do this it is best to polish the car to remove old wax, paint, and residue. This restores the surface to clean paint and smooths the paint surface. After this, polishing is only needed every now and then to keep the paint clean and smooth.
After polishing, protect the paint with a good quality carnuba based wax every few weeks.
