In the last issue, we covered aspects of the concept of polishing and why it is a necessity to maintain the paint work of your car.
We also touched on the type of products most suited for home detailing enthusiasts.
This month, we’ll be taking you through the actual polishing techniques.
For the most part, detailing enthusiasts will have an option of either manually polishing their car’s paint work by hand or using a machine.
They both vary in terms of their individual techniques and results. As most of us usually embark onto the journey without machines, we’ll start off the article this week on how you can achieve the correct polishing techniques by hand.
It’s important that you understand that working by hand has an inherent list of limitations in terms of achievable results, but don’t let that dampen your enthusiasm.
There’s just something magical about working on the paint work of one’s own car.
And this is as good a way to start as any.
By using your hand to manually polish your car, you should target the fine swirls and light surface marring rather than the deeper scratches and heavy watermarks.
This is usually why some enthusiasts consider sending their cars to professionals to correct things the first time around and then proceed to maintain it at home.
For a rudimentary walk-through, let’s start at the beginning by giving the car a proper wash using a pH-balanced car shampoo.
While washing the car, glide your palms and fingers over the paintwork surface lightly to detect if there are rough, uneven contaminations that usually includes oxidation, tar and other road grime.
If there is some form of unevenness, begin the claying process with the clay bar keeping it constantly lubricated either with a quick detailer spray, a diluted pH-balanced car shampoo in a spray bottle or by constantly flushing the paintwork surface with a low-volume filtered water.
This allows the clay to glide over the surface picking up the contaminants and reducing or removing the contaminants. Once the surface smoothness has been improved, give the car another proper wash and proceed to dry it.
When you begin polishing your car at home, always find a suitably shaded spot away from the harsh sunlight and heat.
This will allow you to efficiently detail your car, not to mention more comfortably so.
One factor that is crucial during polishing is heat.
In the next article that will explain the techniques for polishing by machine, it will be even more apparent.
How does heat affect polishing you may ask? Essentially, heat dries up the polish causing it to gum up and lose its ability to spread and work evenly as well.
This also reduces the time-span that you will have to polish a panel or section of a car.
As with any choice of polishes for your car, have a small range available to suit the different requirements.
As a fundamental practice, always use the least abrasive polish and work your way up the abrasiveness scale according to what your paint needs.
And regardless of how abrasive the job is, ensure that you work your way back down the abrasiveness scale as the finer polishes will clear up the micro-marring that previous more abrasive polishes leave behind.
What you require when you manually polish your car is either a microfibre applicator pad or the cheaper foam applicator pad with the latter being a bit more aggressive for slightly heavier swirls and marring.
Start with a smaller panel or section to test out the appropriate polish. Apply a few drops of polish onto the applicator pad and begin buffing it on the paintwork slowly, allowing the polish to spread evenly.
As it spreads, begin applying more pressure and carefully increasing the speed of manual buffing which in turn allows the abrasives to work into the paintwork surface.
You can use either a combination of circular motion, horizontal/vertical motion or in a crosshatch pattern when you’re polishing.
A plush microfiber towel is then used to remove the polish residue after buffing.
As the section being worked on gradually becomes clearer, determine if the polishing product used is sufficient or if a more abrasive product is required. Repeat as necessary.
Remember to use a clean applicator pad for each product. Mixing products might produce some less than stellar results.
Finally, complete the detailing process by sealing off the polished section(s) with a wax or sealant.
When working by hand, experiment with the different grades of fine to coarse polishes, paint cleaners, glazes and all-in-one products to find out which product suits your vehicle best.
We’ll be delving into polishing techniques by machine next!
For more information, go to
AutoDetailer.