Nick McKees37
McKee's 37 Product Support
- Jan 6, 2011
- 7,265
- 0
You'll often hear people say that the polishing step is more important than the waxing/sealing/coating step, and that's pretty accurate considering that your wax, sealant, or coating won't bond properly if the surface isn't squeaky clean.
There are several types of polish, some that are designed for swirl and scratch removal, and others that are non-abrasive and focus more on the chemical cleaning aspect. That latter is designed for vehicles that don't have swirls, scratches, or water spots. That was the case with a vehicle that Bryan is detailing today - a 2013 Honda Civic.
Even though this particular Civic is a 2013 model, it still has embedded dirt. Not only does this embedded dirt hinder gloss, color, and clarity, it will prevent the coating that Bryan is going to apply from properly bonding, thus making all his hard work pointless.
After Bryan washed the Civic and used the Nanoskin Autoscrub Wash Mitt to remove above surface contaminants (bugs, paint over spray, industrial fallout, etc), he polished the vehicle using a FLEX XC3401 equipped with a WHITE Hybrid Power Finish Pad. The polish of choice was DP Coating Prep Polish - a non-abrasive polish that deep cleans paint, removing gloss-hindering below surface contaminants. What sets this polish apart from others is that you can apply a coating directly after using it. There is no need to chemically strip the finish using IPA or other volatile cleaners.
Bryan applying a couple dime-sized drops of polish to the WHITE polishing pad
Working the polish with medium pressure on speed 4 of the FLEX XC3401
Think your new car doesn't need to be polished? Check out the pad on the left: that's the pad Bryan used to polish the Civic using DP Coating Prep Polish. You can see how discolored the pad is from the embedded dirt. The pad on the right is brand new.
Next time you friend or family member that's not savvy with car care say something like "nah I don't need to polish my car," send them a link to this thread.
The cleaner the paint, the more it will shine, and the longer your wax, sealant, or coating will last.
Detailer's Coating Prep Polish
There are several types of polish, some that are designed for swirl and scratch removal, and others that are non-abrasive and focus more on the chemical cleaning aspect. That latter is designed for vehicles that don't have swirls, scratches, or water spots. That was the case with a vehicle that Bryan is detailing today - a 2013 Honda Civic.
Even though this particular Civic is a 2013 model, it still has embedded dirt. Not only does this embedded dirt hinder gloss, color, and clarity, it will prevent the coating that Bryan is going to apply from properly bonding, thus making all his hard work pointless.
After Bryan washed the Civic and used the Nanoskin Autoscrub Wash Mitt to remove above surface contaminants (bugs, paint over spray, industrial fallout, etc), he polished the vehicle using a FLEX XC3401 equipped with a WHITE Hybrid Power Finish Pad. The polish of choice was DP Coating Prep Polish - a non-abrasive polish that deep cleans paint, removing gloss-hindering below surface contaminants. What sets this polish apart from others is that you can apply a coating directly after using it. There is no need to chemically strip the finish using IPA or other volatile cleaners.
Bryan applying a couple dime-sized drops of polish to the WHITE polishing pad
Working the polish with medium pressure on speed 4 of the FLEX XC3401
Think your new car doesn't need to be polished? Check out the pad on the left: that's the pad Bryan used to polish the Civic using DP Coating Prep Polish. You can see how discolored the pad is from the embedded dirt. The pad on the right is brand new.
Next time you friend or family member that's not savvy with car care say something like "nah I don't need to polish my car," send them a link to this thread.

The cleaner the paint, the more it will shine, and the longer your wax, sealant, or coating will last.
Detailer's Coating Prep Polish