Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 6
Here's why you need to polish paint...
My buddy Mike owns this really cool 1932 Ford Phaeton with yellow paint that to the average person looks pretty good. But a little polishing using a tape-line shows why all of us need to periodically polish the paint on our cars, especially our daily drivers, and the reason for this is because the paint becomes stained with a film of dirt that clouds the true color of the paint.
Here's a section I've taped off on the cowel because me and one of our forum members already buffed out the hood when he stopped by to test out polishers.
On the left I've clayed the paint and then machine polished it twice and then applied a coat of wax. You can clearly see the left side is now a brighter color of yellow and the right hand side has what appears to be grayish film over the paint.
Here's the same picture above with graphics....
Of course I finished polishing the rest of the car to test out some new products...
Products worked well and now the dirt staining has been removed off the entire body and a coat of Max Wax has been applied.
The paint on your car gets dirty too...
The car in the pictures above is a garage-kept, sunny day only street rod, yet... the paint was still stained with dirt.
If the paint on a car that is always stored in a garage except for sunny days gets dirt stained paint, what do you think happens to cars that are daily drivers?
How about cars that are daily drivers but are never parked in the garage?
That's right... the paint gets a dirt film over it and for this reason in order to maintain the paint and see the true color you need to periodically deep clean the paint with some type of paint polishing process. Any of these approaches will remove the dirt staining over the paint,
Medium to dark colored cars
It's pretty easy to use a tape-line to reveal dirt staining on white and light colored cars but if you were to do this on a medium to dark colored cars, chances are good your eyes would not detect the change in color to the paint.
That doesn't mean the paint on dark colored cars isn't covered with a film of dirt, it just means you and I can't see it. It's there however, and it's important to periodically polish the paint to remove the built-up film of dirt and other contaminants.
Polishing the paint will restore clarity to a clear coat and it will restore the full richness of color to a single stage paint.
It will also prepare the paint for your choice of a wax or sealant.
If you choose to use a paint coating, you'll need to do an extra step to prepare the paint for the coating and it's always a good idea to follow the manufacturer's directions.
Now that you've read this article and looked at the pictures...
When is the last time you polished the paint on your daily driver?
It's probably polishing time...
Video showing before and after
My buddy Mike owns this really cool 1932 Ford Phaeton with yellow paint that to the average person looks pretty good. But a little polishing using a tape-line shows why all of us need to periodically polish the paint on our cars, especially our daily drivers, and the reason for this is because the paint becomes stained with a film of dirt that clouds the true color of the paint.
Here's a section I've taped off on the cowel because me and one of our forum members already buffed out the hood when he stopped by to test out polishers.
On the left I've clayed the paint and then machine polished it twice and then applied a coat of wax. You can clearly see the left side is now a brighter color of yellow and the right hand side has what appears to be grayish film over the paint.
Here's the same picture above with graphics....
Of course I finished polishing the rest of the car to test out some new products...
Products worked well and now the dirt staining has been removed off the entire body and a coat of Max Wax has been applied.
The paint on your car gets dirty too...
The car in the pictures above is a garage-kept, sunny day only street rod, yet... the paint was still stained with dirt.
If the paint on a car that is always stored in a garage except for sunny days gets dirt stained paint, what do you think happens to cars that are daily drivers?
How about cars that are daily drivers but are never parked in the garage?
That's right... the paint gets a dirt film over it and for this reason in order to maintain the paint and see the true color you need to periodically deep clean the paint with some type of paint polishing process. Any of these approaches will remove the dirt staining over the paint,
- Using a one-step cleaner/wax
- Using a paint cleaner also called a pre-wax cleaner.
- Using a compound followed by a polish
- Using a medium, fine or ultra fine cut polish
Medium to dark colored cars
It's pretty easy to use a tape-line to reveal dirt staining on white and light colored cars but if you were to do this on a medium to dark colored cars, chances are good your eyes would not detect the change in color to the paint.
That doesn't mean the paint on dark colored cars isn't covered with a film of dirt, it just means you and I can't see it. It's there however, and it's important to periodically polish the paint to remove the built-up film of dirt and other contaminants.
Polishing the paint will restore clarity to a clear coat and it will restore the full richness of color to a single stage paint.
It will also prepare the paint for your choice of a wax or sealant.
If you choose to use a paint coating, you'll need to do an extra step to prepare the paint for the coating and it's always a good idea to follow the manufacturer's directions.
Now that you've read this article and looked at the pictures...
When is the last time you polished the paint on your daily driver?
It's probably polishing time...
