polish questions

[bsell]

As a newbie here, I'm totally confused by all the different polishes that are available, and when, how often, and how to use them.

Here are the questions:
- What is the purpose of polish: remove swirls & scratches, remove wax, clean paint, etc?
- How often should I polish; ie should I always polish before waxing?
- Does polishing remove clearcoat?
- Do I polish the whole car or just the parts that need it?

I realze these are probably very elementary questions for most!!

Thanks!!

 

[mjlinane]

Welcome to AGO!!

Most basically, polishing abrades (levels) paint - typically to the bottom of scratch or swirl, removing them.
No more than you have to. Maybe once or twice a year.
Yes.
Depends on the defects.

 

[rider9195]

The purpose of a polish is to enhance the gloss of the paint by removing swirls, scratches, and micro marring.

I have only polished my car once. If you properly maintain your finish by proper washing technique and drying you will not create swirl marks. Therefore there will be no need to polish. When I want to apply a fresh coat of sealant or wax I will use a pre wax cleaner such as Wolfgang Paint Work Polish Enhancer or Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish. These two products will not remove clear coat being that they do not contain abrasives. They only chemically clean the paint.

Any polish that has abrasives in it will remove some clear coat. But it all depends on the product.

You can polish the just certain spots but then you will have some swirl free areas and others filled with swirls.

 

[bsell]

Thanks for the the answers! I think I was getting confused between pre-wax cleaners (which are also sometimes called polishers) and true polishers.