In
theory, a wax contains wax which stays on your car to protect your paintwork,
and a polish contains abrasives which removes a tiny amount of dead and
oxidized paint. In practice things might not be quite as simple as this because
there are many products that can do both at once. And there is also the problem
that the marketing guys can call a product anything they want and frequently
do! Sometimes you can’t go by what it says on the front of the bottle, you will
need to read the small print to see what the product actually does. I cannot
stress this enough, waxes and polishes are different and do different things,
but the marketing people don’t really care about definitions and will call a
product anything that they think sounds good (Wax, sealant, glaze, paint
cleaner, etc.). So it’s important to understand what the differences are, what
you want, and then choose your product based on what it says on the back of the
bottle, on sound advice and recommendations.
POLISH
The
purpose of a polish is to clean your paintwork and make it shiny again. A
polish usually contains abrasives, this is most commonly aluminum oxide, as you
put it on the car will remove dead paint which has become oxidized. They may
also contain lots of solvents which clean your paintwork (paint cleaning
products). Products do contain waxes and oils but generally speaking, these are
there for lubrication of the abrasives and not enough to give protection to
your car. In fact having polished your car you will have stripped back any
protection you may have, so you will need to put a wax on your car.
I’m
often asked how often you should polish your car; the best answer is to do it
when it needs it - when the paintwork starts looking dull and tired. You shouldn’t
really polish your car every time you clean it, if you do want to follow a
schedule, then once every 6 months is enough for most people, but once a year
is fine.
WAX
The
purpose of wax products it coat your car in a protective, sacrificial layer.
Wax products contain a blend of waxes and oils. The waxes can be natural waxes
and/or synthetic, although there is a trend at the moment for the synthetic
based products to be called Sealants*. Both types of product get attacked by
road salts, UV rays, ozone and all the other nastiest - but while they are
bearing the brunt of this punishment, your paintwork doesn’t have to, which is
why we call it a sacrificial layer. Waxes and sealants generally last from 1
month to one year, generally speaking most waxes last 3 months, be warned, they
don’t always do what they say on the tin. Many waxes will promise that they
last 1 year but they seldom last anywhere near that, so it’s best to assume you
wax lasts 3 months. The general rule of thumb is that the longer they last, the
less shiny they are, and vice versa. Waxes are designed for slightly different
purposes, some people like to wax their car every week and want the best shine
they can get, other people want to put it on and forget it for a year, they
require protection and don’t worry too much about getting a ‘wet look shine’.
There are even products designed to make a car really glossy that will last a
few days or even a few hours - this sounds crazy and impractical, but they are
perfect for cars in a showroom or at a car show.
COMBINATION
PRODUCTS
There
are plenty of products that both wax and polish - seldom is this fact made very
clear on the bottle! You certainly won’t see a bottle labeled ‘combination
product’. In fact they could be labeled either ‘wax’ or ‘polish’. Unfortunately
the marketing guys don’t care about definitions and will call their product
whatever they think sounds best. So take care to always read the label to make
sure you know what you are getting.
POLISHING IS PAINT CORRECTION
WAXING IS PAINT PROTECTION
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