I have never used one. I am picking up my new car on Saturday and intend to keep it pristine. I have only ever washed and then polished a car in the past. I now understand that the best process is to wash, clay, polish, and wax. My question is, (and this is where the confusion comes in), I thought that using a machine to polish is where you get these circles that everyone seems concerned about, so, when should I use one...to POLISH the car? to WAX the car? or should I not use one on a brand new car...well not for a while at least? Any advice from you car cleaning officianados would be a great help.

Putting your car through an automatic car wash it not thoroughly rinsing the car before washing with a sponge or mitt will inflict the swirly scratches.

Using a polishing machine before thoroughly decontaminating can mean a very small bit of tar or something else can get lodged in the pad and cause damage also.

With everything you'll be alright if you're careful.

I have never used one. I am picking up my new car on Saturday and intend to keep it pristine. I have only ever washed and then polished a car in the past. I now understand that the best process is to wash, clay, polish, and wax. My question is, (and this is where the confusion comes in), I thought that using a machine to polish is where you get these circles that everyone seems concerned about, so, when should I use one...to POLISH the car? to WAX the car? or should I not use one on a brand new car...well not for a while at least? Any advice from you car cleaning officianados would be a great help.

Sounds like you need... Detailingworld.co.uk !!

Putting your car through an automatic car wash it not thoroughly rinsing the car before washing with a sponge or mitt will inflict the swirly scratches.

Using a polishing machine before thoroughly decontaminating can mean a very small bit of tar or something else can get lodged in the pad and cause damage also.

With everything you'll be alright if you're careful.

Please forgive my `thickness`, but are you saying that its okay to use one of these machines to polish?...to wax?...both?

PS I would never use an Automatic Car wash.

Just polish. You need an applicator pad to apply wax ideally, and a microfibre cloth to remove after.

The claying is to cleanse the paint surface, so any small contaminants don't get into the pad when polishing, and do more harm than good. The pad & polish (depending on choice of both) should remove the circles (swirl marks) not add to them.

Read here mate:

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/car-care-advice.html

What color car?

Some look better with wax ( darker colors)

Some look better with sealants ( Light colors)

What color car?

Some look better with wax ( darker colors)

Some look better with sealants ( Light colors)

Thank you for your interest.

The car is Rosso Brunello Metallic.

Thank you for your interest.

The car is Rosso Brunello Metallic.

Blimey...I've just realised that I don't really know the difference between a `Polish` a `Wax` and a `Sealant`!

• Polish is essentially a fine abrasive that is used to remove a very thin layer of top-coat and smooth off the edges of any scratches, so you go back to an as-new "mirror" finish; T-Cut is an example of a heavily abrasive polish, it removes a lot of material so you need to be careful when using it. You can also get "filler" style polishes that contain chemicals which mask scratches and swirls, rather than remove paint to get rid of them completely, a good example is Autoglym's Super Resin Polish (SRP). The effects of a filler heavy polish won't last long if you don't top it off with some kind of wax/sealant.
  
• Wax is there to protect that polished surface, to prevent contaminants bonding with the paint and help muck and water run off the car. It will also enhance the shine created by polishing.
  
• Sealant serves the same purpose but is synthetic and generally more liquid like, it bonds on to the paint so should last longer than wax (although you can get some very hardy waxes). You can pop a wax on top of a sealant if you really want, but not the other way around.
  

You shouldn't really need to polish a new car as the finish should already be very good and scratch free, so it's more about protecting that with waxes and sealants. And then avoiding scratches created by improper wash technique (i.e. remove as much dirt as you can with a pressure washer before going in with the shampoo. And don't use sponges or brushes, use a proper lambswool or microfibre noodle wash mitt and ensure you wash in straight lines, not circles).

The circles everyone talks about are called "swirl marks", they are very fine scratches in a circular pattern and generally caused by bad washing technique/tools. Normal sponges just drag dirt across your paint, they don't pull it down in to the sponge, and if you rub it around and around then swirl marks are the end result of that.

Polishing is done to remove swirls and scratches but can damage/marr the paint if done incorrectly, particularly when using a machine to do it. As has been said already, you need to make sure the car is properly clean otherwise you just drag contaminants across the paint which will scratch it. Machine polishers generally use an "orbital" pattern rather than simply spinning from the centre, and the purpose is to prevent swirl marks, but you could still get them if you use a polish that was too abrasive.

Edited 19 July, 201213 yr by ckyliu

ckyliu...Thank you so much for the time it must have taken for you to reply so thoroughly and eloquently. So...having a brand new car, all I need to do is...rinse off the dirt with a pressure washer - carefully wash the car with a lambswool mitt - dry it - then just give it a coat of wax...and that's it? Can you recommend a suitable wax? Many thanks. Mike.

Well the standard wax that just about everyone recommends is Collinite 476S (you can Google that name to see where to purchase, how to apply and other people's thoughts on it); it's a very tough wax and will last longer than just about anything else, but it's not the easiest of products to apply. Biggest tip I can give you on applying it is not to use too much product, it just makes it harder to buff off and wastes it! Poorboys Black Hole Glaze is an oily wax that gives a fantastic finish but don't expect it to last much more than 4 weeks (and you can't pop anything on top of it because it's very oily).

I'm no expert detailer, so some other folks here at Briskoda may be able to suggest something that is especially suited to your colour. You may also want to look at www.detailingworld.co.uk, the guys there take cleaning a car to a whole new level. Most products that get suggested you'll have to get online or from a specialist retailer; as they're professional/enthusiast products you tend not to find them in your local Halfrauds or motor factors.

Personally I'm using Autoglym's Super Resin Polish (SRP) as my polish at the moment, it masks minor defects very well and is probably the best all-round polish for application by hand. Only downside is it makes a lot of dust when removed. SRP is known as an all-in-one (AIO),which means its got some cleaners in it, a very mild cutting (abrasive) ability, lots of fillers and some wax/sealant like protection too; although personal experience tells me it doesn't last all that long on its own and is best topped off with a sealant, I'm using Autoglym's Extra Gloss Protection (EGP) because it's specifically engineered to chemically bond to SRP. If I was using a different polish I'd probably put on Colly 476S wax instead.

As your car is quite dark, you could consider Autoglym's Ultra Deep Shine (UDS) an AIO formulated for dark colours. UDS is very oily so you can't top it off with anything as it won't bond and is probably better used on deteriorated paint. I know that Dodo Juice and Bilt-Hamber products have been getting some good reviews lately.

For machine application and correction of paint, I've no experience but a look through some of the threads here should give you some suggestions for what polishers and polishes would be good for beginners. I seem to remember one of Gtechniq's polishes being highly recommend for machines.

Edited 19 July, 201213 yr by ckyliu

Well the standard wax that just about everyone recommends is Collinite 476S (you can Google that name to see where to purchase, how to apply and other people's thoughts on it); it's a very tough wax and will last longer than just about anything else, but it's not the easiest of products to apply. Biggest tip I can give you on applying it is not to use too much product, it just makes it harder to buff off and wastes it!

I am currently using Collinite 845 and it is a breeze to use.

Good results as well

If you are looking to polish your car then I would recommend Gtechniq P1 polish as an excellent way to start. It can be worked very effectively by hand although use of a DA or rotary will acheive optimum results. It will remove minor swirls and some marring without filling or masking any marks so you will be getting a long lasting "true" finish.

It is also water based so it will not stain any of your plastic trim (which can be a common issue when first starting out).

As for waxes/sealants there are so many different options out there it will boggle your mind. Waxes contain natural ingredients whereas sealants are synthetic. Collinite 476 is an affordable, durable wax and FK1000p would be a comprable sealant (although FK1000p can be used on your alloys).

A third option (and the one I would recommend to you) is nano-sealants. These have come onto the market in the last couple of years. Most are easy to apply (though not all) and they are affordable. They form a semi-permanent bond with your paintwork. Some will last for months whereas others will last for years if properly cared for. As you have a new car I would recommend that you purchase a clay bar and clay your paintwork first. You will be shocked at what comes off a brand new car in the form of contaminents that have bonded with the car since it left the factory. Having clayed the car I would suggest you invest in some Permanon Supershine. For £20 you can get a kit for its application. You can use it on every surface of your car from the paint to the trim to the glass/alloys/engine bay etc! .

It will last for a few months and can easily be maintained. One place it is available is here:

http://www.nanotechsst.co.uk/permanon-car-supershine-brilliant-kit-100ml-p-392.html?wizid=4ks8m8g7jonlrdvli9q9d4qkf4

Watch the videos and see what you think.

As for waxes/sealants there are so many different options out there it will boggle your mind. Waxes contain natural ingredients whereas sealants are synthetic. Collinite 476 is an affordable, durable wax and FK1000p would be a comprable sealant

I've read that Finish Kare 1000P (FK1000P) gives a superior result on lighter colours (e.g. silver) whereas 476 works better on darker colours. I believe longevity is about the same, but I don't think you'd be doing bad with either product regardless of paint colour.

By the way I forgot to mention that VAG top coat is notoriously tough if you want to machine polish it.

Edited 19 July, 201213 yr by ckyliu