Category: 
March 4, 2009
Car polish is a must have product in your car care inventory. A good car polish keeps your car looking new and shiny. Car polishes not only make your car look fresh, but also help protect the paint and prevent paint failure. Over time, dust, grime, grease, oil and bird hits accumulate on the exterior paint of a car. Just washing your car is not sufficient as most of these contaminants have acids and adhesive agents in them which stick to the car paint and slowly eat through the protective layer of paint exposing bare metal. Exposed metal leads to corrosion, rust and reduction in the life of the car as also its resale value. Car polishes come in various forms and have varying ingredients. However, most car polishes have abrasive component to help remove the oil and grime marks. Some have fillers too to fill in the scratch marks.
Application of car polish is a painstaking procedure, a technique that needs to be mastered. The first step is to wash the car . This is a two step process starting with plain water, then with car detergent. Detergent used for washing clothes are never to be used as they are strong and may damage your car paint. The third stage is to again wash off the car detergent with plain water. Use a chamois leather car towel or a micro fiber car towel to dry your car. Having done that put the car polish evenly with an applicator brush which usually comes with your car polish product. There should be no gaps in the application of the car polish. Leave the car polish to dry off for the time period specified as per the car polish manual of instructions. Then rub it off with a micro fiber towel to give you a good glow and a brand new look car.
The various components in the car polish perform different tasks such as dissolving and removal of oil and grime by the abrasive part and the shine and protection task done by the wax component. The wax component is also water repellant which will help protect your car paint. How often should you polish your car? Well an interval of two to three weeks between polishing is all right. Too frequent car polishing is not recommended for your paint because irrespective of what the advertisement may claim, all car polishes will remove a very thin layer of your car paint which over time results in thinning of the car paint and dulling of the color. Therefore, a regular but not frequent polish will help keep your car paint in good condition.
Horaayy..there are 7 comment(s) for me so far ;)
It is not necessary, but it sure does make you seem a bit more polished. That is not the case, however. Using car wax is more like using sun protection or eating a balanced diet. It provides protection for the painted surfaces of the car and prevents fading in those areas. Your car will perform better and last longer, if you have a routine of washing, waxing and keeping up with service and repairs.
According to the description on car wax containers, it is time to wax again if rain water does not bead up on the paint.
You have two choices for waxing your car. You can do it yourself (or make one of your kids do it, in which case, there are three options for getting your car waxed) or take it to a detailer and have the professionals do it. It seems to me that when I have professionals wax my car, it lasts a lot longer than when I do it. I am guessing that I just do not have the same skill as them, regardless of the kind of car wax I would use.
Actually, car washing is just as important as waxing, especially if you live in an area where the roads are treated with salt in the winter. I have added car washing to my weekly routine. I use quarters that I get back from going through drive up windows to wash the car each week. It only costs me about two dollars and five minutes of my time, but will add a lot of life to my car. But back to car polishing.
A good car polish keeps your car looking new and shiny. Other than appearance, car polish functions as paint protection and prevent premature failure of car paint. Bird poo, oil, dust and grime are some of the pollutants that accumulate on the outer surface of a car over a period of time. Just washing your car is not sufficient as most of these contaminants have acids and adhesive agents in them which stick to the car paint and slowly eat through the protective layer of paint exposing bare metal. Bare metal corrode easily leading to rusting of the car, reducing its life and resale value.
Blog more soon.
I got a ton out of this post.
Protect any parts you do not want to wax with masking tape. Using a damp sponge, apply the car wax to the car. Small circles work best for older cars, and long strokes work best for new cars with the newer types of finish that are now on the market. Avoid letting wax settle into the seams of the car, and do not let wax get onto any dull plastic your car may have on its exterior. Follow the same path across the car to buff off the excess wax, using a lint free soft towel.