How to polish?

Scribe · February 15, 2016

The thread about long life advice made me wonder whether I should celebrate 6 years' LS ownership this summer by polishing the car. It doesn't look as if it needs it, but I might be pleasantly surprised. Also there are some minor scratches that I might be able to get rid of. Any advice about what polish or T-Cut-type stuff to use, and whether it's worth investing in an electric polisher? I have a feeling that once I start the job I'll wish I hadn't - there's a lot of metal there.

200h · February 15, 2016

if you haven't polished your car for 6 years BOW your head in shame you naughty man

Dont use T cut it is very abrasive

i personally like Meguiars products they have a full range of detailing products for your car

i would recommend using a clay bar or clay mitt to remove all contaminents from your paintwork

1st rinse , wash & rinse grime off your car (10 minutes)

2nd mist the body with the clay bar detailing spray (small area at a time) then gently move your clay bar over the paintwork

you will feel when the area is clean then move to next part of bodywork (15 minutes)

3rd use a good quality wax the best you can buy if it needs to last 6 more years lol (the rest of the day)

rayaans · February 15, 2016

Depends on how you want to go about it.

If you want a permanent solution use a cutting polish - Sonax perfect finish is my favourite for all Japanese cars on a polishing pad. You can buy a polisher if you wish - best to stick with a DA - Argos do one pretty cheap with a 2 year warranty. Avoid rotaries as you can burn through paint if you havent used it before.

If you want to fill the scratches, Autoglym SRP will work well. A few coats of Autoglym SRP and a wax/sealant on top should be great for a few months (totally dependent on the wax/sealant you choose)

And, if you can get hold of some, get Autosmart products - I use them on my car and they're probably the best products out there without ridiculous price tags albeit they do come in 5l containers. They basically make products but distribute to the trade and are the largest valeting supplier in the UK.

Autosmart Platinum is their version of SRP and arguably works better and of course its cheaper to buy.

Cracksta · February 15, 2016

This is one of those topics where there so much depth in detailing, i wouldn't want to overload you....yet :)

Depending on your body work condition, after the car is washed and dried, cover your hand in a tesco plastic bag, now run your hand on a panel (bonnet is easiest), it should not make any sound at all, if it does (like a 'shhhhhhhhh' sound) then you should polish/wax the car. Another way to check is under a street lamp at night, if you look at your body work, there should not be any hazes/scratches/swirls.

Now on to the actual process, the proper way is the follow:

1. Snow foam (you can skip this)
2.Wash
3.Clay then rinse (you can skip this)
4.Polish
5.Wax

Once the car is washed and dried, you can hand polish the car with Autogylm Super Resin Polish (suggested this because its easy to use and available to buy everywhere), you'll need a small microfiber pad type to hand polish it. Once its all done and dried, you need a separate towel wipe the dried polish off.

The final step is to use a wax or sealant, this should give you a few months protection (nice water beads when it rains and don't need to put wax/sealant until you need it).

Thats it for most but you can do other stuff like clean/polish the glass, tyre dressing etc

This is where i mostly get my detailing gear: http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk

Happy cleaning!

Cracksta · February 15, 2016

Also have a look at http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/

There a massive wealth of information there!

Titch LS · February 15, 2016

Scribe, I shelled out £60 for a Meguiars Dual Action Polishing kit from Halfords (same price on line everywhere). In conjunction with that I bought a bottle of Meguiars Ultimate Compound and a bottle of Meguiars Polishing Compound. The results were astonishing. Swirls and clearcoat scratches literally disappeared. Amazing stuff. Bit pricey but worth the effort. Some scratches only came out by hand though. I've heard that Autoglym Super Resin Polish is superb as well but DON'T use it with a mechanical polisher. Have fun.

Cracksta · February 15, 2016

You can use with an electric polisher but since it has tiny abrasives, you just need to becareful. TBH i don't think you can go wrong unless your holding the DA down for a good 30sec on maximum settings. On a rotary, its alot more harsher!

PCM · February 15, 2016

... and, best to do all these things when the weather is warmer and dry.

( Else you wash it and it never properly dries before the next stage ).

Cracksta · February 15, 2016

Dry yes unless you have a massive garage, warm is not always the case but it does help. Make sure you buy a large microfibre drying towel, this is what you'll use to dry the car. Don't use those leather chamois, you'll just be dragging dirt and scratching your beautiful paintwork, also dont use those £5 car wash, the wash mitten has been used on many cars and they don't rinse it.

steve2006 · February 15, 2016

Sorry but when I saw the topic title I couldn't resist.

The main thing that nobody else has mentioned is remember to breathe when doing the job.

Scribe · February 15, 2016

Thanks for all your advice. Yes Mark, I AM bowing my head in shame, and yes I'll wait till the spring or summer before I start waxing on and off.

200h · February 15, 2016

when i had my Ct in Mesa red i used to polish my car everytime i washed it maybe once a week this was to ensure i didnt have any water marks on the body

i cannot believe you have gone 6 years

rayaans · February 15, 2016

1 hour ago, Scribe said:

Thanks for all your advice. Yes Mark, I AM bowing my head in shame, and yes I'll wait till the spring or summer before I start waxing on and off.

Might be worth reading this. You'll just get overly confused on detailing world to be honest especially if you're just getting into it.

Tulpen · February 16, 2016

http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/magazine/articles/Vehicle-Insider/Ask-Lexus-Car-Wash

This might be of interest.

Scribe · February 16, 2016

When I was young I used to polish my car quite often, but in those days I didn't have much else to think about. Now that I have four cars (all old) they regularly get cleaned inside and out but that's all. (One of them is a Smart, and you can't polish that anyway because it's plastic.)

The Lexus only just fits in the garage, so polishing has to be an outdoor job. Every year I think 'This summer I'll do it', but then when summer comes there are more enjoyable things to do, so that's as far as it gets. But I'm sure that if I start to see scratches disappearing, and a lovely shine, I'll be glad I made the effort. That's if the seagulls don't s**t on me and/or the car.

Cracksta · February 16, 2016

You can defo polish plastic, most bumpers are plastic[emoji14]

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Scribe · February 16, 2016

Doesn't remove scratches though, like polish does from paint.

Scribe · February 16, 2016

Rayaan - very interesting/useful guide. Thanks.

SH20 · February 16, 2016

Hi Scribe, I started a new post 1st January 2016 titled "detailing Training? Worth Every Penny". It opened my eyes to paint correction and as a novice I learned what to do and what not to do. Have a read if you search for the original post.

Top Tip try and invest in a power washer and snow foam kit and always "clay bar" the paint prior to any serious attempt to remove fine polishing scratches accumulated over the years. Always degrease the polished areas after machine polishing before you wax a car. Remember polishing and waxing a car are two different things. Machine polishing is really the only way to remove scratching in the lacquer top coat. clay bar picks up all the fine contaminates that stick to the bodywork over time and you can always feel them if you pass your hand over the panels, it's like ultra fine grit you feel but can't actually see it. Good Luck

Scribe · February 16, 2016

Thanks Steve. I've got lots to think about now. And I've got to wait for some warmer, drier weather...

rayaans · February 16, 2016

12 hours ago, Tulpen said:

http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/magazine/articles/Vehicle-Insider/Ask-Lexus-Car-Wash

This might be of interest.

Got to say that article is fundamentally flawed in a few areas. Hand washing is not the "way" to go, you can actually get some very sophisticated touchless washes which work much better with less chance of any scratches inflicted on the paint.

Also, a "soft" sponge? Surely not! I use a sponge - BUT only when Im polishing the car afterwards!

And apparently its time to re-wax your car when water stops beading - again, not true. Some protection is very good at sheeting and not beading and therefore lack of beading does not show the level of protection on the car. Beading is simply a result of surface tension i.e a freshly polished car with no protection applied will also bead, doesn't mean its protected does it?!

9 hours ago, Scribe said:

When I was young I used to polish my car quite often, but in those days I didn't have much else to think about. Now that I have four cars (all old) they regularly get cleaned inside and out but that's all. (One of them is a Smart, and you can't polish that anyway because it's plastic.)

The Lexus only just fits in the garage, so polishing has to be an outdoor job. Every year I think 'This summer I'll do it', but then when summer comes there are more enjoyable things to do, so that's as far as it gets. But I'm sure that if I start to see scratches disappearing, and a lovely shine, I'll be glad I made the effort. That's if the seagulls don't s**t on me and/or the car.

Hmm it sounds like you might be a perfect candidate for a coating instead of a wax then. Something like Cquartz should last you 1-2 years and reduce chances of scratches from washing etc

I polish my car outside anyway, just make sure you wash it before you stick wax/sealant on it to remove the dust.

Scribe · February 17, 2016

My old Honda Accord Coupe (similar colour) is in greater need of a de-scratch and polish, so I think I'll practise on that first. By the time I do the Lexus I'll know what I'm doing.