Polishes are abrasive and for that reason we recommend only polishing your car as needed because each time you polish, you're removing a layer of material. If you over-polish your car, you will eventually thin out the paint and in extreme cases can cut through the clearcoat and the paint right through to the undercoat!
That will last 3 to 6 months in most conditions, unless you wash your car with dish detergent, which will remove it and start allowing the oxidizing of the paint again.
The primary difference between buffing and polishing is that the former involves the use of a loose abrasive on the wheel, whereas the latter involves the use of an abrasive that's secured to the wheel. In other words, the grit-based abrasive used in polishing isn't glued onto the wheel.
yes buffing can and will remove clear coat. If done properly not much harm will be done. If it is your first time useing a buffer i would recommend you use a junk yard hood to pratice on to get the feel for it. If you stay in one spot to long or have the buffer speed to high you can burn right through the paint.
When estimating the price for your work, as a rule of thumb I'd use between $20 and $25 per hour. It's really up to you what you end up charging however to do a full paint correction and exterior detail plan on spending 6 to 7 hours. If you decide to tackle the interior then add another 2 hours.
To make a car's finish look great, there are a couple of things that can be performed. Buffing or polishing a vehicle correctly allows you to take away or remove a number of defects, such as small scratches, etching and oxidation. This boosts a car's shine and prepares it for protection.
You should apply wax twice a year as a minimum – once in spring ahead of the summer temperatures, and once before winter to protect against rain, snow, salt and hail. If you want to keep your car protected further, we'd recommend waxing four times a year.
Finishing processes that utilize abrasive belts are referred to as polishing, and processes that use cloth wheels with compound applied is buffing. Polishing generates a brushed or lined finish, where buffing removes the lines and creates a bright luster finish.
Polish should be used before wax, as it helps to restore auto paint that has lost its shine due to oxidation. Car polish does this by removing a very fine layer of the paintwork so the appearance of scratches is minimized as they settle into the coat. Car polishes vary in terms of their levels of abrasiveness.
Hand polishing is a good method to get rid of minor clear coat scratches and swirls, but for deeper paint defects machine polishing is required. But don't underestimate polishing an entire car by hand as it is very time consuming and puts a lot of pressure on the muscles of your hand.
Toothpaste marketed as non-abrasive still contains a small amount of an abrasive component, in order to be effective for cleaning the teeth. This abrasive component gently removes a thin layer of plastic from the lens, thus leveling out the surface and removing scratches.
To remove haze or old grime, you'll get better results if you use the paste wax. Although it requires more work, the pressure you apply to remove the wax will also remove the haze. Apply the wax in small sections using small, circular motions. Remove the wax with a soft cotton rag.
If you have recently applied clear coat to a paint job, it's time to buff it out to a high shine. Clear coat should be allowed to harden for at least 24 hours before attempting to use a buffer. In most cases, you will be trying to remove “orange peel” when buffing a new paint job.
Comparison of best car scratch removers
| Best scratch remover | Brand | Name |
|---|
| Overall | Meguiar's | Ultimate Compound |
| For the money | Mothers | California Gold Scratch Remover |
| Ultrafine scratches | Chemical Guys | VSS Scratch and Swirl Remover |
| Small scratches | Carfidant | Scratch and Swirl Remover |
Even when taking all these precautions, swirl marks can still mar your car's finish. At that point, the only proven way to remove them is to polish the paint using a non-abrasive buffer pad and polishing compound. Although you can try it yourself, in most cases it probably won't look professional afterward.
Quick Answer: T-cut (compound) is normally used to remove light scratches but you'll need to use a buffing/polishing machine as it's very abrasive, if you use your hand with a cloth you're likely to scratch the paintwork.
Re: wash after polishing? No, dont wash your car after polishing. You will just wash the oils right off, they are not durable like a wax or other polymer. There is no direct equivelant to ScratchX in the pro-line.
You shouldn't machine polish your car until there are swirls and scratches that you want to fix. In general, a car shouldn't be polished more than 3-5 times in a lifetime, and more than once a year. Polishing your car 3-5 times in a lifetime is considered safe for the clear coat.
Many auto detailing and car experts recommend washing your car once a week to successfully prevent contaminants from damaging your paint and finish. You may worry that it is too expensive to wash your car every week. However, more and more commercial car washes offer unlimited wash deals for an affordable monthly fee.
Use every few months as needed to maintain a superb shine.
Re: number of times you can compound/polish a clearcoatExactly 12 times. As others have said, a PTG is the best investment you can make so you have a ballpark estimate of what you're dealing with.
Car detailing is equivalent to giving your vehicle a spa treatment. By 'cutting' off that clear layer, then polishing the paint to remove hard-to-budge dirt, scratches and light oxidation, a good detailing job will protect and revamp your car's existing paintwork, making it look brand new again for longer.
TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR CAR LOOKING BRAND NEW
- Wash It Regularly. Get into a regular routine of washing your car properly.
- Dry Your Car Properly. Just letting your car drip-dry in the sun certainly is easy, but it's definitely not good for its paint job.
- Remove Any Splotches Immediately.
- Stay Away From the Car Wash.
Each compounding will remove a layer of clear coat until eventually, nothing remains. Cutting compounds are abrasive products and may not be suitable for cars with thin or soft coats. For minor paint issues like swirls and dull color, a detailer might recommend less aggressive options.
For scuff marks to cars, make sure the area is clean then simply spray it with WD-40 Multi-Use Product and let the lubricant in the WD-40 Multi-Use Product loosen the scuffed paint. Then simply wipe it off with a soft cloth.
Small scratches can usually be rubbed out with polishing compound. The rule of thumb is that if your fingernail doesn't catch on the scratch, it's just a superficial clear coat scratch that can be smoothed out and made invisible. For deeper scratches, polish isn't abrasive enough to fix the problem.
Yes, toothpaste can remove minor paint scratches. Here's how it works. A standard toothpaste (not a gel toothpaste) has a minor grit to it which helps buff out the scratches. Typically, minor scratches are only on the clear coat over your actual paint.
How to Fix Deep Scratches on a Car
- Clean the surrounding area. Before you attempt to fix the scratch, give it (and the surrounding area) a thorough wash and dry.
- Use a scratch repair kit.
- Apply rubbing compound.
- Cover it with touch-up paint.
While scratches do detract from the appearance of your car, paying a body shop for a new coat of paint or even a small touch-up can be costly. You can try buffing out surface scratches with toothpaste, using a scratch removal product for small scratches, or sanding and repainting the area if the scratch is deep.
