Using Car Polish vs. Car Wax: The Difference Explained for Those with Auto Detailing Training
When it comes time to do an auto detailing job, the difference between a great one and a good one can be based on the tools you use. This is especially true when choosing between car polish and car wax. Although they’re both used to give a car a brand new shine, they both have different functions and serve unique purposes.
Read on to find out the difference between car polish and car wax, and when to use each one.
Car Polish: Like Sandpaper, But For Smoothing Out Blemishes on the Car’s Outside
When you use car polish for auto detailing, it’s used largely because of its abrasive properties. As such, polish is used to smooth out imperfections that are already present on the vehicle’s exterior, such as scraping and scratching. Because of its abrasiveness (whether mild or ultra-fine), car polish should be used carefully and attentively — otherwise, you can accidentally remove some of the vehicle’s paint. Polish is a substance especially worth using given how most vehicles typically begin dulling and scratching with time. A successful polishing job involves gently applying the polish to the paint until it is sufficiently smoothed out.
Car Wax: A Substance You Need to Produce a Slicker, Shinier Auto Detailing Job
By using a high-quality form of carnauba wax, anyone with a professional automotive detailing career can give a vehicle both a new shine and a new layer of defence. Its lack of water solubility means that a wax job can help a car to maintain its sparkle even when exposed to heavy amounts of water. Car wax can also be used to protect the vehicle’s paint job, as it is a sealant. More specifically, it can protect the exterior’s shine from dulling while exposed to sunlight. Doing this wax job is an important part of car maintenance if an owner wants to keep it looking as new as possible, and especially if they frequently wash their car.
When to Use Polish and Wax in Your Professional Automotive Detailing Career
Both car polish and car wax are important to have around, and it’s worth understanding how both work since you can expect to learn about vehicle paint surface repair during your auto detailing training. Deciding whether to polish or wax a vehicle first depends in large part on how smooth the vehicle’s surface is after washing it with soap. If there are any bumps or unevenness found, polish the car first to smooth those out. However, you don’t necessarily have to polish if the surface is generally smooth all over.
Still, it’s good to keep in mind that you should generally polish AND wax the car to give it its most optimal shine, as only using one of these products is likely to produce mediocre aesthetic results. More specifically, waxing a vehicle won’t do much to elevate an unpolished paint job, and a polishing job without wax will fade away quicker than if it had been waxed. Both are different products with contrasting purposes, but both complement one another extremely well.
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