As soon as you notice the first small scratches in your paint, it helps to polish your car promptly. Damage to the paintwork is usually caused by mechanical impact. These can be scratches that have been deliberately scratched into the paint. Often, however, it can also be small damages, as they often occur after a visit to a car wash. Stone chips or the carelessness of the painter can also lead to paint defects. In the long run, however, the weather can also leave its mark on the car. To detect minor paint damage at an early stage, you should therefore always take good care of the paint on your own car. This does not necessarily include a trip to the car wash, after all, damage can also occur here.
A correct and meanwhile more than naturalized resolution is: Who loves its car, maintains it and lays itself hand! But what exactly does that mean? Regular hand washing of the car is a must for many people. However, paint care should go far beyond this. What is meant is not only the regular “examination” for new scratches and damage, but also the polishing of the paint. This is particularly important. After all, you can not only make the paint shine, but also remove fresh damage yourself.
Why is regular car polishing important?
If the car is to look particularly good at the front door, car polishing gives it the necessary shine. At the same time, it also increases the value of the car. This should be remembered especially when the car is to be resold to private buyers. But that is not all. The freshly polished car paint is much more resistant and also shows a much higher resistance against environmental influences. Bird droppings, for example, often burn into the paint very quickly. If you have recently polished and sealed the car, this is not the case.
How regularly do you have to polish the car?
One thing is clear: if you regularly care for your car, you will have more fun and enjoy it. But how often should you polish your car? Here you have to weigh up. After you have polished the car, it looks really good for a few weeks. At some point, however, it will be time to polish the car again. Now the question arises whether frequent polishing is not harmful to the paint in the long run.
If you only use wax to polish your car, you don’t have to worry about this. The wax does not cause any paint removal, but merely provides a shiny protective layer. Here you can – if necessary – also polish the car every week. The situation is different, however, with synthetic agents. Here, paint removal can occur. It is not possible to say exactly how often the car can or should be polished. However, the manufacturers of the corresponding agents usually point this out.
How does the process work?
Basically, you have a choice between two procedures. If you polish the car by hand, you first apply some polishing paste to the sponge or polishing cotton. This is then spread evenly over the area to be polished. It is important not to apply the polishing paste directly to the sheet metal. Then work the paint in small, circular motions without exerting much pressure. Once you have finished polishing the part, you can remove the polishing compound with a polishing cloth. This is extremely important, as the polishing agent could dry out.
The second variant is polishing with the machine. It is only recommended if you already have experience in car polishing. First, the polishing agent is applied to the rotating plate of the machine. Then the polishing machine is moved in a crosswise motion over the surface with light and even pressure. First vertical and then horizontal movements are used. It is also important to keep the machine moving at all times, otherwise the paint may be damaged.
What do I need to polish my car?
Depending on the procedure, you will need either a polishing sponge, a polishing cloth or absorbent cotton, or a polishing machine. In addition, you need the appropriate polishing agent and a microfiber cloth.
Are there “home remedies” that help?
Some people like to use home remedies when polishing their cars. Especially popular: the normal, white toothpaste. It is suitable for removing small scratch marks. The reason for this is that it contains small abrasive particles that penetrate the scratch together with the tiny paint particles of the car paint. To do this, you need to put the paste on a damp cloth and then rub it over the scratch.
Another home remedy is nail polish. However, one should refrain from using it. At first, scratches can usually be removed well with it. Provided that you have actually found the nail polish color that perfectly matches the car paint. In summer, however, the nail polish can heat up. Now it can happen that the nail polish blisters or even crumbles off.
Cleaning the car before / after
Before you polish the car, you should first prepare the paint. Therefore, first you perform a car wash. After that, the car already looks much better. However, it is still not enough to polish the car. Therefore, a special cleaning follows. A walk around the vehicle reveals where there is still particularly stubborn dirt. Special attention should be paid to hard-to-reach areas. It can be removed with the help of suitable agents such as cleaning clay. However, you must also always keep an eye on the damage. If there are stone chips or deep scratches, additional protective measures should be taken in these areas – even before polishing. Otherwise, corrosion can occur. Consequently, the sheet metal rusts faster and spreads under the paint.
Once all this is done, you can start polishing the car – as described above. Once this is also done, you should deal with the right finish. As a rule, this is done by sealing with wax. This gives the paint a protective layer and ensures a longer-lasting shine. For this you need a polishing sponge or a polishing cloth. It is important to wax only small areas at a time. These must then be rubbed with the sponge or cloth in circular motions and as little pressure as possible. This prevents new scratches from forming and the wax from drying out.
An alternative after car polishing is polymer sealing. The synthetically produced sealant is said to last even longer than the classic hard wax. The resistance is also said to be significantly higher, as it forms a chemical bond with the paint. The wax, on the other hand, only lies on the paint. The gloss, on the other hand, is significantly higher with the wax than with the synthetic agents.
