Best Car Polish
The Expert is here to help!

"Darren, I just want shiny paint! Everyone claims to have the best car polish but I feel like I am chasing my tail from one opinion to the next. I just want products that are simple to use and deliver great results!"

Your quest for the best automotive polish will likely drive most of you mad!

My Plan for Choosing the Best Car Polish

I will begin with what I call "my plan":

What would I do if I were in your shoes if I was standing in front of my car and coming to some very specific conclusions:

• My car paint is looking tired and dull.
• I know I need to polish it, but don't exactly know where to start.
• I am willing to put in the work so I can restore the shine, luster and gloss of my car so I am a proud car owner once again.

If this sounds like you then I have a super-simple solution for you.

The Steps to Getting a Show Car Shine:

• Wash car (just a basic wash to remove superficial dirt)
• Use detailing clay to remove bonded paint contaminants (These are the tiny particles stuck to your car paint that give it that gritty feeling- this step is critical. Do NOT skip this step)
• Start at one corner of your car and begin polishing each section in a approximately 2'x2' sections using the car polishing kit below
• Once you have polished your car, apply a quality car wax for added depth and protection to your car paint

The Best Car Polish:
You really don't have to overthink it!

You could pretty much line up the top 100 car polishes on the market  and throw a dart blindfolded and hit a really good polish. And this one polish you hit with your dart would work on any car, any color, in any way you wanted to use it -by hand or machine.

Modern day chemical engineering has raised the bar so high it is hard to go wrong. There isn't a single car polish company that doesn't make a good car polish.

But if this is true (it is!) then why are there so many choices?

And why does one company make so many different types of polishes?

Because we as humans are a fickle species! We love variety, we love options, and we love choices....until we don't.

What do I mean by this?

Many of us just need a place to start.

We aren't looking to learn the nuances of the thousand different polishes available, we just want a good polish that will produce good results.

For this reason I am going to keep things super simple for you with a couple of choices based on your commitment level.

The Super Simple Approach to a Shiny Car!

I am going to separate you into one of two categories:

1. Polishing by Hand
2. Polishing by machine

And the irony of this moment that goes back to what I said at the beginning which is that any of the polish/compounds I recommend below can be used by hand or machine.

Which if I was a beginner I would immediately ask once again, "Then why does a company sell so many products when they can all be used by hand or machine?"

Yes, different compounds and polishes are designed for different tasks, but this too could be made far simpler, but it's not.

Since these companies can make many types of polishes and compounds, and since there is so much ignorance surrounding this topic, and since we as consumers play along with their charade, manufacturers continue to make more and more polishes and compounds. can, and so therefore they do.

The good news is that if you ignore the endless chatter found on social media or your favorite car forums, you can get to your desired results sooner versus later.

Car Polishing by Hand

I will start here since most people want the simplest approach. The problem with simple is that simple is not the same as easy.

And easy can mean different things to different people. Polishing by hand is truly the "simplest" approach since there are less things to buy, but it will be much more work in the form of a whole lot of rubbing!

But like every other choice in life, this comes with trade-offs. Let's examine the pros and cons of polishing by hand:

Meguiar's Ultimate Compound on Amazon

SUMMARY: This compound by Meguiar's is the product I recommend if you want to keep your life super simple and improve the shine, gloss, and depth of your car paint.

I realize this is a compound versus a polish and if you came here bent on possibly only buying a polish allow me to explain: compounds and polishes are used interchangeably by everyone in the industry. There is no standardization on just about everything detail related.

In very basic terms, most people do categorize compounds as the product to be used for what is called the heavy lifting of paint correction or defect removal, while polishes are for the fine tuning.

Yet once again, there is no standardization in this industry. What one manufacturers calls a compound, could easily be a called a polish by another company. 

Don't worry since this product by Meguiar's has a winning balance with "aggressive enough" to produce lasting results, without being "too aggressive" that you would have to worry.

Car Polishing by Machine Buffer

I think everyone should only polish using a machine polisher. (polishers and buffers mean the same thing and there is no standardization of terms)

Any person who is afraid to polish their car by a machine polisher is simply a person who doesn't know any better. 

Dual-action, random orbital buffers are so safe, that even a complete beginner can use one safely and achieve professional results.

Yes, there is more commitment to using one of these, but the results will be superior to any attempt to polishing by hand.

Adam's Car Polishing Kit on Amazon

• Quality dual-action buffer that is as safe as safe can get and the perfect buffer for any true beginner.
• A compound for the heavy lifting of paint correction
• A polish to refine the paint surface to an even higher gloss (the compound will produce a high gloss finish also, just not as refined as when polishing with the polish)
• Two types of polishing pads (a microfiber cutting pad for use with the compound, and a foam pad for use with the polish)
• Cleaning brush to keep your pads fresh while you are polishing.

What You Must Also Need to Know

There are two more steps to polishing your car that are very important:

• Clay bar your car FIRST! You can polish your car by skipping this step, but I promise you it would be a mistake. Using a clay bar to decontaminate the paint first will not only improve your finished results, but will greatly enhance your experience when polishing whether you polish by hand or machine.
• Apply wax for protection afterwards: polishing is polishing and not protecting. You will need to finish everything by putting on a coat of wax or sealant once you have completed all steps.

Shine Reigns Supreme!

This Lexus below is a great example of what your paint should look like.

I am sure you are here because it doesn't.

While you can get good results polishing your car by hand, you will never achieve the show car shine pictured here unless you use a buffer.

"You can sit and read endless reviews and still not be any closer to polishing your car than you are now. Understand that if you want your paint to look better than it currently is, polishing is your only option. Now I have shown you my recommendations and now you have no excuse!

Best Car Polish Summary

My recommendations are not your only choice, but they all represent an ideal place to start for any car owner, with any level of experience!

Sincerely,

Darren Priest