Body polishing products
Car surface care is one of the concerns and hobbies of many motorists. If you are going to polish the surface of the body, glass or headlights, you need to purchase the necessary materials and tools. Stores offer a large assortment, which is not always easy to navigate.
When choosing materials, you need to assess the condition of the car surfaces and formulate the problem:
- adding shine and protecting the still new surface of the car;
- the need for deep polishing to remove defects and renew.
The task determines the type of polishing and the cost of its implementation.
Types of polishing
Car protective treatment
Protective polish Doctor Wax
You can do it yourself without a grinder for preventive purposes. This polish is suitable for cars with a fresh coat of paint, without chips, dull spots, or scratches. It creates a small film on the car body that protects the coating from adverse influences. The technology for its implementation is simple; not a lot of materials are required:
- Protective polishing paste (for example DoctorWax);
- Shampoo and special products for cleaning the body from complex contaminants;
- The material for applying the paste and adding shine is a special napkin or rag (often included with polish).
To prevent the polish from drying out ahead of time, it is applied in small portions to the part of the body that is planned to be polished. Do not apply it to the entire car at once.
Nowadays, the technology of applying so-called “liquid glass” to the car body to add shine and protection is popular. On our website you can learn more about the technology of car polishing with liquid glass.
Light restorative polishing
Easy car treatment to restore the shine of the paintwork. Used to remove shallow scratches, small stains, abrasions, and restore the shine of the entire car. This processing requires the use of the following tools and materials:
- Abrasive pastes of different grain sizes;
- Polishing machine (a drill can replace it);
- Polishing attachments.
Deep polishing
Used to eliminate serious defects in car paintwork and restore shine. During polishing, a thin layer of paintwork is removed from the surface of the body, then, using abrasive pastes (from coarser to finer grains), the car is brought to a mirror shine. You will need a grinding machine, pastes, sandpaper P1500-P2500, wheels for different types of polishes.
Read more about deep polishing.
Choosing a polish for your car - features and differences between materials
Modern types of car polishes can be divided into abrasive, synthetic and wax. Let's start with wax types of material to give your car a beautiful shine. Indeed, after treatment with such a polish, the car will acquire an excellent shine, scratches and small chips will become less noticeable. But after the first wash or after five days of operation, the car will return to its previous appearance. Also, dust sticks well to wax polishes.
Synthetic types of polishing are divided into several subtypes. There are chemical, restorative, protective, polymer and other types of polishes. We recommend that you pay attention to protective materials for polishing from the entire huge range. They are designed to consolidate the results of body polishing, which allows you to maintain the resulting effect for a long time. Abrasive polishes have the following features:
- the presence of solid small particles in the composition, with the help of which the top damaged layer of paint is removed;
- treatment with such a polish is allowed no more than once every two years, otherwise the paint will become unusable;
- Over the entire life of the car, it is better not to use such a polish more than 6-8 times, this can completely erase the protective layer of paint;
- after treatment with abrasive polish, it is necessary to protect the body with additional materials;
- work with abrasive types of polishing paste must be performed efficiently and professionally;
- To obtain the maximum effect, it is necessary to use special materials when performing polishing work.
It should be noted that poor quality work with such a polish or the use of inappropriate tools can completely damage the paintwork of your car. Abrasive polishing pastes come in various types; it is highly not recommended to create such a paste yourself. It is better to give preference to expensive material with a good composition and ensure high-quality work on the beauty of your car.
Chemical and polymer polishing agents should not be used. The chemical removes the top layer of paint, but if applied incorrectly, it can corrode the coating down to the metal itself. Chemical polishes are also dangerous for cars that were not painted at factories. Even if certain areas of the car have been touched up, the coating may be severely damaged. Polymer polishing pastes create a protective layer that quickly loses its appearance.
Types of polishing pastes
Abrasive pastes
3M polishing pastes
Necessary for deep polishing. Their use is preceded by sanding the body with sandpaper of different grain sizes (from coarse to fine grain). The technology for their use can be either wet or dry. The use of any polishing product should begin with reading the instructions. Violation of the technology provided by the manufacturer can lead to negative results.
Materials from the following manufacturers have been tested by many craftsmen and car owners: 3M, Farecla. All products for abrasive car polishing are not cheap, but they are enough for several procedures, and most stores have the opportunity to buy them on tap.
Pastes have different grain sizes. For example, 3M paste comes under different numbers:
- 09374 COARSE ABRASIVE PASTE No. 1
- 09375 ABRASIVE PASTE No. 2
- 09376 NON-ABRASIVE GLOSS PASTE No. 3
- 09377 GLOSS PROTECTING PASTE
- 50383 ANTI-HOLOGRAM (a necessary thing for a black car)
Farecla G3 liquid paste is a universal product. The paste is easily washed off, does not dry out too quickly, and does not heat the surface of the car during processing. It can be used to polish the entire body or to remove local dirt, such as traces of insects on the hood of a car. You should use such products with caution on cars painted in dark colors.
Cleansing clay
Body cleaning clay 3M
Automotive clay is used to remove contaminants from the surface of a car during preparation. During polishing, contaminants of various origins stick to the block with which the surface is treated. If the material is used correctly, clay does not exhibit abrasive properties and does not damage surfaces. It can be used to clean painted and bare metal, glass, and plastic surfaces. This material is capable of absorbing contaminants that are firmly ingrained into the surface of the body.
Before using the product, wash the car yourself. The block in which clay is sold is cut into pieces. The material is crushed by hand, warmed up and softened, it is formed into a ball, then into a pancake, about 2 cm thick. A gliding agent is applied to the surface of the car under the hands. With minimal pressure, use your own hands to move the prepared piece over the surface of the car. If the clay sticks, you need to add a slip agent. During polishing, periodically check to see if a large piece of dirt has stuck to the surface of the product, which could scratch the varnish. So, they process the entire surface of the body with their own hands, avoiding gaps. At the end of polishing, use a napkin to remove traces of the sliding agent from the body.
Protective polishing pastes
These products do not contain abrasive particles and are applied to paintwork that does not have defects. They are washed off after 4-6 washes, protecting the surface of the car from various unfavorable factors, forming a thin film.
Let's sum it up
One of the important qualities of a modern car is its appearance. If the paint looks dull or smears too quickly, it is worth polishing. The choice of paste and other materials for polishing is an important point that will determine the quality and level of completion of the process. It is important to note that rags and attachments for polishing work are also of great importance. It is better to purchase them in a specialized store.
If you decide to polish yourself, you should not prepare your own paste to perform this process. It is much easier and cheaper to buy a ready-made solution for this complex and complex task. With the help of fairly simple materials and technologies, today you can get a high-quality appearance of the car and excellent capabilities for performing restoration work. Have you ever polished a body yourself with an abrasive paste?
Polishing devices
Polishing machine
Electrical equipment makes it easy to polish your car yourself. In appearance, this instrument resembles a grinder. Its important difference is the speed controller and the absence of a protective casing. Cutting equipment cannot be used for polishing the body yourself, despite the use of an attachment. The fact is that the grinder rotates at a frequency of 6000 rpm and will simply overheat the surface of the body when polishing.
If there is no special polishing machine, a drill will replace it (preferably with a rotation speed controller or with a rotation speed of no more than 2000 rpm). This equipment turns the polishing tool into a polishing tool using an attachment such as a pad or drum. A plate is a plastic or rubber type of attachment to which a felt, foam rubber or sandpaper circle is attached. These nozzles have a soft layer for better adhesion of the circle to the surface of the car body. Polishing attachments are attached to the drill using a shank, thread and a special adapter.
When using a drill, it is better to use plastic rubber attachments; this will make it easier and safer to handle the car yourself. If there is no rubber attachment, you can make a thick foam pad for the plastic one by cutting off the Velcro with a knife and gluing a layer of foam rubber between it and the plastic. When the foam is compressed during the polishing process, the plane may shift, but if the tool operates at low speeds, this is not critical.
You can buy combination attachments for your drill, where the shank is rigidly locked or moves freely. But such equipment costs almost the same as an orbital sander.
The circles are attached to the drill using Velcro. To polish a car, hard felt and soft foam circles are used. You need to attach the felt circle directly to the plate. When working on ledges, use a foam pad.
Polishing wheel 3M black
3M foam rubber circles have different hardness:
- White (the hardest) is used with coarse abrasive paste No. 1 09374;
- Orange (medium hardness) - for paste 09375;
- Black (softest) - for 09376.
Felt circles are also used. Advantages of felt circles:
- almost does not heat the surface of the car during polishing;
- to spoil paintwork by wiping, you need to make an effort;
- long service life.
The circles should be stored in dry conditions and cleanliness.
To polish a car with your own hands, you need skill and tools.
Choosing a polish for a car body
Before purchasing specialized compounds, you need to assess the general condition of the car’s surface and the degree of damage. If there are no visually visible defects, but the color has faded and the shine has been lost, a simple protective polish will solve the problem.
If there is a network of small scratches on the body, clearly visible on a clean car on a fine day, it is recommended to purchase two types of polish - with abrasive particles and a composition with a low content of abrasive elements. Products of the first composition are able to clean the varnish layer from the depths of scratches. The severity of the damage should be taken into account. For deep cracks, you need to buy highly abrasive pastes.
Please note that products with hard particles intensively remove the varnish layer and make the surface more vulnerable. Therefore, after using them, you cannot do without applying a protective composition.
In addition to the composition, polishes can be classified according to parameters such as cost, scope and consistency:
- paste polishes - have a dense consistency and are suitable for polishing scratches on any area of the car body. The price of such products is quite high, but the pastes are enriched with elements responsible for color saturation;
- liquid polishes - they are used mainly for treating the hood, roof and trunk of a car, since they spread over vertical surfaces. However, they can polish the car thoroughly and for a long time without fear of erasing the paintwork down to the ground;
- Aerosol passwords are easy to apply and easy to use. But the components in the cylinder for effective spraying contain a very small amount of polishing materials.
Polishing scratches on a car body is carried out using selected products and can be done either manually or using a polishing machine or drill. It depends on the severity of the imperfections on the surface of the car.
Stages of simple polishing of a car body
Simple polishing of the surface of the machine can also be called preventative. Car enthusiasts who care about their iron horse will perform it once every 3-4 months. This procedure eliminates minor damage to the car and gives it a flawless shine. The process itself is absolutely not complicated and does not take much time and effort.
The required amount of polish should be applied to a soft, lint-free cloth and distributed evenly. (If an aerosol is used, it must be applied directly to the surface of the car.) The composition on the fabric should dry to a white coating - then it can be used for effective polishing. Next, the body is treated with smooth circular movements until an intense shine appears.
To obtain optimal results, it is recommended to strictly follow the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the drying time of the composition, as well as its quantity and consumption.
