Car Polish Vs Wax – How to Distinguish Them
Both the car polish and wax act like a shield which protects your vehicle's body paint from peeling off. And to some extent a beauty accessory which draws the attention of other car owners as you drive by the block because your vehicle looks sparkling clean and shiny. Also after you have thoroughly cleaned up your vehicle and it is shiny and new, you might want to keep it that way for long.
These are mainly the reasons why you need to either polish or wax your car body after cleaning it. If in any case, your car paint will look dull due to massive oxidation, you can also use both of them at the same time. Some companies have made it easier for us and have manufactured products that contain both the polish and wax in a single bottle.
Difference Between Car Polish and Wax
The main difference is that a car polish is used before you begin waxing your car. A car polish comes in liquid form, and it is used to prepare the surface, remove stains so that when you use wax, it is going to look smooth and shiny.
A car polish acts as a sealant, and it has the capabilities of removing all the impure substances that are on the motor vehicle surface and could not be removed by detergents and water alone.
Waxing a car that has some dullness and tiredness on the coating won't make any difference as such because that is not what a car wax is meant for. So in case you are looking to restore the shine, then car polish does the work.
All those harmful substances that may destroy the body of your cars like UV rays, acid rain, and pollution, in general, will not have a chance if you wax your car when you spot them. Applying the car polish on a regular basis is not a good idea because it weakens the coating of paint on the surface of your vehicle with time. But using it helps prevent rusting and tarnishing of the coat.
A car polish when applied on the surface of the car last longer than waxing but waxing is like the main armor. A car polish is like car's makeup. It only hides the imperfections and makes the paint look new. It restores the dull and tired paint back to its shiny state.
The car polish contains the abrasives as the main component, and when they are mixed with a little oil, it brings the shiny look on the surface of the car, but a wax is usually natural and may be in the form of vegetable wax, bee wax or animal and carnauba. The carnauba in wax is what makes it highly insoluble in water, and it is what brings out the protective quality when used on the surface of a car.
When to Use a Car Polish or Wax
Via: yourmechanic.com
There are factors that need to be considered before using either of the products to maintain the body surface of your car. First, you need to gauge the needs of your vehicle in terms of how rusty, ragged and stained it is. Secondly, the type of paint that was applied on your vehicle is paramount to consider.
Waxing your car makes the paintwork to shine. If your car is exposed to too much sun, the paint will start to fade away slowly. But using the car wax restores the shine on, but now it will not fix the imperfections like scratches. It only hides it. Applying high-quality car wax that has natural ingredients is the key. But waxing it too much and using a lot of wax, will damage the paint coating of your car surface.
Polishing your car not only gives its surface that wet look but it also hides all the imperfections like weak points of the coating and brings back the shine that was lost due to oxidation. You need to apply a lot of it per cleaning so that you can remove the entire rough substances on the surface of your car and the best way is to polish the surface in a circular motion or apply it using an electric polisher.
The best way to know which product to use is to use your hand after washing your car to check whether there are any rough surfaces. If they exist then you will have to use a car polish on your vehicle. But if the surface is smooth then you will go for the car wax. There are cases where your paint has been dulled and exhausted due to oxidation that is the opportune moment to carry out the polishing process. You are going to first use the car polish to restore back the shine then after that; you should wax the entire surface so that it may protect your car from any harmful factors like UV rays and corrosion. Wax on the surface are required in thin coats and should be applied after a period of three months.
Bottom Line
You may decide to use either one of these products depending on the condition of the surface of your car. You can as well use both of them at the same time because they complement one another and trying to mention them as car wax versus car polish, sounds a cliché. But it is always very important to apply quality products that have been tested before by professionals so as to avoid damaging your car's surface. These products always come with instructions in them on how to apply. Use a small amount on a part first to identify whether it will work as you expected. Make sure that you follow them to the letter when applying these products and I can guarantee you that your car will look good as new again. Knowing the paint your car has should be able to guide you on which type of polish and wax to buy.
