anyone hand polished ?
- Thread starter silles
- Start date
Never tried hand polishing a car, although I’ve read of others doing it with varying degrees of success. Hardness and general condition of the paintwork will be factors that influence the success of hand polishing.
It might work OK on light scratches or if scratches are localised in specific areas, provided you use an appropriate grade of polishing compound and foam applicator pads with a sufficient degree of ‘cut’. If you’re needing to hand polish the whole car, that sounds like a lot of time and effort, especially on hard paintwork. it takes me 2-3 days to polish my VW with hard paintwork using a dual action machine polisher.
If your paintwork is swirled, rather than scratched and you want a quick fix, you could use a filler polish that’ll mask the swirls. This would only be a temporary fix though, and the filler polish will need to be reapplied every couple of months (or more frequently if you use auto car washes or one of the many hand car wash places) to continue hiding the swirls.
It might work OK on light scratches or if scratches are localised in specific areas, provided you use an appropriate grade of polishing compound and foam applicator pads with a sufficient degree of ‘cut’. If you’re needing to hand polish the whole car, that sounds like a lot of time and effort, especially on hard paintwork. it takes me 2-3 days to polish my VW with hard paintwork using a dual action machine polisher.
If your paintwork is swirled, rather than scratched and you want a quick fix, you could use a filler polish that’ll mask the swirls. This would only be a temporary fix though, and the filler polish will need to be reapplied every couple of months (or more frequently if you use auto car washes or one of the many hand car wash places) to continue hiding the swirls.
Don't think you have to look any further than the well known Autoglym Super Resin Polish.
(But if you have some noticeably scratched areas I would give these a going over with comething like G3 compound first.)
I bought a dual action polisher from detail world about 6 years ago and do all my cars when I first get them just to remove any swirl marks, and normally start off with a medium compound pad finishing off with a polishing pad and I use merzerna cutting polish in various corsness and I've never had a problem and just take my time .
@Tara; I also invested in a dual action (DA) machine polisher a few years ago and polish my cars myself. A DA polisher is quite a forgiving, safe machine for the amateur detailing enthusiast to use, with minimal risk of burning / striking through the clear coat. I’d be a bit more hesitant to use a rotary polishing machine though, which is probably better suited to the experienced, professional detailer. With good prep of the paintwork before polishing and the right combination of pad and polish, if you take your time it’s possible to achieve very good results with a DA. My polishing machine has more than paid for itself if I consider what I’d need to pay a professional detailer to polish my car.
Agree that it’s always best to start off with a mild cutting compound and medium or even a finishing pad. If that doesn’t achieve the required results, you can always step it up to a polishing compound that’s a bit more aggressive and a pad with a bit more ‘cut’.
I’ll be polishing my car at some point in the next few weeks; even with a careful, safe washing technique it’s got some light swirling that I want to remove. Once polished, it’ll be protected with a couple of coats of wax or sealant.
Agree that it’s always best to start off with a mild cutting compound and medium or even a finishing pad. If that doesn’t achieve the required results, you can always step it up to a polishing compound that’s a bit more aggressive and a pad with a bit more ‘cut’.
I’ll be polishing my car at some point in the next few weeks; even with a careful, safe washing technique it’s got some light swirling that I want to remove. Once polished, it’ll be protected with a couple of coats of wax or sealant.
Perfect and it's really worth it when it's done as you know , totally agree with the rotary polisher as they can get hot very quick in the wrong hands.
thanks I'll try the autoglym super resin polish
stupid question no.1
right now I'm using autoglym aquawax which I apply after washing while it's still wet, at what point I apply the polish?
1 guess: after washing and drying
but than I have to re-wet the car again for the aquawax?
stupid question no.1
right now I'm using autoglym aquawax which I apply after washing while it's still wet, at what point I apply the polish?
1 guess: after washing and drying
but than I have to re-wet the car again for the aquawax?
Yes, apply polish after washing and drying, before applying protective wax layer. I think that Autoglym Aqua Wax can also be applied to a dry car as well as when the car’s wet?
May be worth considering getting a wax that’s more durable and offers longer lasting protection than Autoglym Aqua Wax. I do have some of this amongst my detailing supplies and have found it only offers protection for a few weeks. One of my favourite good value waxes is Collinite 845 insulator wax. It’s a no-frills liquid wax that’s easy to apply and buff off. I’ve had it last up to six months before needing to reapply it. A bottle of Collinite 845 lasted me 5-6 years.
https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/collinite-no-845-insulator-wax
If you prefer a sealant, another good value product is Fusso Coat 12 Months Wax (there’s a Dark and a Light version for dark or light coloured paint). In spite of the name it’s a sealant and not a wax. It’s extremely hydrophobic and offers many months protection (I’ve not managed 12 months before needing to reapply, but after six months, it was still providing some level of protection).
https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/fusso-coat-dark-200g
I see that both of these products are currently out of stock at cleanyourcar.co.uk which might could be an indication that others also rate them quite highly.
I use Meguiars Ultimate liquid wax, and their paint cleaner once a year or so to clean off contaminants.
I did the same on our GT86 and the paint looked better than new at 6 years old.
I did the same on our GT86 and the paint looked better than new at 6 years old.
Hand polishing is quite difficult and as above, results will vary. Super resin polish as stated is great for "hiding" scratches and if you seal in with a good wax will look good for 2-3 months. If the scratches disappear when wet they haven't broken the clear coat. If they are particularly unsightly, you could try Megs ScratchX 2 which I use for some of the worse scratches. Takes some working in, but it's pretty good.
Can super resin polish sorting the round wash scratches?seat messed the car everywhere.
I dont want to go back arguing...
I dont want to go back arguing...
I've never found hand polishing difficult. But I did leave some lovely crescent shaped scratches on my Dad's car using a power buffer.
Luckily I was 12 and he didn't kill me.
Luckily I was 12 and he didn't kill me.
It’s usually pretty good at hiding the circular swirl marks (that look like spiders webs in bright sunlight) from a poor washing technique that car dealers use if they carry out the complimentary service wash. If the scratches are deeper, it may be less successful at masking them. It certainly won’t do any harm to try, and with a 325ml bottle of Autoglym Super Resin Polish costing less than £10, it won’t have cost you a fortune if it’s not 100% successful.
I never ever let the dealer wash my car when it goes in for servicing or repair work; I have a ‘do not wash’ hanger that I attach to the rear view mirror, I tie a tag with a similar instruction on the key fob and ask the service advisor to write a ‘do not wash’ instruction on their job sheet. It’s worked so far. I also avoid the £5 hand car wash places.
I only entrust washing my car to me, with a three bucket safe wash technique. I don’t want some sponge monkey at the dealers with a bucket of dirty water and grit laden sponge scouring the dirt off my car that then takes me days to correct by machine polishing!
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