Enthusiasts... How often do you polish?

H

Happyman

New member
Been wandering on these forums a while now since I bought my new car. It seems some of the guys perform the polishing step fairly often. I understand that a fraction of the clearcoat is removed when polishing. I am paraniod to take off any CC on my new Nissan after hearing the CC is softer than others.

How often is it ok to remove swirls / polish?

Any comments?
 
I polish about twice a year one after winter and one before it to protect it and keep it looking good in the summer.
 
I polish 3 to 4 times a year, because the Murano paint seems to get swirls on it before I even touch it. But with even doing it that much I have not had any probelms with the clear.
 
Everytime I do a full detail... As much as we try to minimize swirls, winter always comes back with a vengance! I even have a soft snow brush! lol
 
You aren't really removing clear coat. In fact, if there aren't any swirls on the car when you polish then you aren't going to remove any clear coat at all. The only clear that is removed when you polish is going to be on the edges of the swirls and scratches themselves. I polished my Integra probably ten times a year since I was testing so many products at that time and the clear measured fine on it. I can understand being paranoid with a new car and not wanting to polish the paint off, but seriously, unless you are using a rotary then there is little to no risk of taking any clear coat off the car unless you get careless on an edge where the paint is thin anyway. I would suggest investing in a paint thickness gauge if you are really concerned about how much you are polishing away. You'd be surprised how much polishing your paint can handle without showing any adverse affects.
 
jngrbrdman, where'd you purchase your paint guage, and how much. i'd really like to get one. i know they can be expensive. thanx in advance for your reply.
 
I polish twice a year. It's my only car and the paint holds up well enough over a 6 month period with good care.
 
there is no real answer to your question because it depends on too many variables...how well the maintenence of the vehicle is, the weather that the vehicle endures during a year, if it is garaged or kept outdoors, how good was the polishing the previous time ...I would think , as Pockets seems to be listening:notme:, that at a minimum most vehicles should be polished twice a year unless it's a garage queen or show car and sees very little if any bad weather.:)
 
I wish I could do mine weekly, I really love the look of a freshly polished car topped with a wax.

What is needed is a new prouct that actually allows you to add to the layer of clear, not a protectant but an actual wipe on clear coat.
 
I do two complete details a year on my cars...that's SWR & polish..with the rotary...then for the weekly / monthly stuff to keep up the finish...I use P-w-C or P-w-S using the PC....I don't find these to be aggressive on the finish..more of a paint cleaner with some abilities to remove minor swirls and that's about what I have on my cars.

That said I don't think that you would go threw the clear polishing once a month..its not removing that much clear..
 
Beemerboy said:
I do two complete details a year on my cars...that's SWR & polish..with the rotary...then for the weekly / monthly stuff to keep up the finish...I use P-w-C or P-w-S using the PC....I don't find these to be aggressive on the finish..more of a paint cleaner with some abilities to remove minor swirls and that's about what I have on my cars.

That said I don't think that you would go threw the clear polishing once a month..its not removing that much clear..
Click to expand...

So do you use that with a finishing pad? I guess I will be polishing the car tonight then...God more greif from the wife...
 
Stephan said:
So do you use that with a finishing pad? I guess I will be polishing the car tonight then...God more greif from the wife...
Click to expand...

no I use a polishing pad, I do this about once a month or less...depends on how I think the finish is looking...the black car gets the PC once a month where the MO can go a bit farther based on it doesn't show the swirls....when I do this I want some cutting power but that's just for minor correction...there are times that I also apply these two by hand...Steve said that it will mask / hide any swirls better that way...I've been known to cheat that way
 
Beemerboy said:
no I use a polishing pad, I do this about once a month or less...depends on how I think the finish is looking...the black car gets the PC once a month where the MO can go a bit farther based on it doesn't show the swirls....when I do this I want some cutting power but that's just for minor correction...there are times that I also apply these two by hand...Steve said that it will mask / hide any swirls better that way...I've been known to cheat that way
Click to expand...


Thanks I will try that...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top