Polish or Wax ?

[nick heppinstall]

For my entire motoring life I've Polished my cars using Autoglym or such. I purchased a new car last July and decided to use a decent Wax for a change.

So far it's had one application of Megauirs wax preceded by Megauirs Quick Detail. It's now getting ready for another Waxing but I'm not sure if I should just go back to the Polish ......

Yesterday I noticed a few very light scratches and polished them out using Autoglym.

Whats the procedure for getting rid of these light scratches ? Is it to polish them out and then just wax over ?

I also have a couple of Megauirs Clay Kits. When should I use those ?

Sorry for all the quiestions but I just want to get this car right. On previous cars, especially dark metallics I've noticed very light swirls under harsh sunlight.

I wash using the two bucket method with a lambs wool mit and dry with a good quality soft shammy. I've also tried drying with a Microfibre towel but the finish was not as good as the leather.

[y282]

just started using collinite 476s on my estoril blue bmw. my paint is a little tired (for my OCD levels) and the result was a deeper shine, move vivid fleck and brilliant rain protection.

[pro paul]

it sounds like your aware of what your doing and thats half the battle won

clay is employed to remove bonded contamination basically the stuff that normal washing doesn't remove

give your car a good wash and then clay panel by panel

then repeat your wash and dry then polish then wax

you should notice a marked improvement in the depth of shine and future washing and drying made much easier

paul

[alolympic]

Sounds like you need to get over to Detailing World ;-)

A polish is a mild abrasive, aimed at improving the condition of the top coat. A polish like Autoglym SRP will reduce some paint swirls.
A wax is a protection for the paint and should be applied after the polish. Colinite on top of SRP gives a very good result.

[PJ S]

AG SRP does mask as well as remove light swirling, depends on how you use it.
Assuming you're removing the swirling, then your Megs wax should keep the fillers in until it itself has been worn off.
Various factors dictate how soon that process takes.

Regarding claying - feel the paintwork with a piece of clingfilm under your fingertips, and any areas where you feel roughness, take the clay to it.
Whilst clay can remove tar, you're probably better to use AG Tar & Glue Remover.
The Megs clay is very mild, so don't be surprised if you need to spend more time in some areas to remove the contaminants, if possible - you might need a more aggressive one, in which case with the cold weather, Bilt Hamber soft would be the one to opt for.