Wax vs Polish - what's the difference?

[MikeyT]

That's what the question is over on another forum I frequent ... so what's the definitive answer?

Over to the experts ...

[Anatol]

When properly used, "polish" refers to a product which is a fine abrasive. "Wax" usually refers to a product which adds a protective coating, and refines scratches by filling in, rather than abrading the surface.

They're used (IMHO incorrectly) interchangeably, even by some manufacturers. And then things are complicated further by products described as a "wax polish"...!

"Compound" or "Cutting compound" usually refers to a coarser abrasive, and "glaze" usually means the same as "wax" - "sealant" usually means a product that does the same job as a wax but is synthetic.

But hey, I'm not a detailer - one of the pro guys that actually live or die by these products may be able to give you a more authoritative answer...

Tol

[Daston]

So am I right in thinking if you polish a car it takes off any protection as well as scratches so you should put wax on after you have polished? Or am I doing it wrong...

[Tim Bomford]

Pretty spot on from Anatol.
Polishes are normally some sort of abrasive, and a wax is a last stage product to seal the paint, so in answer to above YES.

[belleair302]

^^^As above however...polishing a car to get the best results means matching the aggressiveness of the product with the surrface damage and using a rotary or ROP (Random Orbital Polisher) to remove / reduce the swirl marks or clearcaot damage. Polishing a car removes paint and clearcoat due to its abrasive ingredients. The best results are achieved by machining.

A decent wax is applied by hand, left to set and then additional layers are applied. Many good waxes contain natural ingredients, ie Carnauba, most polishes are entirely man made.

Most detailers and enthuasists will only polish the same car once or twice a year. Waxing is a bi weekly, monthly or bi monthly task and is a labour of love. Waxes also vary depending upon what you want as a final result, durability or wetness of shine and depth.

The two products are completely different in purpose, results and ingredients.

[Daston]

Quick question, when putting muli layers of wax on do you just add another on top and then buff the lot or do you Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off?

[CoolC]

Daston said:

Quick question, when putting muli layers of wax on do you just add another on top and then buff the lot or do you Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off?

It depends on the idividual product, but basicaly, any wax needs to cure before applying another layer as the solvents in the second layer will remove the still uncured wax in the first layer. This usually means at least a few hours but nore like a couple of days.

There is a "trick of the trade" called spit shining which allows you to add a second layer straight over the first but it's a bit of a knack.

Apply the first layer, then before buffing spray a fine mist of water (preferably de-ionised) over the panel, then apply the second coat, allow it to haze over then remove as normal.

Then when your OCD really kicks in there is "highlighting" that's applying just a thin extra line of wax along the lines of the car, along creases etc.

[AbarthChris]

belleair302 said:

Polishing a car removes paint and clearcoat due to its abrasive ingredients. The best results are achieved by machining.

Polishing should NOT remove paint, only a microfine layer of clearcoat. Scratches are caused by light reflecting off where a tiny amount of clearcoat has been removed. If you look at a cross section of the paint, this would look like a little V in the surface.

Polishing removes clearcoat to bring the surface back level, therefore removing the scratch.

Wax or Sealant provides a barrier to the elements, i.e. tar, dirt, industrial fallout etc

[PJ S]

AbarthChris said:

belleair302 said:

Polishing a car removes paint and clearcoat due to its abrasive ingredients. The best results are achieved by machining.

Polishing should NOT remove paint, only a microfine layer of clearcoat. Scratches are caused by light reflecting off where a tiny amount of clearcoat has been removed. If you look at a cross section of the paint, this would look like a little V in the surface.

Polishing removes clearcoat to bring the surface back level, therefore removing the scratch.

Wax or Sealant provides a barrier to the elements, i.e. tar, dirt, industrial fallout etc

I believe belleair was referring to singlestage paints on older cars (typically) and with some specific colours still on today's cars - not the actual paint layer beneath a clearcoated surface.

[robmug]

I have an addition to the definition, as the "polish is abrasive" quote isn't always correct

Wax tends to contain, well, wax. As said, it's not abrasive and just provides a low-tech protective coat. Tends to be broken down and stripped off with heat, water and sunlight though...

Polish can be non-abrasive, particularly if, like Zaino, it is not wax. Zaino and other polymers are protective coatings, but significantly more high-tech than wax.

Paint, FWIW, doesn't need to be "fed", it needs a good UV protective layer, and a layer that will stay on top of the paint for as long as possible. Polymers tend to do that better than wax. HTH!

[The Dodger]

I am no expert in 'detailing' (whatever that really means) but 'Polish' in it's strictest term is a verb. To Polish. This basically means 'make smooth/flat/shiny etc'. What you use are polishing compounds and to make the surface 'flatter' usually means there has to be a certain amount of abrasive in there, however fine. Wax however is the product used to protect that flat surface and itself has to be 'mirror-flat' to reflect the surface underneath. The wax can usually be 'polished' to a deep-deep shine but can only be as good as the surface it is covering.

I rushed this a bit, but I hope you get the idea.

And I don't mean to criticise any 'detailers' or professional polishers on here. This is all IMHO of course.

[PJ S]

Good rule of thumb - if it say Polish in it's name, and it's not a US imported brand, then it is likely to have abrasives in it, which depending on what type of foam pad you use, may do the grand sum of bugger all squared on any defects your paintwork may have.
If in doubt, just simply ask on here, and one of us will be able to enlighten you as to what you have or are thinking of getting, and how best to use it.

[952man]

anatol got it right first time, and its hard for manufacturers to know what to put on bottles so they can confuse too - do they put what most people expect them to say i.e. polish, as thats what most people still look for, or wax when folks aren't sure that's what they need ?
Then robmug (hi Rob!) comes along and muddies the waters for all (Duragloss is in the same position)!

[Balmoral Green]

Can I ask a dumb question?

For my daily driver, I use the Megs three stage...

1. Cleaner
2. Polish
3. Wax

But on the Bentley, I use Zymol concours...

1. HD cleanse
2. Wax

But there isn't a polishing stage?

So would I use polish before, or after the HD? as they say you need to HD for the wax to key to the paint, so will it not do that if I polish it before waxing?

I like the Megs, I don't like the HD, so ideally I would like to use Megs stage 1 Cleaner, then Megs stage 2 Polish, then Zymol.

Would that be OK?

[PJ S]

Balmoral Green said:

Can I ask a dumb question?

For my daily driver, I use the Megs three stage...

1. Cleaner
2. Polish
3. Wax

But on the Bentley, I use Zymol concours...

1. HD cleanse
2. Wax

But there isn't a polishing stage?

So would I use polish before, or after the HD? as they say you need to HD for the wax to key to the paint, so will it not do that if I polish it before waxing?

I like the Megs, I don't like the HD, so ideally I would like to use Megs stage 1 Cleaner, then Megs stage 2 Polish, then Zymol.

Would that be OK?

As above BG, beware of the polishing term.
In respect of HD Cleanse, it's a pre-wax stage, intended to give the paintwork a bit of extra depth and wetness (mainly darker cars more noticeable) and also to make sure it's squeaky clean, since after "polishing" you may have some debris in the microvoids/pores of the paintwork that hasn't been cleared away.
So, thing of the HD Cleanse as akin to Clearasil, that you'd use to clean your skin pores of any unwanted "stuff".
This then gives the wax the cleanest surface upon which to sit and do its job.

Meg's polish (Deep Crystal?) is probably (never used it) their equivalent or closely modelled on Autoglym's SRP, only without its sealant aspect - not that SRP's is worthy of the term. It is designed to abrade the surface to remove light scratches, and chances are it'll barely tickle the Bentley's paintwork.
If you want to negate any unsightly swirls, etc, then I can only suggest you use SRP in place of the HD CLeanse, or go the wholehog and use the Bilt Hamber Autobalm I always mention, in place of both Zymöl products.
You could still use the wax over the balm, reducing its longevity, but I personally believe once you put the balm on (2 layers, with the 2nd applied with a deft touch) you'll notice a marked difference in the appearance in terms of depth of gloss and wetness, you'll not even bother with the Zymöl.
Definitely THE product to use over the winter period for protection of old and new paintwork, especially if you've the odd stonechip down to the bare metal.

[Balmoral Green]

Thanks PJ S