Preserve That Shine – A Crash Course on Car Polishing

07/17/08

Every car owners enjoys the look of his brand new car. However, such a joy is short-lived as within no time the paintwork becomes scratched, stained with oil marks and dust. Paint, over time also ages and starts appearing dull. Car polish helps give your car a bright shiny finish. To do that, the car polish has to have some essential ingredients which work hard to remove dust; grime and oil as also remove the minor scratches that develop.

It is critical that one understands the difference between a car polish and a car wax. Normal car wax gives a water protective layer and a shiny finish. Since car waxes normally do not have abrasive ingredients they cannot remove scratch marks. A car polish on the other hand removes scratches on account of abrasive ingredients forming part of their composition. Car polish has hydrocarbon solvents that help remove dust, grime and oil marks, and scratch marks are taken care of by the abrasive elements in the polish. Abrasive ingredients works by removing a thin layer of paint, only a few microns thick. Since only a very thin layer is removed, the paint now starts looking brand new.

While the paint surface now looks new, it is still lacks the shine owing to the abrasion. Including wax ingredient in the car polish gives the burnished effect. There are different varieties of car polishes available in the market. Water solvent polishing agents based car polish is one of the types. Automatic car wash systems use aqueous dispersion car polish. The most common type of car polish being used by car owners are Silicone based car polish. Silicone has some very useful properties for getting a good shine. Silicone carries out three functions in a car polish, namely of acting as a water repellant, lubricant and giving the car a good shine.

Car polish comes in various forms - in tins as a liquid, or even as a spray. Some companies have even patented car polish borrowing aerospace technology from NASA. Their sprays are based on "Electrophoresis Dynamics" wherein the ingredients on following a strict application procedure meld very close to the paint surface after the abrading and cleaning process is over. The paint ingredients and the metal of the car are bonded tightly on account of magnetic attraction for a long time. Any car polish application process is hard work, whether by using your own hands or by using car polishing automated tools. Polishing a car is a three-step process of polishing with hard, medium and soft pressure. Car polish is not just ‘nice to have' but a necessity for the upkeep of a car.