When should a compound be used instead of a polish?

[Sonic Pilot]

So, when should a rubbing compound be used instead of a polish? What exactly is the difference between the two? Would my understanding be correct if I assume a rubbing compound is strictly for fixing a light to moderate oxidation? Where as a polish is limited to removing/minimizing scratches and providing gloss and shine.

[Eldorado2k]

They can both basically do the same thing, I say that because nowadays most compounds are so good that they can usually knock out moderate/heavy swirls and still finish up as good or near most finishing polishes.

But generally you’d use a compound when you’re dealing with moderate/heavy swirls/defects such as these and your goal is to completely correct the paint or try to remove as much of the defects as possible.





Only a compound will be able to do that.



But if you’re only dealing with very light swirls/marring such as this...



Then a finishing polish is what you’re going to want to reach for. Even paired with a finishing pad will usually bring you back to perfection.

[cullen2505]

Big difference in the clarity of the last two pics. Like you said, bringing it back to perfection. What finishing polish and pad did you use?

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[2black1s]

I would just think of a compound as an aggressive polish regardless of the type of defect you're trying to remove.

If the polish you are using isn't getting you the result you desire, or if it's taking too long to get the result you desire, then step up to a compound to remove the defect(s), followed by a polish for final finishing.

[Eldorado2k]

Big difference in the clarity of the last two pics. Like you said, bringing it back to perfection. What finishing polish and pad did you use?

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That was HD Speed and I’m pretty sure I was using an Orange LC HD Orbital foam polishing pad.

[cullen2505]

Thanks for the reply. Looks great!

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[Eldorado2k]

Thanks for the reply. Looks great!

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Thank you sir.

[Paul A.]

Basically it's a depth of paint cut application for me. A compound is going to remove more paint than a polish. You want to get to the bottom of the scratches and defects to remove them. Compounds can get down there more effectively than polishes, generally speaking.

Because of the abrasives in compounds, many times they leave some minor marring themselves after being worked down. That's when a finer abrasive polish comes in and cleans everything up.

You want perfectly flat paint.

Sometimes the paint marring is relatively light and a milder polish will flatten the paint enough without cutting down too much with a compound.

Then there's different paint hardness/softness that forces the use of a compound or a polish. I've had Ford trucks that required aggressive products to level down mild to moderate defects along with a black Honda recently that was severely hacked up and a light polish took care of it.

Try different things and go from less aggressive to more aggressive to see what it takes. You'll get used to what works best in each situation and get a feel for workability.

[Bruno Soares]

Whenever you tried a polish on your test spot and it didn't correct enough. Then you can try a more aggressive pad or a compound, or both, depends on how messed up the paint is.