autogeekonline car wax, car care and auto detailing forum Autogeek on TV
car wax, car care and auto detailing forumAutogeekonline autogeekonline car wax, car care and auto detailing forum HomeForumBlogAutogeek.net StoreDetailing Classes with Mike PhillipsGalleryDetailing How To's
 
Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    Newbie Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Posts
    21
    Post Thanks / Like

    What is your general rule for when you polish (not compound) your car?~~~

    Hi Everyone,

    Do you all have a general rule of when you do a 1-step polish on your car (i.e. every year, every 10-15K miles,etc.)?

    I purchased my first car ever in Sept. 2019 (Toyota Rav4 Hybrid). I absolutely love the car, and it's a huge upgrade over my 2000 Honda Civic that I drove for 19 years. When I purchased the Rav4 I instantly got into detailing (I've always been a bit OCD, lol). The car is garage kept and I do baby it a bit, but it's my only car so I do consider it my daily driver. I've been maintaining the car exceptionally well, and have extensively educated myself on proper car detailing techniques.

    I've had the car for ~14 months and it only has 6,800 miles on it (Like most, I've been working from home during COVID). I recently did my winter prep which involved a pull strip wash, chemical decon, clay bar, and 2 coats of Adam's Paint Sealant, trim dressing, glass sealant, and full interior detail.

    The paint appears to be in excellent condition and I have no plans to do a 1 step polish on the car in the near future. However, I know at some point I will want to do a light 1 step polish on the paint to keep the car looking great. I purchased Griot's Complete Polish awhile back and I've used it sparingly.

    Now, to my questions....

    1. I've heard that it's safe on most modern cars to do a 1 step correction using a polish once a year without any worry of burning through the clear coat for the life of the car. Do you guys agree with this? If I plan to keep the car for approx. 10-15 years, is it safe for me to polish the paint every year with a product like Griot's Complete Polish?

    2. Do you have a general rule of when you compound and/or polish your car? (i.e. Every 25,000 miles, etc.)

    Any feedback will be appreaciated, thank you in advance!

  2. Likes Craig Encinitas liked this post
  3. #2
    Super Member Bill D's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    The First Coast of FL
    Posts
    2,291
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: What is your general rule for when you polish (not compound) your car?~~~

    Polish your car only when it needs it. You can delay having to polish your car indefinitely by learning proper, safe wash techniques. The less the paint is touched and the safer it is when done so will make a gigantic difference in how often the car is polished.
    Treat it like it's the only one in the world.

  4. Thanks Thomkirby thanked for this post
    Likes Craig Encinitas, mc2hill liked this post
  5. #3
    Super Member Craig Encinitas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Posts
    312
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: What is your general rule for when you polish (not compound) your car?~~~

    Reality versus what we think a car needs.

    Up until this year, I never properly polished any of my cars. But I kept them clean and had some form of protection laid down. It wasn’t until I was fed up with seeing swirls in the paint that I learned how to machine polish.

    So, the old rule of thumb was, never polish a car. And now that my cars have ceramic coatings on them, it should be many months or a few years until they’ll need polishing again. I may use CarPro Essence+ to rejuvenate some areas, however.

  6. #4
    Super Member Desertnate's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    St Louis metro (Illinois)
    Posts
    5,779
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: What is your general rule for when you polish (not compound) your car?~~~

    My polishing interval depends on the LSP in use.

    When using a traditional sealant I was on a six month cycle of LSP application but only polish every 12 months. I'd give a car a light one-step polish every Spring before applying the LSP. In the Fall I occasionally hit the surface with a mild paint cleaner/glaze like Prima Amigo to spruce things up before applying an LSP and getting the car ready for Winter.

    Now I use coatings almost exclusively, so I only polish every two years when I'm applying a new coating to the vehicle.
    Drop by to see the latest at The Car Geek Blog

  7. #5
    Super Member Mike Hoekstra's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2020
    Location
    Grand Forks, ND
    Posts
    470
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: What is your general rule for when you polish (not compound) your car?~~~

    I always clay and decontaminate the body before any polishing, or compounding.
    Owner/Operator Auto Massage LLC - www.automassagellc.com
    Custom painter and commissioned artist - www.spikedairstudio.com

  8. #6
    Mike Phillips
    Guest

    Re: What is your general rule for when you polish (not compound) your car?~~~

    Quote Originally Posted by Urmil View Post

    Now, to my questions....

    1. I've heard that it's safe on most modern cars to do a 1 step correction using a polish once a year without any worry of burning through the clear coat for the life of the car. Do you guys agree with this?

    For the most part "yes" but I wouldn't look at it this way. It's a great hypothetical question or scenario - and it's an often asked question, but it's kind of the wrong wy to look at it.

    I wrote an article to address this question and put the issue in the correct context, no pun intended)

    How many times can I correct my car's paint? (before going through the clearcoat)


    Here's the pertinent portion of the answer from the above article.


    Here's the answer to your question and the BIG PICTURE point of view - you're THINKING is wrong.


    Don't think like this,

    Instead of wondering or asking how many times you can compound or correct the paint on your car before you buff through the clearcoat?


    Think like this!

    After you polish and wax a car, STOP DOING THINGS TO THE PAINT THAT WOULD CAUSE YOU TO HAVE TO COMPOUND THE CAR AGAIN.



    For example, after you correct, polish and wax or seal or coat the paint, do do things that put scratches back into the paint - then you won't have to correct the paint again and that makes your question a moot point. Of course with normal driving and thus normal wear-n-tear you will get light or SHALLOW swirls and scratches, even I get this with my cars and I'm super careful, but I don't need to COMPOUND the paint to remove these I can stick with a very non-aggressive fine or ultra fine cut polish.

    Make sense?



  9. Thanks Craig Encinitas thanked for this post
    Likes PaulMys liked this post
  10. #7
    Mike Phillips
    Guest

    Re: What is your general rule for when you polish (not compound) your car?~~~

    Quote Originally Posted by Urmil View Post

    2. Do you have a general rule of when you compound and/or polish your car? (i.e. Every 25,000 miles, etc.)

    On an as needed basis, which is determined by first washing the car and then inspecting the paint visually for swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation and then tactically - feel the paint with your clean bare hand and then gently/softly with a sandwich baggie.



  11. #8
    Super Member Bruno Soares's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Southeastern PA
    Posts
    2,480
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: What is your general rule for when you polish (not compound) your car?~~~

    Polish when needed. Usually around 18 month mark or so. That's about how long the coatings survive with great performance anyways. Then polish and coat again.

    I've never had to compound the whole car, just a few spots here and there and wasn't even super aggressive. Easier when you've had the car since new and you didn't let the dealer destroy it while doing their prep to deliver.
    Bruno Soares


  12. Thanks Craig Encinitas thanked for this post
    Likes PaulMys, Craig Encinitas liked this post
  13. #9
    Super Member PaulMys's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Eastern L.I. NY
    Posts
    10,769
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: What is your general rule for when you polish (not compound) your car?~~~

    Like Mike mentioned above, once you get your paint corrected the right way that's when you start implementing the best/safest wash & dry techniques so you will never have any more "heavy" or even "moderate" correcting to do.

    Every spring, I will break out my machine to erase the light swirls from the past year. (You can never ever keep your paint "swirl-free" unless you never touch it.)

    Only having to deal with the lightest of swirls allows me to use way fewer passes, and way less pressure. I'm just trying to make the paint "pop" again, while removing some of the more visible (in the sun) swirls.

    Also, I do not chase perfection. That is, I do not go over every inch of the paint with a swirl finder light afterwards. If it looks good from a few feet away, then I am done.
    It is no coincidence that man's best friend cannot talk.

  14. Thanks Craig Encinitas thanked for this post
    Likes Craig Encinitas liked this post
  15. #10
    Super Member Rsurfer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    14,085
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: What is your general rule for when you polish (not compound) your car?~~~

    Not a general rule, but the #1 rule is to do a test spot with the least aggressive pad and polish/compound.

  16. Thanks Craig Encinitas thanked for this post
    Likes Craig Encinitas liked this post

Similar Threads

  1. Favorite must have general paint polish?
    By BTLew81 in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 52
    Last Post: 03-15-2018, 10:02 PM
  2. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 10-16-2016, 01:36 PM
  3. Favorite General Polish?
    By BTLew81 in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 02-09-2013, 08:43 AM
  4. Optimum hyper compound/polish versus compound/polish ii
    By sushi in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-25-2012, 12:26 PM
  5. Optimum Polish/General Polish Questions
    By Emile in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 11-30-2008, 05:04 PM

Members who have read this thread: 0

There are no members to list at the moment.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

» March 2024

S M T W T F S
2526272829 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 123456