Hi everyone, is it Wax before Polish or Polish before Wax?

My process to clean my car is:

Interior Clean -> Exterior Wash -> Wax -> Polish


but I'm not sure if the last 2 steps are correct. Anyone know?

If what you mean by "polish" is using a fine abrasive to remove scratches and swirl marks then you should use a coat of wax afterwards.

If you're really worried about using a polish... on a new finish that is in good shape... go with a light cleaner / wax (which is a polish) and then do a coat of a pure wax like carnuba.

Wax is always the last step, as that is supposed to seal everything.

Polish always comes before wax.

Wax is a final protectant. It is meant to protect the paint from the suns rays, fill small scratches and imperfections, and leave a deep wet shine.

Polish is a preparational step meant to knock the hard edges off scratches which reduces the visibility of remove those scratches. Polishes have no protectant ingredients (unless you buy a 1 step polish/wax). So after using a polish, you HAVE to use a wax or your paint is subject to premature oxidation and damage.

When you wax before you polish, you actually polish away 100% of the wax you just put on the car.

SC~ who's a pro detailer

.. go with a light cleaner / wax (which is a polish) ..


This is a common misconception.

A cleaner is not a polish. It is just as described...a cleaner. They typically have no abrasives in them and are only capable of removing contaminants (old wax or very light oxidation) from the surface of the paint by virtue of the chemical cleaners in the product.

A polish utilizes abrasives to clean and improve the smoothness of the paints surface by rubbing away oxidation, scratches and other imperfections from the surface of the paint.

I use cleaners when paint is otherwise undamaged but there is evidence of old wax or other cleaning chemicals present on the surface of the paint.

Good point Chimp, I mispoke. :)

My underlying thoughts were exactly yours... if the paints not bad and you just want to clean it up, avoid using a polish which has those abrasives, until you need them.

Interesting. Well my car is pretty much brand new and has no scratches at all so I think I'll omit the polish for now. Maybe later on in the future...

Thanks for the info everyone.

wmk7479... exactly. :cool:

wanni,

Keep your E waxed, away from automatic car washes, and avoid heavy handed washing with that car wash sponge and you won't need the polish for a number of years. I've owned cars for 3 and 4 years and never had to use a polish. When the car is new, you have one chance to keep the paint 100% scratch-free.

Just use a cleaner before every other wax job or before you change wax brands. Carnauba based waxes (just about every wax you can buy) and polymer based waxes (Meguiars NXT/ Zaino products) don't mix very well. So you've gotta remove the old before putting on the new.

SC~

wmk7479... exactly. :cool:

wanni,

Keep your E waxed, away from automatic car washes, and avoid heavy handed washing with that car wash sponge and you won't need the polish for a number of years. I've owned cars for 3 and 4 years and never had to use a polish. When the car is new, you have one chance to keep the paint 100% scratch-free.

Just use a cleaner before every other wax job or before you change wax brands. Carnauba based waxes (just about every wax you can buy) and polymer based waxes (Meguiars NXT/ Zaino products) don't mix very well. So you've gotta remove the old before putting on the new.

SC~


When you say "cleaner" what do you mean exactly? The soap? I use some car wash liquid soap to wash my car. I was using 3M wax (very good BTW), then Rain X wax and now Mother's Wax. I can't remember the name of the Mother Wax but will try to find out tomorrow.

Ok so anyways, what do you mean by cleaner?

Wanni,

If you go to an autoparts store, mixed in with the waxes... you'll find some that are called "Cleaner / Wax" which have some stuff in them to clean the paint and strip off any old wax. They aren't straight up waxes or polymers, so after you use them, you really should wax the car with some sort of "pure" wax.

Meguiar's makes one I think and on the front it specifically says "Cleaner / Wax."

I've always found that it was a great product for getting the bugs off of the nose of a car after a trip... of course you can't do that with an Element... but I digress. :)

Here's the order,

Wash with soap, water and sponge
Dry with microfiber towels
Apply cleaner product with a cotton applicator
Buff out with microfiber towel
Apply wax
Buff out with a different microfiber towel than used in previous step


Before I had pro products at my disposal, I used Mothers and Meguiars Cleaner Wax. It's prepares the surface of the paint and leaves behind some wax protection. I'd highly recommend them for DIY'ers.