polishing vs cleaning: confused on terms

[III]

I`m a bit confused on the terms polishing and cleaning. Let me explain. By the way, this is no way a slam on David or Meguiar`s in anyway. I`m only using them as an example.



In David`s guide to detailing he explains it this way:



Cleaner: A polish containing chemical cleaners to help remove minor surface contamination and dirt not handled by normal washing or claying.



Polish: A specially formulated blend of components designed to remove minor scratches, surface imperfections, water spots, acid rain spots, light oxidation, and the swirl marks created by compounding with a machine.

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In the Meguiar`s professional product guide booklet it explains it this way:



Cleaner: remove bonded contaminants and/or paint defects.



Polish: Create high gloss.

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So, if someone says they`re polishing a vehicle what does that mean? Are they just adding oils to the paint to create gloss, or are they removing defects like swirls, or are they doing both? I assume that product selection plays a role because you could have a product like DACP, or Klasse AIO which do both, or have dedicated products for each job?



Lastly, if polishing will remove swirls, old wax and whatever, what`s the point on using a dedicated cleaner first? Won`t polishing clean the surface too? I mean why not skip a step and jump to the polishing stage? Someone told me that you first want to clean the surface then fix it. Again, product selection comes to mind?

[ZaneO]

Polishes can either have chemicals that clean the paint or abrasives that remove surface imperfections and restore full gloss to the paint.



For most people who are using an abrasive polish on the paint, they will wash and clay the paint first, which cleans it. You want to make sure the paint is fully cleaned before using an abrasive so your pad/applicator doesn`t grab debris and marr the finish.

[Dennis H.]

Here`s my .02

Polishes and cleaners can be confusing. Polishes and waxes can be confusing. Look at NuFinish, their slogan is the once a year car polish.



Basically cleaners are supposed to just clean and leave no fillers or oils behind. The problem is there are a great many cleaners that do leave stuff behind because the manufacturer wants the surface to look good. IMO a good cleaner will leave a squeaky clean surface to work with. Now the abrasive versus chemical cleaners. Again confusion sets in. Contrary to belief most straight cleaners contain both abrasives and solvents to take care of both types of cleaning. Both types of cleaning you say? Basically yes, IMO, the abrasives which are lubricated by solvents work together to safely remove unwanted contaminants and oxidation. The abrasive abrades the imperfection or contaminant while the solvent lubricates the abrasive and carries away the contaminant. Also contaminants may be disolved by the solvents and soak into the abrasive as the product dries then wiped away in the haze. It is also safe to say in most cases the abrasive in the cleaner is slightly more aggressive than a polish and yes a cleaner may also be classified as a polish but don`t let the marketers here you say that.



A true polish is generally finer than a cleaner and designed to remove the imperfections the cleaner either smoothed over or left in the finish. A true polish has no fillers, oils or anything that hides imperfections. Unfortunately in today`s market you cannot readily find such an animal. Just about all of them contain some kind of filler. Fillers are not a bad thing and are comprised of oil, wax, and/or silicone to name a few of the biggies. There job is to make you think you have removed all the scratches or imperfections.



Hope this helps solve some of confusion.

[shaf]

III, I don`t think you`re really going to get any firm answers. The words "polish" and "cleaner" aren`t really clearly defined.



I think I agree with Dennis`s definition of "cleaner", although there is the exception of pre-wax cleaners that both Mothers and Meguiar`s sell. Those are really mild products.



Meguiar`s likes to call glaze or filler products "polish". This irks me a bit, since MANY people think "polish" is abrasive so they buy their "polish" hoping to get defects out, but don`t, or avoid their "polish" and don`t get as good looking results.



I just like to use the casual definition of "polish" and use that term when broadly describing anything with abrasive action in it. Whether something has fillers or not is another issue I don`t bother touching unless pertinent.

[III]

Thanks ZaneO, Dennis H and 4DSC for your input.

[imported_NHBFAN]

Originally posted by III

I`m a bit confused on the terms polishing and cleaning



I started to try to tackle this with my understanding of polishes and cleaners, but it got my head to hurting.:D Especially when you consider that some polishes do an excellent job of cleaning and some cleaners have polishing abilities.



The misnomer of detailing products is what makes it difficult to “prescribe� a formula of products for successful detailing. You have to gain products knowledge through experience to find out which products work in specific situations.

[Dennis H.]

NHBFAN, I`m with you!

[III]

Thanks also NHBFAN!

[thinksnow]

For me:



Cleaner--chemically cleans the paint as a prep step prior to polishing (if needed) or LSP.



Polish--uses abrasives to level the paint, however minimal, removing scratching and restoring gloss.



Glaze--temporary fix for finer scratching and spiderwebbing. Fills optical impurities but does not remove them.



The industry doesn`t seem to agree (#7 is a "polish" to Meguiar`s, while FI-III is a "glaze" to 3M). Go with what makes you happy:D