How Often to Polish?

I

Imatk

New member
I was just able to wash my car after several months (broke my arms) and it looks good, but I was wondering if I should polish it.



There's not visible swirling or anything, just wondering if it's appearance would be even better if I polished. I was going to just wax it and be done, but I figured I'd ask.



And should I clay it as well?



Like I said it looks really good already, but I was wondering how much is too much and if it's necessary.



Thanks.



If I polish it will be with a PC and either Optimum Polish or Menzerna FPII
 
Sorry to hear about you're arms. I'm not trying to be confrontational but I must ask, you've been a member here for two years and have over three hundred posts. How is it that you need advice on this? :think:
 
Well to be honest I've never gone this long without detailing my car. About the only thing that would have stopped me was breaking both of my arms.. which I did :)



If this was my normal bi-monthly detail I wouldn't even worry with polishing it. The paint looks great, and there are no swirls. BUT Honestly I don't know if the paint looks good to me now because I haven't seen it clean for three months or if it is indeed in the best shape.



The car has been outside for probably a month uncovered (until I bought a cover) because we moved. So it's not only gone without a wash for that long, but it's been exposed to elements that it was not previously exposed to really since it was mostly garage-kept.
 
Without seeing the condition firsthand, it is difficult to tell what to/not to do. Based on your explanation, it wouldn't hurt to clay bar and start things off nice and clean. If it looks good to you, then no need to polish and go straight to LSP or use a one-step like Klasse AIO or Optimum Poli-Seal.
 
If there are no scratches/swirls, you could use a finish polish (SFX-3, Menz FP/FPII/106, etc) with a blue or gray pad to add some shine...
 
Yeah that's what I was wondering if I should do... use FPII or OP with a blue pad or just leave it.
 
Personally, I would just leave it and wait a little longer when Spring comes around to do a more thorough detail. From how you're describing your car, it sounds like it just needs a good wash and wax. But that's just me because I barely have enough time as is to detail my own cars. We all have different priorities.
 
Yeah that's what I'm leaning toward. It's like when you see your car and think, "Yeah it looks good." Then you polish it and think, "Holy crap it looks a lot better"



I just don't know how much "better" it will look. But yeah I think I'll just go ahead and seal it and leave it. The paint is pretty dry so I don't think there's much left of the LSP.
 
BigJimZ28 said:
if there are no swirls why whoud you polish?



feel the paint and see if it need it be clayed!
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My thoughts exactly :xyxthumbs



I haven't polished most of our vehicles for ages...if the paint isn't marred I don't polish. I sure wouldn't use OP unless you need to and even FPII seems like overkill just to clean the paint a little.
 
yea i say clay then meguairs paint cleaner (by hand) then protect will be all you need to do



paint cleaner is avaliable at walmart for like 11 99



its actually a great product, just doesnt remove swirls, which you dont need it to
 
If there are no visible swirls or marring I would just wax it and be done. If an Autopian can't see them, I'm sure your average person won't.



I wish my car could stay swirlfree that long. :mad:
 
jshillin said:
I would just clay, then use a chemical non abrasive polish or paint cleaner, then your LSP of choice.
Click to expand...

Sounds good, he just has to be careful with the claying or he may end up having to polish after. I recommend Sonus green clay as it is very mild and won't marr the paint. Sonus Paintwork Cleanser and/or SFX3 after the clay would work great.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.



I broke both of my arms in a biking accident. Combination of things... going too fast, a gear broke and I hit a bump in the road. Went over the front and broke both arms.



Had to have surgery and put screws in so now I'm sure I'll have fun at the airport metal detector :)
 
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