Is polishing a new car necessary?

[moss]

I just bought a PC and I polished my hood using VERY light pressure with optimum polish and a white polishing pad. I'm not sure if I should be doing this because it might seem to be a waste of polish.

The main reason I'm polishing is because I want to "clean" the paint before I apply a sealant and wax.

What do you guys suggest?

Thanks.

 

[lewisautodetail]

If your wanting to remove any contaminants from the surface then detailers clay and a good lube will do that for you. Unless you have some wash scratches (seen when you look at the surface in the sun, you'll see many, many, or maybe even a few scratches that are nealry microscopic) you will not need to polish it. If the wash scratches are present than you can use your polisher with a good polish and you should be able to get those scratches out....still..use your detailers clay first though to remove any industrial fallout (trust me, it is there..even if you just took delivery of the vehicle today), then polish, then seal or wax.
If you do not see those wash scratches then use your detailers clay and then apply the sealant. Keep in mind also if you have a good polymer polish it will give the car a deeper shine as sealant or wax really does not have that much long-term "shine" to it.

 

[Brenton]

Never polish unless you have too.

 

[tubafeak]

If it was sitting on the dealer lot for a while and they sent it to be "detailed" then you'll want to make a pass with a Chemical Polish to strip off whatever's on there, this will show if they installed any swirls and covered them up with fillers. If not then throw a couple of coats of sealant on there and call it a day. Clay first of course, rail dust is easier to get off early.

 

[mrlysle]

I bought a leftover 2005 Subaru WRX. (asked the dealer why they still had it, and he explained to me that most folks wanting that type car wanted a manual trans to bang gears all day, the one I bought had an auto which I wanted), so anyway the car had sit for awhile outside of course, and the next day after getting it home, I washed it and looked at the finish real close. I could see some real fine scratches and swirling so I clayed it, then used my PC with Menzerna Intensive polish, then Final polish, and finally a couple apps of FMJ and I'm really pleased with the results. I think you have to look at each car individually. I definitely don't think it would be accurate to say a new car never needs work. (polishing especially) How much? Depends on the situation. In my case, I'm sure the dealer had the car washed regularly because it was part of stock and they wanted to sell it, but I don't see the dealership employees taking the same care you and I and the other folks here at DC would when washing and drying the car. (just a generalization mind you, no way intended as a derogatory remark toward dealerships). If you feel the car could use a good polishing then by all means do it. Done properly it couldn't do anything but improve the finish. Just my 2cents. Good luck however you go. :goodluck: