Proper paint polishing is similar to sanding a
block of wood in that multiple steps, from
aggressive to fine, are used to restore the
flatness of the surface. After sanding the block
of wood the surface is extremely smooth and
even. After polishing your paint, the surface is
extremely smooth and even. An extremely
smooth and even surface will result in light
reflections bouncing off in one direction. When
light bounces off in one direction, you get perfect
optical clarity and deep, accurate reflectivity of
the paint surface.
Polishing most paint surfaces requires at least a
two-step process, the defect-removing step, and
the finishing step. Many import vehicles have
softer clearcoats, which make them easier to
remove defects, requiring less aggressive
methods to perfect. Many European car
manufacturers, especially Mercedes Benz and
Ferrari, have added ceramic particles into their
clearcoats to make them scratch-resistant.
These ceramic clearcoats require very specific
polishes to effectively correct these extremely
hard surfaces. Luckily CP Car Detailing has the
right polishes for these vehicles.
How Detail Shops Improperly
Polish Your Car
As mentioned before, most car detail shops
cannot take the necessary amount of time
required to properly care for your vehicle,
especially the polishing process. They will go
ahead and use an aggressive compound (a
cutting liquid designed to flatten a paint surface
quickly) and an aggressive wool pad at
dangerously high speeds on a very powerful
rotary buffer, which can easily remove the
clearcoat of your vehicles paint in seconds in the
wrong hands. Machine buffing requires
experience and patience, or mishaps can easily
occur.
Going back to sanding a block of wood metaphor,
you always start with an aggressive sandpaper to
level the surface quickly. After this step you
ALWAYS follow with a finer, less aggressive
sandpaper to refine the smoothness of the wood.
Then, you use an even finer sandpaper to create
a perfectly smooth surface. This is CP Car
Detailing’s process when polishing a car’s paint
surface.
Unfortunately most car detail shops will skip the
crucial refining steps. This will result in a
surface that is not perfectly even, which will
leave a new set of swirls in the paint. INSTEAD,
after the compounding steps using dangerously
high speeds on the rotary buffer, the detailing
shop will GLAZE the paint. A glaze is an oil-rich
liquid that will temporarily hide and fill-in most of
the defects in your paint, especially swirls and
fine scratches. After a few rain showers, the
glaze will rinse away, resulting in a paint surface
that looks worse than it was prior to the detail.
My new or slightly used car is
in great condition. Does my
paint need to be polished?
Yes, even new cars that are close to 100%
defect free can benefit from a very fine polishing
of the paint surface. After prepping the paint for
polishing, a fine machine polish will burnish the
paint like a diamond to microscopically refine the
surface to an extreme flatness, resulting in the
most optical clarity and reflectivity. Polishing
the paint with a fine polish will significantly
improve the gloss and wet-look of a painted
surface, and that’s before any wax has been
applied to the paint surface! For the fanatical
car enthusiast, performing the ultra-fine
polishing step multiple times will result in finish
that is truly show worthy. With each and every
pass of our ultra-fine polishing process, the finish
will get wetter, and the reflections will get deeper.
block of wood in that multiple steps, from
aggressive to fine, are used to restore the
flatness of the surface. After sanding the block
of wood the surface is extremely smooth and
even. After polishing your paint, the surface is
extremely smooth and even. An extremely
smooth and even surface will result in light
reflections bouncing off in one direction. When
light bounces off in one direction, you get perfect
optical clarity and deep, accurate reflectivity of
the paint surface.
Polishing most paint surfaces requires at least a
two-step process, the defect-removing step, and
the finishing step. Many import vehicles have
softer clearcoats, which make them easier to
remove defects, requiring less aggressive
methods to perfect. Many European car
manufacturers, especially Mercedes Benz and
Ferrari, have added ceramic particles into their
clearcoats to make them scratch-resistant.
These ceramic clearcoats require very specific
polishes to effectively correct these extremely
hard surfaces. Luckily CP Car Detailing has the
right polishes for these vehicles.
How Detail Shops Improperly
Polish Your Car
As mentioned before, most car detail shops
cannot take the necessary amount of time
required to properly care for your vehicle,
especially the polishing process. They will go
ahead and use an aggressive compound (a
cutting liquid designed to flatten a paint surface
quickly) and an aggressive wool pad at
dangerously high speeds on a very powerful
rotary buffer, which can easily remove the
clearcoat of your vehicles paint in seconds in the
wrong hands. Machine buffing requires
experience and patience, or mishaps can easily
occur.
Going back to sanding a block of wood metaphor,
you always start with an aggressive sandpaper to
level the surface quickly. After this step you
ALWAYS follow with a finer, less aggressive
sandpaper to refine the smoothness of the wood.
Then, you use an even finer sandpaper to create
a perfectly smooth surface. This is CP Car
Detailing’s process when polishing a car’s paint
surface.
Unfortunately most car detail shops will skip the
crucial refining steps. This will result in a
surface that is not perfectly even, which will
leave a new set of swirls in the paint. INSTEAD,
after the compounding steps using dangerously
high speeds on the rotary buffer, the detailing
shop will GLAZE the paint. A glaze is an oil-rich
liquid that will temporarily hide and fill-in most of
the defects in your paint, especially swirls and
fine scratches. After a few rain showers, the
glaze will rinse away, resulting in a paint surface
that looks worse than it was prior to the detail.
My new or slightly used car is
in great condition. Does my
paint need to be polished?
Yes, even new cars that are close to 100%
defect free can benefit from a very fine polishing
of the paint surface. After prepping the paint for
polishing, a fine machine polish will burnish the
paint like a diamond to microscopically refine the
surface to an extreme flatness, resulting in the
most optical clarity and reflectivity. Polishing
the paint with a fine polish will significantly
improve the gloss and wet-look of a painted
surface, and that’s before any wax has been
applied to the paint surface! For the fanatical
car enthusiast, performing the ultra-fine
polishing step multiple times will result in finish
that is truly show worthy. With each and every
pass of our ultra-fine polishing process, the finish
will get wetter, and the reflections will get deeper.
Before Polishing
After Polishing
Before Polishing
After Polishing
During the Polishing Process
Mustang GT Before Polishing
Mustang GT After Polishing
| Mustang GT Before and After Polishing in the Sun |
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The Ultimate Shine Requires Paint
Polishing
The ultimate shine requires polishing in some form to your paint. No wax in the
world will improve the appearance of a paint surface as well as one level of
polishing. Polishing is a process where an extremely fine layer of clearcoat is
removed using specific machines and polishes to flatten the surface of the paint
to permanently remove those pesky fine swirls and scratches in your paint that
appear when looking at your paint in direct sunlight or a halogen light source,
which are most visible on darker colored cars. A properly polished paint surface
will result in show-car levels of shine, depth of reflectivity, and gloss. Once your
vehicle’s paint has been prepped for polishing through a thorough wash and clay
barring treatment, CP Car Detailing can focus on polishing your car’s paint
surfaces to remove fine scratches, swirls, oxidation, and water spots from your
paint to perfect the appearance of your vehicle.
Polishing paint requires a process that is very similar to sanding a block of
wood. On a typical block of wood the surface is slightly uneven. A swirled paint
surface is also uneven because the swirls themselves are actually indentations in
the clearcoat, resulting in a bumpy, uneven surface. This uneven surface
prohibits perfect optical clarity and reflectivity because the millions of edges
produced by the uneven surfaces in the clearcoat throw off light in many
different directions, resulting in a distorted reflection.
Polishing
The ultimate shine requires polishing in some form to your paint. No wax in the
world will improve the appearance of a paint surface as well as one level of
polishing. Polishing is a process where an extremely fine layer of clearcoat is
removed using specific machines and polishes to flatten the surface of the paint
to permanently remove those pesky fine swirls and scratches in your paint that
appear when looking at your paint in direct sunlight or a halogen light source,
which are most visible on darker colored cars. A properly polished paint surface
will result in show-car levels of shine, depth of reflectivity, and gloss. Once your
vehicle’s paint has been prepped for polishing through a thorough wash and clay
barring treatment, CP Car Detailing can focus on polishing your car’s paint
surfaces to remove fine scratches, swirls, oxidation, and water spots from your
paint to perfect the appearance of your vehicle.
Polishing paint requires a process that is very similar to sanding a block of
wood. On a typical block of wood the surface is slightly uneven. A swirled paint
surface is also uneven because the swirls themselves are actually indentations in
the clearcoat, resulting in a bumpy, uneven surface. This uneven surface
prohibits perfect optical clarity and reflectivity because the millions of edges
produced by the uneven surfaces in the clearcoat throw off light in many
different directions, resulting in a distorted reflection.
