What Polish

[Noel Brig]

A few months ago when I got the van, I give it a good wash and bought some polish, the cheapest on the shelf "turtle wax". Now my neighbour who is really into his car care come over and told me what I was using was rubbish and recommended his choice of shine "Auto Glym" (more than double the price) So we decided to do a little test and I shined up one half of the bonnet with the cheap stuff and the other half with the expensive stuff.

For about a month there was little discernible difference other than the water globules after rain would appear to be a little smaller and neater on the AutoGlym side. However after 3 months the expensive polish seems to have gone! The cheap turtle wax has won the day. see image below.

I did do the exact same test on my wife's car which has a high quality metalic paint, and apart from the water globules being a little smaller for a few weeks on the AutoGlym side, there was no long term difference between the finishes.

[Image: 2zsa3cz.jpg]

[FeuxLingo]

Wax and Polish are not the same thing.

Was gives protection to the paint, polish just makes paint smooth, it doesn't offer much in the way of protection, therefore the 'disappearing' of the polish is simply a degradation of the surface of the paint through natural oxidisation and contamination.

You need to seal the paint with a wax after you have polished it. I presume you have been using AutoGlym Super Resin Polish , so something like AG Extra Gloss Protection would be the final layer you would use.

Personally, I use Collonite 476s over AG SRP for my final protection, although you could easily just use your Turtle Wax if you wanted to remain on a budget.

[Mindyerlingo]

Halfords own brand came second in the "auto express" trials. Type "best car wax" into your search engine and have a squiz at the auto express review and trial. I'm using Halfords at the moment and it does what it says but hey I'm sure there are more experienced dudes on here that would shoot me down. I think I paid £5 as they had a deal on and I'm sure this thread will no doubt provoke all kinds of responses to those interested parties ( thats why it's such a good forum)

[steve valentine]

Halfords own brand came second in the "auto express" trials. Type "best car wax" into your search engine and have a squiz at the auto express review and trial. I'm using Halfords at the moment and it does what it says but hey I'm sure there are more experienced dudes on here that would shoot me down. I think I paid £5 as they had a deal on and I'm sure this thread will no doubt provoke all kinds of responses to those interested parties ( thats why it's such a good forum)

As the post above yours states 'polishes and waxes aren't the same product'

Polish to make it shiny, wax to keep it shiny.

[Noel Brig]

Wax and Polish are not the same thing.

Was gives protection to the paint, polish just makes paint smooth, it doesn't offer much in the way of protection, therefore the 'disappearing' of the polish is simply a degradation of the surface of the paint through natural oxidisation and contamination.

You need to seal the paint with a wax after you have polished it. I presume you have been using AutoGlym Super Resin Polish , so something like AG Extra Gloss Protection would be the final layer you would use.

I'm sure the AG was a two part thing, the first was a a resin polish, creamy coloured liquid and the second application was a protective coat and was a clear liquid - both applied like a wax polish then wiped off when dry.

Yes the AG is not a wax based polish but would appear to be some sort of resin based polish, that according to the blurb, leaves a protective resin finish that will stop deterioration to the paint from contaminates, weather and UV.

So I do think it is reasonable to expect both products to do a similar job and am quite surprised how the cheaper product would appear (visually) to have done a better job.



On the subject of paint care - what would you recommend for restoring the white paint on my van, it does seem to have gone a little cloudy and dull - is T Cut followed by a wax polish still the way forward, or is there better stuff on the market these days?

I am hoping to look after the paint on this van, my last van was red and one day someone pointed out to me that it had turned completely pink - I nearly destroyed my elbow t cutting and polishing it - and I don't want to ever ever have to do that again - see if I can get some pictures of it later.

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Just after I had started the job
[Image: 2my5cp1.jpg]

and quite some time later. After T Cut and polished all by hand. (and three years on I still don't think my elbow has ever fully recovered)

[Image: 33kw55j.jpg]

[FeuxLingo]

I'm sure the AG was a two part thing, the first was a a resin polish, creamy coloured liquid and the second application was a protective coat and was a clear liquid - both applied like a wax polish then wiped off when dry.

Yes the AG is not a wax based polish but would appear to be some sort of resin based polish, that according to the blurb, leaves a protective resin finish that will stop deterioration to the paint from contaminates, weather and UV.

So I do think it is reasonable to expect both products to do a similar job and am quite surprised how the cheaper product would appear (visually) to have done a better job.

I don't know of any AG products that are 'two-part' as you state, if you can find a picture of it, it would help.

Yes, AG Super Resin Polish does contain a 'small' amount of protection, but it is NOT designed to be a final layer protection, as any wax is. You simply cannot compare a wax to a polish, the two items are mutually exclusive and do not offer the same service to your paintwork.

As you already have both products, I would recommend apply the SRP and buffing off, then doing the same with the Turtle Wax over the top.

On the subject of paint care - what would you recommend for restoring the white paint on my van, it does seem to have gone a little cloudy and dull - is T Cut followed by a wax polish still the way forward, or is there better stuff on the market these days?

T-Cut is designed to remove stubborn marks, deposits, and paint transfer from other cars. It is not ideal as a paint restorer, as the micro polymer particles which 'cut' [basically scratch off] the top layer of paint do not break down as you use them, so the level of 'cut' remains harsh.

Although this will remove dead paint and other marks, it will leave 'micro-marring' in your fresh paint [basically very fine scratches, that look like spiderwebs when the sun/light hits them]. What you really need is a paint restorer that has a polymer content that breaks down as you use it, so it basically polishes its own marks out to a finer and finer level until you end up with a glass-like finish.

I can wholly recommend G3 Paint Renovator for those on a budget, although to get the best results, it should be applied via a rotary machine otherwise you'll just end up killing your elbows again!

[ron]

My last van was the ever reliable C15 in white.I had it for 8 years,cleaned & polished quarterly & it never shone.I think it must have been a "soft" paint.