Top Polishes And Waxes

Polishes??

You dont appear to know the difference between a polish and a wax..Its not for the first time..Your previous reviews were similarly flawed.
Polishing is NOT waxing
Polishing prepares the surface in preparation for sealer and/or wax by removing dirt/oxidation and small blemishes and in some cases, small scratches. Wax is for protection and shine
The process of polishing a car should be described as just that. Like wise applying a wax is called waxing

By ChrisRs on 31 March, 2010, 6:51pm

Polishes??

i think you will find that the reviewer uses the term polishing for waxing, as car polishes today seem to contain the same propeities that wax contain so when you polish your car it also seals the surface as wax would.

By future26 on 1 April, 2010, 3:25pm

Polishes

Waxes do not contain the same poroperties that a polish does
There are no abrasives or fillers (for masking swirls). so therefore, as I said, the reviewer is wrong.

By ChrisRs on 3 April, 2010, 3:05pm

Nice review

Nice review, glad the article shows as waxes and polishes help curb the critiques when their favourite brands do not win!
Having used at least 6 of the products tested, have to agree the Simoniz represents excellent value for money and performance, the Autoglym is also a great product, both of which are very resilient.

By detailer on 5 April, 2010, 9:17pm

Polish or wax - make your mind up!

What a poor article! As ChrisRs says, polishes and waxes are two different products for two different jobs.

'If there is one valeting job which will protect and preserve your car more than any other, it is polishing. Applied over properly prepared bodywork, it will stop paint from fading, plus keep the worst of the elements at bay by retaining that showroom shine and slowing any corrosion.'

Utter rubbish, the above statement describes waxing, not polishing.

Must try harder!

If it's any consolation to your reviewer, future26 is also talking rubbish!

By mwilshire on 8 April, 2010, 8:49am

Polish - is it needed?

I've owned or had 26 company cars. Each was changed at 150,000 or 3 years and not one has ever been polished completely. I've driver over 2,000,000 miles.

My current Picasso 2ltr petrol Exclusive auto in now almost 6 years old as I'm now retired and in my 70s.

All cars were only ever washed at a car wash and all looked as good as good when sold as when bought. Several buyers commented on the good condition of the paint work. Over the years I've always wanted to polish a car but never found the time. I've bought dozens of tins/bottles but never ever got further than doing the bonnet. I've still got some going back to 1954, in rotting tins.

I don't think that modern metallic finishes, with a clear varnish coat on top, require a wax or polish.

By Lancelot37 on 8 April, 2010, 1:54pm

Body work protection.

I am afraid the author of this piece of work does not know the subject matter they are talking about. Chris is absolutely correct a polish is not a wax as it contains abrasives to prepare the paintwork in readiness to receive wax or sealant. The real work is in the preparation and the last stage product (wax) provides the protection against the elements. That is not to say you need to polish the car every time you wish to wax it - this depends on a number of factors - weather, mileage etc. May I be so bold as to suggest that the author carries out some additional research and visits a few specialist websites in order that he can be enlightened.

By Knight0207 on 9 April, 2010, 10:41am

Lancelot not jousting properly?

Lancelot: I read your post, but I think you are completely missing the point of waxes and polishes. Cars when bought new, do not require either waxing or polishing (as the owners manuals state) and the paint work is warranted for (at least) roughly five years on most makes of new cars.

However many people do not always buy "new" for whatever reasons. Generally speaking a car that is reaching five years of life, will require some form of polishing and waxing to maintain the lustre of the paint finish in my experience.

Lancelot you have been clearly fortunate in having company cars every three years. I therefore would expect your stocks of wax and polishes to be of warehouse sized stocks as a result...Ever thought about doing an eBay or car-boot clear-out?

By LegioIXHispana on 13 April, 2010, 2:09pm

Polish or Wax

I really apreciate Auto Express's product tests and 90% of the time buy products as per their recommendation.

However i was confused as i expected an article about polishing, but it turned out all the products were wax, obviously a terminolgy error. Polishing is much harder work than waxing and is used to make swirl marks less noticeable and brighten up paintwork.

Lancelot, i have a brand new car and i still wax it regularly, it just doesn't look as shiny to me until i wax it. Then again everybody has different standards and the results of a good wax are much more noticable on Dark Colours for which i will always buy.

Auto Express, i know the best wax less than £20 can buy. Meguirs Tech Wax 2.0, it lasts all through the winter and is really easy to apply, you hardly need to buff it off at all as it doesn't dry to a haze.

By gaffer1986 on 16 April, 2010, 12:28pm

As mentioned already, polishing paintwork is not the same thing as waxing or sealing it.
Polishes contain abrasives to remove the clearcoat (or singlestage paint) in order to level it to the same depth as the scratches exist.
Without doing so, a wax or sealant will only ever offer protection and a smidge of enhancement to the paintwork's appearance.

By polishing, you bring back the depth, the clarity, which then is ready for protection, and proper cleaning thereafter to minimise the reintroduction of fresh scratches, giving the dreaded swirling often seen.

To this end, I've no idea why on earth G|Techniq offered their P1 polish, as it needs to be done by a rotary, not even by hand!
Similarly, you've two Collinite waxes in the same flawed grouping of products, which both offer some of the best durability on the market.

Then we have the visual beading being used to gauge longevity - it's well known beading is a function of surface tension, and that clean but unprotected paintwork, will bead water very nicely.

With no method given as to how the test was conducted, it's hard to accept anything offered by way of the "final result" as anything but anecdotal evidence based on likely flawed principles at work here.

That the top three happen to be cheap ones, and typically purchased locally rather than predominantly online, the result doesn't gel with my own experiences - least of all when Marque D'Elegance is considered somewhat difficult to apply!
It's easier than its stablemate, 476S, and offers a fraction more in the looks dept on darker colours, and given both are highly detergent resistant (not that you should be using washing-up liquid to wash the paintwork with!), means they will be more cost effective in the long term than repeated £7-8 purchases over the same period.

There are enough of us whom know car care/detailing extremely well, that we're happy to provide our knowledge and expertise to the staff of AE so that proper testing and grouping of products is done, to the benefit of the greater uninitiated public.

By pjskelti on 17 April, 2010, 4:13pm

Thanks all you guys with the helpful follow-up comments, the original article had me confused mixing up waxes and polishes.

I've a quite new car and have been considering changing from using combined wash & wax products to something like Autoglym shampoo and occasionally follow it with Autoglym Aqua Car Wax, would this do an ok job, I don't really want to go through a whole wash, polish & wax process.

By dudesteven_g on 17 April, 2010, 9:30pm

Official response

Hi guys,
Even though I didn't write the article in question, I feel I should try and reply on behalf of the magazine.

What's happened here, and what I understand to be the issue, is that we've tried to simplify a group test to include a number of products that you can finish off your car with, and that some people feel it's not fair for us to make the comparisons we make.

I apologise if we've misjudged our readers to be less knowledgeable than is true - however, we have to cover so many topics in the automotive world (tools, tech and car cleaning) that occasionally we'll have to cover something in a way which - to us anyway - makes the most sense.

There are dedicated forums for each of these areas where people can talk freely about the products they use, what works, what doesn't - not just for car cleaning, but in tech like sat-navs and hands free kits as well. We try to educate and inform all our readers of the best products and I feel we get it right more often than we get it wrong.

With new polishes cramming tech like micro polymers and nano particles to help with abrasion, we have found the lines all too often blurred between a polish and a wax.

I hope this answers some of your questions, but we're always keen to get more feedback from our readers.

Jamie - Consumer Writer

By jamiefretwell on 29 April, 2010, 4:55pm

That's all well and good...

But in that case Jamie, why the hell does Gtechniq P1 have a comment on it's beading when it's purely a polish designed for application via a machine?
It doesn't have any dedicated protectants in there, it's just designed to cut and blend back scratches and oxidation.
Auto Express seems to bugger up their polish/wax reviews every single time, when 5 minutes of research would make it far more accurate and reliable.

By PhillipM on 29 April, 2010, 5:17pm

reply to Jamie

Jamie, i thought i would reply to some of your comments and give you the correct answers...
Your quote......What's happened here, and what I understand to be the issue, is that we've tried to simplify a group test to include a number of products that you can finish off your car with, and that some people feel it's not fair for us to make the comparisons we make.
Correct Answer....the two actions are completely different, you do not finish off a car with a polish, that is a preparation stage, you finish a car off with a sealant or a wax....


Your Quote......I apologise if we've misjudged our readers to be less knowledgeable than is true - however, we have to cover so many topics in the automotive world (tools, tech and car cleaning) that occasionally we'll have to cover something in a way which - to us anyway - makes the most sense.

Correct Answer....As a Journalist, you of all people should know that research into the chosen subject will provide you with a certain degree of knowing what you are talking about. Clearly you did not research this subject at all.

Quote.....There are dedicated forums for each of these areas where people can talk freely about the products they use, what works, what doesn't - not just for car cleaning, but in tech like sat-navs and hands free kits as well. We try to educate and inform all our readers of the best products and I feel we get it right more often than we get it wrong.
Correct Answer.... You reckon!

Your quote....With new polishes cramming tech like micro polymers and nano particles to help with abrasion, we have found the lines all too often blurred between a polish and a wax

Correct Answer.....What do you not understand here?? Polishes abrade, Waxes protect...you really must get into doing research...
For any other people reading this thread, i would also ignore Lancelot37 comments, he clearly has no idea what he is on about, as does future26.
If people want advice, look on the web under detailing world, you will find all the help you could possible need.
Jamie, this really should have been you first stop.

By lennon on 23 May, 2010, 3:16pm