Is it Necessary to Polish a Car Before Waxing?

Car polish is not by any means a substitute for car wax, it is the preparation before waxing.

Although car polish does provide a bit of a shine and while it does help remove dirt and scratches, car polish does not offer a layer of protection for the paint like car wax does.

Car wax is designed to dry fairly hard, and thus offer a protective layer. This will protect from scratches such as branch scuffs and the weather, which is something that car polish just doesn’t do. 

Remember this statement when you are considering detailing your carPolish prepares Wax protects!

So in essence, prepare you car with POLISH then seal the car with WAX.

Polishing Before Waxing

When it comes to the question of whether or not it is necessary to polish your car before waxing, the answer could be yes or no — it will depend on your judgement after you have washed, rinsed and dried you car.

As mentioned before, car polish is designed to remove fine scratches, This is something that a simple washing will not do, at least in terms of scratches.

So, we would say that it is necessary to polish your car before waxing if you have not washed it. You need to remove dirt and grease before waxing.

If your car does not have scratches that you want to remove through polishing, a simple wash job may be enough.

But remember to never wax your car before either polishing or washing it, or both.

Here are some typical POLISHES that will remove the fine scratches and swirls:

Meguiars Swirl Remover

If after washing your car you notice numerous hairline scratches and swirls then something like the Meguiars Mirror Glaze featured here will correct all those defects.

This will leave you with a defect free surface to which you then need to protect with a coat of top quality wax.

If you dont notice many defects but you just feel the surface needs to have some oxidation removing to maximise its shine then you can opt for something a little less aggressive such as

Sonax Cleaner Wax

Washing Before Waxing and Polishing

We really want to stress that if you want your car to remain in the best condition possible, for as long as possible, you want to wash, polish, and wax your car on a fairly regular basis.

First off, thoroughly washing the car will help to remove any grime, grease, grit, and dirt that may be spread around and cause damage during the waxing process. Polishing also removes some dirt and grease, but not nearly as much as washing.

Therefore, to remove as much dirt as possible, start out with a good wash. Next, if you have any scratches in the paint, you want to polish the car.

Don’t be fooled, because only small scratches will be taken care of through polishing. Big ones won’t disappear, but their appearance may be minimized. After you have washed the dirt off and polished out the scratches, this is when you can wax your car. Ideally, it’s a three step process.

Why Wash, Polish, and Wax Your Car?

There are several reasons why you want to do all three of these things, so let’s just go over them all real quick right now.

You want to wash your car first in order to remove all forms of grease, grit, and dirt present, anything that the waxing process may spread around and even damage your car.

If you have scratches on your car, and there is still remaining dirt that was not removed during the washing process, you do want to polish the car. This will remove remaining dirt and also cover up scratches.

Finally, you want to wax your car in order to fill in any remaining scratches, to make your car shine and sparkle, to protect it from further damage, and to stop rust in its tracks.

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