What is the difference between Polish and Wax?
What is the difference between Polish and Wax?
Polish
The purpose of a polish is to clean your paint-work and make it shiny again. A polish contains abrasives, this is most commonly aluminum oxide, as you put it on the car it will remove dead paint which has become oxidized. Polishes also contain lots of solvents which clean your paint-work, some do contain waxes and oils but generally speaking, these are not enough to give protection to your car. In fact having polished your car you will have stripped back any protection you may have, so we always recommend an application of wax afterwards.
How often you should your car be polished, the best answer is to do it when it needs it, when the paintwork starts looking dull and tired. But once every six to twelve months is fine.
Wax
The purpose of wax products it coat your car in a protective, sacrificial layer. Wax products contain a blend of waxes and oils. The waxes can be natural waxes and / or synthetic, although there is a trend at the moment for synthetic based products to be called Sealants. These products get attacked by road salts, UV rays, ozone and all the other nasties but while they are bearing the brunt of this punishment, your paint-work doesn’t have to, which is why we call it a sacrificial layer. Waxes and sealants generally last from one month to one year, generally speaking most waxes last three months. Many waxes will say that they last a year but they seldom last anywhere near that, so it’s best to assume your wax lasts 3 months. The general rule of thumb is that the longer they last, the less shiny they are, and visa versa.
The purpose of a polish is to clean your paint-work and make it shiny again. A polish contains abrasives, this is most commonly aluminum oxide, as you put it on the car it will remove dead paint which has become oxidized. Polishes also contain lots of solvents which clean your paint-work, some do contain waxes and oils but generally speaking, these are not enough to give protection to your car. In fact having polished your car you will have stripped back any protection you may have, so we always recommend an application of wax afterwards.
How often you should your car be polished, the best answer is to do it when it needs it, when the paintwork starts looking dull and tired. But once every six to twelve months is fine.
Wax
The purpose of wax products it coat your car in a protective, sacrificial layer. Wax products contain a blend of waxes and oils. The waxes can be natural waxes and / or synthetic, although there is a trend at the moment for synthetic based products to be called Sealants. These products get attacked by road salts, UV rays, ozone and all the other nasties but while they are bearing the brunt of this punishment, your paint-work doesn’t have to, which is why we call it a sacrificial layer. Waxes and sealants generally last from one month to one year, generally speaking most waxes last three months. Many waxes will say that they last a year but they seldom last anywhere near that, so it’s best to assume your wax lasts 3 months. The general rule of thumb is that the longer they last, the less shiny they are, and visa versa.
