If your car doesn’t need machine polishing to remove heavier swirls or imperfections on the surface, then hand polishing could be a great option if you dont have the experience to use a machine polisher and would rather do it yourself then have a professional car detailer do it for you, hand polishing will remove very minor swirls marks and imperfections but it will take much longer then a machine and will not be as effective.

Many people and product manufacturers suggest using a terry cloth towel or terry cloth applicator to apply car polish. This is no longer accurate advice since this is not the best car polishing tool these days.

Today, the best tool for applying car polish is a Foam Applicator Pad. For buffing off car polish residue, a quality Microfibre Towel is far superior and less abrasive than a cotton terry cloth towel.

The polishing step is often skipped by many car care enthusiasts. This may be because they do not fully understand what purpose it serves, or because they are not confident enough to try it, or because they believe it requires special tools. As a result, many are left dissatisfied with the appearance of their paint, another problem is that people get confused between a polish and a wax and dont understand the differences between products.

When it actually comes to polishing by hand, the first thing you should do is ensure the paint is clean and dry - wash your car first and then clay it to remove any surface contaminants.

A common myth about polishing by hand is that you should only work back and forth and side to side, rather than in circles. We recommend that you try to work in all directions, because this will help to ensure that the edges of defects are rounded off evenly. Working in circles will not create new swirl marks unless you finish too quickly and do not allow sufficient time for the abrasives to break down. A good indication of this is a change in the appearance of the polish - many appear to become more transparent when they have been properly worked. Polish residues are often quite stiff, and removal requires firm buffing with a suitable microfibre towel. Plush towels with a short nap are ideal for this, as they are kind to the finish yet have sufficient bite to lift residues with ease.

Polishing by machine opens up more possibilities in comparison to polishing by hand, as products can be worked much harder and for much longer with ease. For example, the most popular dual action polisher on the market has a maximum working speed of 6000 orbits per minute. It is impossible for a human being to replicate this work rate - just imagine trying to polish a panel in a circular motion 6000 times a minute for 5 minutes or more, all the time applying constant pressure! Because the work rate is also selectable, machine polishers can be used to safely tackle all forms of paint defects, ranging from minor swirl marks to very deep scratches. A further benefit of polishing by machine at high work rates is that painted surfaces can be burnished to an exceptionally high lustre prior to the application of wax or sealant protection - the same quality of finish is very hard to achieve when working by hand.

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