Can you care for a car too much?

A lot of us have been there, browsing through Autotrader randomly looking at cars (it’s not just me, is it?!). ‘Nice condition, full service history, polished every weekend.’ 

Polished every weekend. This is a good thing isn't it? Well, that depends.

To answer this, we must first consider that polish is an abrasive. In simple terms, a polish relies upon friction to gently abrade the painted surface to flatten, or level off, the microscopic (and ‘not-so-microscopic’) scratches to bring back the mirror finish to the paint. The abrasion of the paint, specifically the clear coat layer on modern vehicles, removes material which in turn reduces the overall thickness of the paint.

Imagine a doting owner lovingly removing paint thickness from their car every weekend. Fifty-two times per year, more than one hundred and fifty times if they keep the car three years. Oh dear. 

Whilst the car may not be stripped down to bare metal by this point, what we can say for certain is that it will have a thinner clear coat than it did previously. Thinner clear coat can mean less resistance to stone chips, scratches, and even ultraviolet light. 

Long story short; Clear coat = durability. 

We use a ‘less is more’ approach for this very reason. We start off with the least abrasive method on a test patch on the customer’s car, to determine the best way to restore the mirror finish whilst minimising how much clear coat is removed. A detailer needs to be mindful of the fact that clear coat, and indeed paint thickness, is finite.

One of the reasons we take extra care when detailing a vehicle is not only because each car is different, but because each car has had a different life and paint care regimen. You could have two identical three-year old cars next to each other, one of which has been polished every weekend. It may look shinier from the outset but there will be a lot less margin for error when using abrasives such as polish on the surface, compared to the car that has experienced less overall abrasion to its paintwork. The less clear coat that is on the car, the easier it is to burn through the paint, and in the worst case scenario, to the primer or metal below.

To conclude, polishing is a great method to restore a car's paintwork and remove light marring, scratching, and swirls. In moderation it is a vital step in the paint restoration process. The key word is ‘restoration’. If a car’s paintwork is scratch free or has been polished the previous weekend, it’s likely it doesn’t need polishing this weekend. 

To all those polishing their cars every weekend, replace that with waxing or sealant application with a weekly top up - thank me later.

Polishing is good in moderation. Minimising the number of times a car is polished, by having it done right the first time, is the way to go to.

Questions? Reach out! We’d love to hear from you.