Yes, yes – we’ve talked about this subject and the related topic of ceramic coatings in the past. We promise we’re not repeating ourselves, at least not until we’re safely ensconced in the Old Age Home for Recovering Gearheads. We’ll be in the wing where they keep folks who had an odd affinity for terrible ’90s GM cars, like the Oldsmobile Toronado Troféo.
Compared to a ceramic coating, polishes are a lot easier to apply, taking less effort and fewer steps. One shouldn’t slap this stuff on their car in direct sunlight – that goes for most of the car washing process, by the way – but it is certainly possible to spend a lazy afternoon treating your car to one of these polishes in the shade of a tree. Those with more motivation will get the job done far more quickly.
We’ll see you in the old age home.
Table of Contents
1. Editor's Choice: Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze
This brand is familiar to anyone who’s ever been near a collector car show or the old Spike TV Powerblock of weekend programming. Its intent is to simply restore a deep shine to the car’s paint; think the ‘wet’ look that’s prized by some gearheads.
At just 16 fluid ounces, this isn’t the biggest bottle of polish in the world but should be more than enough to get you and your car through the summer. The label says it’s safe on all painted surfaces and, most importantly, does not dry white – a common carp about other wax and polish products.
2. Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax
So you thought butter was just for your toast at breakfast, huh? The crew at Chemical Guys market this product as 100 percent carnauba-based wax, able to provide a deep wet look to any paintwork. They promote a special blend of polymer resins that enhance and protect your car’s color.
Carnauba wax creates a protective layer that repels water, explaining why a car with good polish doesn’t have water spots after a quite rinse at the U-Wash (pro tip: use those facilities carefully lest you simply end up paying five bucks for a paint scratching). To apply this ‘butter’, simply apply a thin coat to the paint surface using a good microfiber towel or foam applicator. Buff it off with a different microfiber towel … also available through the seller, of course.
3. Carfidant Scratch and Swirl Remover
The too-cute name of Carfidant aside, this well-priced and highly-reviewed car polish seems to have won plenty of fans according to feedback provided by nearly 10,000 customers. This kit, which includes an applicator pad, alleges to fix light scratches or swirls so long as you pay attention and read the instructions.
In addition to removing swirls and scratches, this product is said to restore the gloss and shine of your car’s paint. The special rubbing compound will remove water spots, oxidation, and other contaminants. It’s easily buffed out by hand using the included buffer pad.
4. Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coat
This stuff has popped up in a previous list but it’s good enough to profile again. Your author is generally suspicious of products marketing themselves as ‘all-in-one’, as this moniker generally means the stuff is good at everything but great at nothing. This remains, however so does the solid 4.3 out of 5-star rating from nearly 50,000 souls. That’s a huge sample size.
The seller calls it a hydrophobic spray that provides a waterless wash, coat, and shine … all in one convenient product, of course. They assert that it also works as a sealer to give your vehicle a clear shield of protection while also providing a snazzy gloss. It is said to banish the 3 S’s – streaks, smears, and scratches.
5. Nu Finish Car Polish
If you’ve watched any sort of Saturday morning car programs, you’ve definitely seen this stuff being hawked on television. Billed as the ‘Once-A-Year’ car polish, this kit includes a 16oz bottle of car polish and a reusable microfiber cloth (hilariously, the seller notes ‘color may vary’ in terms of the cloth, so don’t get yer hopes up for the aqua thing shown here).
The company claims, as you may remember from the ads, that this product will safeguard your car’s finish even after 52 automatic car washes (therein lies the once-a-year claim). We’re less sure about the junked car to which they applied this stuff in those famous advertisements, though.
6. Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Polish and Wax
You knew Turtle Wax was going to pop up on this list at some point, right? Given their longevity and expertise in the market, not doing so would be like leaving America out of the Top Ten places in which to get a burger.
This stuff will paint correct, polish, and wax your vehicle’s finish in one step. It removes swirls, scratches, and oxidation thanks to a Turtle Wax blend of polishing agents. Hydrophobic (such a great word) and other polymers provide an extreme water beading action, such that you might go for a drive in the rain just for the heck of it.
7. Adam’s CS3 Clean, Shine, Protect
Adam’s Polishes have, in a relatively short amount of time compared to long-standing brands like Meguiar’s or Turtle Wax, been able to work their way into the nation’s wash bays and detail centers. We highlighted this product on another list and feel it deserves a place here, too.
This is a polish that combines a waterless wash & car wax spray, coat and shine polish, and water-based ceramic coating hydrophobic spray all in one product. Infused with fancy-sounding ceramic nano-coating silica technology, it acts as a sealer and armor to create a shiny finish.
8. Liqui Tech Finish First Auto Polish
Remember when car polishes used to be shipped in metal cans with a red stopper on top? If there were a prize for Most Retro Polish, at least in terms of container appearance, it’d be this stuff from Liqui Tech.
Unlike just about everything else on this list, the Finish First product actually contains no wax, silicone, or Teflon. It apparently works by laying down a tough polymer film onto the surface of the automotive paint, conferring a deep and rich gloss.
FAQs
Which is the best polish for cars?
Although you can choose any car polish or seek a recommendation from your car dealer, some best-rated products with a decent number of positive reviews on Amazon are listed below:
- 3D Speed Car Polish & Wax (Buy here!)
This one is multipurpose because it works as both polish and wax to give your car a shiny look and prevents its paint from future minor damages or getting dull.
- Chemical Guys Gap_106 (Buy here!)
The company claims that this all-in-one product makes your car as shiny as new by removing minor key scratches, swirl marks, and other imperfections from its paint.
What is better: Wax or polish for cars?
To be honest, the two cannot be compared as their purposes and time of application vary. To understand what car polish and wax are used for, you can go through their characteristics which are as follows:
Car Polish
Car polish is mostly used to hide corrosions and minor scratches and to blend the paint with the nearby regions. This makes the car body look fresh and seamless regardless of the inconsistencies that the paintwork may have.
Wax
On the other hand, wax is applied on top of the car polish as a final treatment. Wax gives the paint a shinier look, thus making your car appear more glossy and as fresh as new.
Simply put, you apply car polish to:
- Hide blemishes and minor scratches
- Make the paintwork of the vehicle appear seamless
As for wax, you apply it to:
- Form a protective coating for the paint and polish
- Make the body of the car appear more glossy
- Prevent the paintwork from future swirls and minor damages
How can I make my car super shiny?
A couple of steps are involved in making your car look super shiny. The process is as follows:
- Cleaning
The first thing that you should do is, clean the car. Use a good-quality car shampoo that is gentle on the paint to wash your vehicle as thoroughly as you possibly can.
- Paintwork
If your car has minor scratches or blemishes, get them repaired either by visiting an authorized service center or using some DIY treatment. You must also fix the dents to make the surface of the car even.
- Polishing
Once the paintwork is done and the vehicle’s body looks seamless, grab a good-quality polish and apply it on your car to give it a clean look.
- Wax
Make sure to apply wax on your car paint. It will not only make your vehicle look glossy but it will also work as a protective coating for the polish and prevent the paint from future swirls and minor scratches.
Other Important Aspects
In addition to working on the body of your car, do not forget to clean the glasses that it has. For instance, you must use a good glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth to clean the windshield and window and rear glasses to make the overall appearance of your vehicle super shiny.
Additional Treatment (Tires)
If you want to be extremely meticulous, you can also clean the tires of your car with fresh water to get rid of dirt and other stubborn foreign elements from it.
Why do polished cars look shiny?
Car polish removes swirls, road debris, and other minor damaging elements from the top coating of the paint. This makes the color look even. However, with such a treatment, your car becomes only as shiny as the layer of the paint is.
In fact, it is the wax that makes the body shinier. Furthermore, the wax also forms a protective layer over the paint to prevent it from future slight damages like minor scratches, swirls, and other foreign elements that can make the shade dull.
From time to time, TTAC will highlight automotive products we think may be of interest to our community. Plus, posts like this help to keep the lights on around here. Learn more about how this works.
(Editor’s note: This post is meant to both help you be an informed shopper for automotive products but also to pay for our ‘90s sedan shopping habits operating expenses. Some of you don’t find these posts fun, but they help pay for Junkyard Finds, Rare Rides, Rental Reviews, and whatever else. Thanks for reading.)
[Main Photo Credit: Vershinin89/Shutterstock.com. Product images provided by the manufacturer.]
Interesting review. It’s probably been over a decade since I’ve used car polish. It’s a big day when my vehicles get washed with a soapy sponge – maybe twice a year.
I use Lucas Slick Mist after every wash with a clean microfiber cloth. Takes 10 minutes and looks great. No fuss, no muss, no hard work and for some odd reason it smells like bubble gum :)
A similar product I use is Turtle Wax: Wax & Dry. You wash the car, spray this stuff on and just wipe off. It kills two birds with one stone – it adds some shine and slickness to the paint while your drying. Per YouTube the real deal is Turtle Wax Seal & Shine.
You realize, I hope, that all any of these products are doing is shining up a top layer of urethane clear coat, which is a plastic. The “paint” is a couple of thousands of an inch under the clear and never sees any polishing material you care to apply. Good urethane coating, with UV protection in the compound it’s made of, is easily cleaned and a very tough material.
Yes, I am aware that’s why I just use the mist spray to give the clearcoat a little extra shine and keeps the finish from getting dull
Well, I’m going to put my money where my mouth is with #3.
I have some swirls and small blemishes I’d like to go away. I’ll let y’all know how it works.
“I’ll let y’all know how it works.”
OK.
New cars have perfect paint (the best paint jobs in the world come out of mainstream OEM vehicle plants – without question) and don’t need any cleaning or maintenance of any kind during the original ownership period.
Used cars are for unsuccessful poor insecure losers who have failed at life and have misplaced priorities (obviously). The paint sucks (without exception) and will never look good no matter what you do. Used implies crap – without exception – look it up. [Or ask Jay Leno.]
So either way, you are wasting your time with any products like this.
/S
I don’t know how long you consider ownership from new, but these products do help keep the original paint looking good and keeps the paint from getting water spots when caught int he rain or what not. Why would you not want your paint to have a nice deep glossy shine to it all the time?
For used, a little elbow grease can make those look great too.
I’m not giving you guff for trying to make money off of the affiliate links. I get it. However, it seems you base your recommendations off of Amazon reviews. I can sort Amazon by review too (then buy at Autozone). It’d be great if you utilize some expertise in making the recommendations.
Btw: NuFinish does amazing things to old cars.
I’m with you brn. I said the same thing about their “review” and “ranking” of ceramic coatings based on the ad copy off the package, and their even more absurd “review” and “ranking” of engine coolant ignoring applicability for individual cars. Watch this space for when they “review” and “rank” engine oil, ignoring viscosity and applications in favor of who sends them the nicest press pack. I love a lot of the stories on this site that no other outlet covers, and the rare rides stories that go into the history and production of oddball cars is top notch. But I don’t know why they can’t exist on clearly labeled advertising the way other sites do instead of writing the advertising themselves in these bogus “reviews.”
I agree with both of you about these “reviews”, however it gives us all a chance to talk about our real world experiences with different products. That, to me, is worth it
The amazon affiliate link has killed 99% of the useful product information that used to exist on the earlier internet. Now it’s all copy/paste ad verbiage, usually from the OE’s website, over and over. Sadly this applies to just about every product you can imagine.
The most important way to protect your car’s paint is to use a good polymer sealant at least once a year. Keep your car clean and using any waterless car wash in a spray bottle will keep you vehicle shiny and showroom new. Just waxing a car is not enough to protect the clear coat sealant. If the paint is old and has not been maintained than yes I would probably use NuFinish but if you maintain your vehicles paint you don’t need any of these products just use poly sealant and a good spray car wax or waterless car wash with wax already in it. I have been maintaining cars for over 50 years and that is my experience. I have had vehicles over 20 years with their original paint that have sat outside and still look new with a glass and mirror like finish. Over the long run it is easier to maintain your car’s paint and a lot less expensive.
“use a good polymer sealant”
Such as?
Any polymer sealant as long as it is a polymer sealant. You can find polymer sealants on Amazon. Polymer sealant is a particular variety of automotive sealant that is made up of synthetic ingredients, called polymers, in a liquid base that is applied to a car’s finish during detailing. Polymer sealants have polymeric base and may additionally contain fillers and pigments, resin and adhesion promoters, plasticizers, protective chemicals, and curing agents.
@Jeff S,
Based on your recommendation I ordered a bottle of “3M Synthetic Wax Protectant, 39030” (“Synthetic polymers bond to the paint surface providing durable paint protection”) to try. (2 years, yes I’m slow)
Thanks.
@ToolGuy–You’re welcome. I have used a polymer sealant for years. My 99 S-10 that I had for 21 years I used it twice a year and its original paint still looks like new after I gave it to my nephew. People would not believe my S-10 was as old as it was and that it had never been repainted it shined like new even after sitting outside for over 9 years. You can still on a regular bases use spray on detailer or I use the Rain X Waterless Car Wash & Rain Repellent or the Lucas with a microfiber cloth to keep my vehicles spotless. I just put the polymer sealant on my Maverick and on my wife’s 2013 CRV which I do every 6 months.
Hey Jeff I like that sealant so far. Applied it today with a dedicated waffle applicator on my random orbit polisher (after washing and going over all the paint with a clay bar).
It goes on quicker than wax (no wait for hazing) and passes the ‘car key’ test (keys slide on the paint instead of sticking in place).
You can’t beat this recommendation. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Ie7puFVvY
:) Nice.