How to Get the Ultimate Finish on Your Vehicle

David Banks
Authored by David Banks
Posted: Tuesday, August 18, 2020 - 23:24

Achieving that “showroom finish” on a car is quite a challenge for those not in the know. You see cars on display and wonder why no matter how much you wash and polish, it never quite comes up to that standard. In today’s article, we’ll be explaining the steps to take to achieve the ultimate finish on your vehicle.

Let’s say, for example, you’ve just taken the best paint for DIY car spraying and done up a scuffed or scratched area recently. You’ve kept the paint clean, but now want to buff it out to get the perfect finish. What should you do? We know that the essential process is roughly the same as our alloy wheel refurbishment Cheltenham service. There are three basic stages to this process: preparation, polishing, and sealing.

Preparation

If your goal is a perfectly sealed paintjob with glorious shine, preparation work is necessary. This is doubly important if you’re also repairing any damage to the paint as a part of this process. First of the car needs a thorough wash with a potent car shampoo to help de-grease and strip away any contaminants or remnants of previous products.

After washing, you should give the paintwork a going over with a detailing clay bar. Put the lubricant on the paint’s surface and use the clay bar to remove the most deeply embedded impurities that remain lurking in the paint coat.

Polishing

Preparation is essential before applying polish and sealing products that will give you the shine. The polishing stage, however, is still the star of this show. Even the best paint for DIY car spraying needs proper care and attention.

If your previous poor car washing habits have left things like swirl marks, then you’ll need a swirl-removing polish to help you achieve the best results. It’s no good on full-blown scratches, but those unattractive swirl marks are dealt with easily. If you don’t have swirl marks, then a quality finishing polish will do. You might pay a premium on swirl remover.

Using clean and fresh microfiber towels to complete this job is critical. If there’s even a little particulate matter on an old cloth, it could scratch the paint even more. If you’re serious about getting the perfect shine, using brand-new cloths is always the best idea.

Finishing

At this point, you’ve prepped and polished, and things should now be looking rather fantastic. The next stage is sealing the paint so that it’s protected from the elements. A good tip here is using synthetic products instead of carnauba waxes (though the wax can be used for shine at the end), because they offer much more lasting protection. Natural is all well and good, but if protection is your game, then synthetic sealants and resins are the way to go.

Should you favour the more natural approach, or wish for a warmer edge to your shine, then carnauba wax is a good way to go instead for shining. Brands like Turtle Wax offer great items that will bring out the very best of your car’s colour, and they’re neither expensive nor especially hard to apply. Take your time when applying, and don’t try to take shortcuts. This process takes time.