Car wax vs polish: what is the difference?
Polish fixes the paint. Wax protects it. Here is which one your car needs.
The difference
| Polish | Wax | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Takes out light scratches, swirl marks and water spotting | Adds gloss and a protective layer |
| How | Machine polish that levels the surface | Applied and buffed on top of the paint |
| Our service | Buff and polish, $200 | Hand wax, $125 |
In what order
Clean, clay, polish, then wax. Clay lifts bonded grit, polish corrects, wax seals the result. Our clay and wax ($160) does the first and last steps for paint in good shape. The exterior detail ($200) does all of it: clay, machine polish, buffing and a Meguiar's wax seal.
Keep it up
Between details, the Gold wash adds Simoniz hot wax every visit. See what hot wax does.
Questions
Polish if you see swirls, light scratches or dull paint. Wax if the paint looks good and you want to protect it. Many cars need both, polish first.
Meguiar's wax for hand wax and exterior details, and Simoniz hot wax in the Gold wash.