What is the Difference between Car Wax and Car Polish?

Two main methods will help render the beautiful shine to your car, car wax and car polish, usually used interchangeably, both serving different purposes. Very often misaligned with the idea of a regular polish that adds shine to the surfaces, car polish and wax are two different processes, each fulfilling their respective functions.

What is Car Wax?

Car wax is the non-abrasive wax, a protective layered coating applied to the car’s body mostly after it has been washed or polished. The primary function of the wax is to provide the vehicle with a protective layer of coat and give it a shiny appearance.

What is Car Polish?

Available in both the abrasive and non-abrasive textured types, the car polish is the material used with other cleansing substances to remove blemishes like minor scratches, swirl marks, oxidation and others off the surface. It eliminates the paintwork’s fine coat from the car’s exterior and smoothly blends it with the adjacent regions, thus removing marks and rendering the perfect finish.

Should I Wax or Polish My Car?

The option to select for your vehicle’s car wax or polish will come with its requirement in the first place. Not only these are two different terms serving different purposes, but their chemical composition and overall application also vary on a larger scale.

The use of car wax is to provide the perfect shine to your car. As a layered coating, it functions to prevent any damage to the paint and car body surface from the harsh sun rays and provides a smooth effect. Likewise, car polish is indeed an abrasive substance that acts to fix the bodywork by removing the uppermost layer and blending it with the rest, in turn, rendering an even, polished glow to it.

While you would require car wax to ‘polish’ your car, a car polish application will help you remove your car’s top protective layer and blend it with the rest to remove scratches and other blemishes.

Do You Wax or Polish Your Car First?

You polish a car first and then wax it for the perfect finish. Car wax application functions most to enhance and protect a previously polished surface.

Car wax is used when you want to protect the paint, whereas car polishing is the opposite. The latter’s application is with the need to get rid of minor defects result ing from oxidation or others like spotting and scratches.