Polishing without waxing
 

So the dealership promises me a free polish for the car since when I brought the car there was some swirls that were obviously from a bad wash. Gonna try to get it done this week.

My question is, is waxing necessary after polishing? I doubt the dealership would wax the car afterward.

Car ins question is brand new, driven for not even a month.

Yes it would be a good idea to wax it after polishing. Polishing the car will make the paint look fantastic, waxing helps maintain that look.

Just so you know the dealership is probably going to do more harm than good to your paint in the way of swirl marks, because the guy doing it is probably 19 and doesn't give a crap. The'll use a polish with fillers that will make it look a bit better for awhile but then the polish wears off and back come the swirls, and you'll wonder how they got there.

yep.

worked for a dealer, and all i saw was best look possible at the time

2 steps was the most i ever saw unless it was by request

a free polish is a free polish, take it but dont expect it to be awesome work

yup getting it done at dealerships are terrible... well from my experience anyways(dueck)

Never let a dealership do anything but maintenance

ok i though they are going to do a full body polish, turn out just the hood. not worth the drive or the potential for more swirl marks.

I'm planning on investing on a Porter Cable polisher. having absoulutey no experience in polishing would i be better off have the dealer fix the few scratch or diy it?

You could always take it to unique detailing and get them to take care of it.
Unless you want to start detailing on your own, a PC would be a good start

Never let a dealership do anything fullstop!

If you get a PC, you could easily rectify the swirls yourself. If you have a look at the polishing sections of detailing world or detailing bliss, you'll get some very good advice on how to do it.

I do want to start detailing on my own, however i dunt have a crappy car to practice on. All my noob error is going to be display on my brand new BLACK car....

Ok my dad talked the dealership into doing a full body polish + wax. The dealership said it only going to take them 2 hrs :eek2:and its a big suv.....

after what you guys said i'm very worry about taking it to the dealership....

is PC the best one to get for a noob? if i follow all the instruction like applying even pressure and I still going to get swirls on my noob tries?

I'm aware of the various detailing places but Going there 2-3 times already = the price of the PC. Its going to be my last resort if i ever really fuck up bad.

If you are unsure, just do one panel on your vehicle. Practice with a finishing polish and a finishing pad. All this will do is make your paint shiny. It probably won't rectify your swirls but it will give you an idea about how the PC feels. Its almost impossible to get swirls with a pc. The thing you have to remember is that a pc takes longer to break the polish down. Work an area about 2 ft x 2 ft. It will probably take 2-3 minutes for the polish to break down completely. The polish will go clear when its broken down, meaning you'll still be able to see some residue, but you'll be able to see through it. If the car is new, chances are the marring is from washing it wrong. A medium polish like Menz 106FF or Power Finish on a white pad should do it. Either of these polishes will finish down ready for your LSP. :thumbsup:

what is LSP?

How much clearcoat does polish take off? my car has the new self healing paint from infiniti. I do what to keep the clearcoat no matter if the so call technology works or not. Anybody that works at the dealership can tell me if they use cut polisth or just fill polish to make it temporary look gd?

last step product. i.e wax

Polishing will remove such a small amount of clear that most times its not even measureable. A normal paint job from the factory will have 110 - 130 microns of paint. Even if you used a very aggressive compound and then followed that with a polish and then a finishing polish, you might remove 2 microns of paint. If you are still unsure, you could use a glaze that will fill most LIGHT defects and then use your choice of wax or sealant.