The Dream of a Shiny Car
Every enthusiast's dream is to have a car body that is always shiny, all gloss, without scratches, in other words, a true mirror.
Well, let's start by debunking a myth. There is no magic product that will allow you to achieve this in 10 minutes.
Why miracle products don't work
True gloss is achieved solely and exclusively by a well-executed polishing.
Everything else is a very short-lived cosmetic palliative, and in any case, will never, for any reason, equal the result of a mechanically polished car body.
The Myth of Hand Polishing
Another myth to debunk: you cannot polish a car by hand!
That's as big a load of nonsense as a house, even a skyscraper! The only thing you'll achieve is exhausting yourself, and the result on your car's body will be terrible, or at best, it will last until the first or second rain.
How polishing works in car detailing
In car detailing and beyond, polishing is done with a polisher, using combinations of polishes and abrasive compounds, paired with the correct pads depending on the situation, to remove defects, oxidation, and water spots.
👉 Learn more: Polish: what it is, how to use it, and differences between various types
It is impossible to establish beforehand what the perfect combination of polish - the good old "pastes" our grandparents used - and pads for polishing a car's body will be.
Each car reacts differently
Every car has its own story, every clear coat - which is the superficial paint of the vehicle's body - is different, sometimes on the same car, one panel reacts to the polishing cycle in a totally different way than another.
What is needed is experience, art, and even a touch of alchemy.
Guidelines and false secrets
There are no secrets, no manuals to be considered gospels: there are only general guidelines that can be taken as a starting point, but anyone who approaches the world of car detailing or simply car polishing will discover that what I have told you is true.
The mirror polish myth
Let's also debunk the myth of mirror polishing.
There is no such thing as mirror polishing for cars.
The mirror effect on the bodywork is due to the absence of orange peel on the clear coat. A car full of swirls and scratches, well washed and waxed, if not framed with the correct lights, will have an amazing mirror effect.
Above: Typical "Orange Peel" effect
👉 Learn more: Read our guide here "How to Remove Orange Peel"
When you truly achieve the mirror effect
If you are lucky enough to have a car with almost zero orange peel and that car is professionally polished and protected, then yes, it will be a mirror, but not solely due to the polishing.
Polishing a car with pronounced or stock orange peel on the bodywork cannot achieve a true mirror effect.
Although the clear coat is perfectly leveled and brought to its maximum brightness, the distortion of the image reflection caused by the orange peel will make it far from being a mirror.
Beautiful bodywork, even without a mirror effect
It will still be a beautiful car that, probably to the eyes of an inexperienced person, might seem like a mirror, but only seem like it.
Almost any car can be made into a mirror, if there are safety margins to do so. But here we are moving out of car detailing and into car refinishing.
Car refinishing and training
If you are interested in learning car refinishing, periodically check the dates of our courses in the training and education section.
