How To Cut And Polish A Car By Hand (7 Steps Process)

Who doesn’t want his car to look brighter and shiny? Everybody wants it, right? So, what is it that will bring a bright and shiny look over your car? There’s nothing but a simple process of cutting and polishing your car at the first step. Now, the question is how to cut and polish a car by hand?

Cutting and polishing by professional can be very expensive so, doing it all by yourself can be a better option. The procedure we’re outlining below will make the operation look like a piece of cake for anyone.

Let’s Jump to Polishing Process in 7 Steps Process

Well, are you struggling to learn how to polish a car by hand? No worries, our automotive experts have provided a detailed guide on properly cutting and polishing a car.

1. Park your Car in a Shaded Area

Before proceeding with the washing activity, you should park your car in a shaded place. This process is going to be messy, for sure. And there’s no alternative way to clear the surroundings for better cleaning. And make sure that they’re not getting damaged or dirty while performing your job.

Then, start the process of washing by using an automotive soap that doesn’t have wax in it. You must need a hosepipe to rinse your car with clean water. One thing you must ensure that your car is clean and dry before conducting the polishing procedure.

2. Select an Effective Polish and Pad

Whether you’ll go for polishing your car, you should have a good type of pad and polish to make your car brighter. But these compounds entirely depend on the type of color and hardness of the paint of your car. Lighter colors are best to be polished by aggressive pads and compounds; on the other hand, dark colors are best to be polished by softer compounds and pads.

You may find various brands of polishing compounds in the market that is manufactured by a various company. Those compounds are very easy to get, and you should pick the best quality compound to cut and polish car scratches.

One more thing, make sure that all your car’s every part is perfectly tapped that you wouldn’t want the compound smeared on. After finishing the polishing procedure, you can remove the tap.

3. Apply the Compound

Have you selected the polishing compound for cars? That’s cool, and in this step, you need to wet the polishing pad firstly using clean water. Using a dry pad can cause huge damage to your car’s paint. Moreover, the pad should not be soaking wet because of using it properly. You can apply the compound to the damaged area or use it directly on the car’s body for better results.

If you want to decrease the compound’s wastage, you should avoid applying much of it at a time. You also need to keep on your mind that too much of the compound can make your car look dull. It must be proportional to the body surface of your car. You must go through all the instructions on the user manual to get the best outcome.

4. Work the Polish into the Paint

Now, it’s time to put the pad parallel onto the surface of your car’s body. Besides, you should be careful while putting the damp pad, and you should put a steady and constant pressure while working with the pad around the surface of the panel. You can work with it in two ways, and firstly you can work it back and forth; otherwise, you can work it in a circular mode.

Moving the compound on the paint continuously will smear and disappear, leaving a shiny paint behind. And you should avoid over-polishing the surface to get more brightness. But it can lead to dullness in the look of your car. You should be cautious while working with the pad on the coat.

Gradually, the compound will build upon the pad and make it gummy. In this gummy state, it becomes more difficult to use the pad. You must rinse the pad frequently using clean water to make sure that the pad is a dump.

5. Wash and Rinse the Car

Once you’re done polishing the car, put the pad and the compound aside and wash your car. Make sure you’re using an automotive soap for better results, and you have to wash out the left compounds from the car’s body surface.

It is more effective to wipe the car surface using a wet cloth before using soap or water. After you’re done washing the car, rinse the car using a hosepipe or pressure washer with clean water. You must make sure that you’re rinsing the soap or compound material away thoroughly.

6. Allow the Car to Dry

You can either let the car dry by giving it sometime or dry it manually by using a dry cloth. While you’re drying the car using a wet cloth, you should wipe the car surface gently from top to bottom.

All the procedure above must be done with enough caution so that it doesn’t damage the paint. If you want to take your next stage, it should properly be dry of.

7. Use Proper Wax on the Surface

In terms of the car’s color, you should select a proper automotive wax accordingly to avoid any harness. Make sure that your car is in a shaded place so that direct sunlight doesn’t fall on your car’s surface. Besides, you should use a pad while using wax on the surface.

However, you need to use a decent amount of paste with the pad to spread it on the car’s body. The same procedure is applicable for polish and wax for black cars.

You must ensure that you’re putting minimal pressure in a circular motion or spread it back and forth. When you’re done with waxing on your car, you should use a microfiber towel to remove it after a while.

Final Thoughts

Cutting and polishing your car all by yourself is not that a huge deal. It saves your time and cash both as it doesn’t require any machine or professional worker to cut and polish your car. The steps and procedures we’ve outlined above are enough to achieve a satisfying answer to your question of how to cut and polish a car by hand if you follow them accurately.

Indeed, it can easily damage your car’s painting if you’re not entirely confident to conduct the polishing and cutting operation. We will suggest you not to do it by yourself rather you hire professional people to do the work.

Related Posts:

Best Hose Nozzle For Car Washing [ Buying Guide ]

Best Water Hose For Car Wash [ Top Picks & Reviews ]