Polishing on a Budget

Summary: a overview on which Areas you can potentially try to save money on while getting into polishing

Especially for hobbyists, there is a large group of people who can’t or don’t want to spend too much money on polishing. This guide will go over the impact of saving money in each area and tell you where you can be savvy and where you absolutely shouldn’t.

This guide is made so you understand the impact of trying to save money on each part of the process—this is NOT a recommendation (but rather helping you with damage limitation!) to do so. See our other guides on polishing and our recommended kits page for actual recommendations.

Preparation

Let’s start with the prep you need. Without proper preparation, there is no guarantee of a good result. Preparation is not a place to save money. Claying is a must, and chemical decontamination—even though the products are expensive—greatly reduces scratch risk. There are no corners to cut here.

Abrasives and Polishes

Next are the abrasives/polishes you use. Again, this is not an area where you should go for suspiciously cheap products. High-quality polishes from trusted manufacturers are often not much more expensive and play a big part in the result. Sadly, there is no way to tell you which polish will work for a certain car or type of damage—it’s impossible to know without a test spot. In an absolute pinch, you can order just the milder product and see how far it takes you. Check our test spot guide.

Pads

Pads are next on the list. If you’re hand-polishing, a cheaper pad can give you okay results, as you strongly limit the forces on it. If you’re polishing with a machine, the pad is the most crucial part of polishing besides the preparation work. Pads are the one thing you absolutely should buy at the highest quality obtainable, even on the strictest budget.

So what can you save on? Again, as with the polishes, the combo you need is impossible to predict. Focus on a basic selection of different pads, up to three. On the tightest budgets, you can compensate with time: order one pad, do a test spot, and if it’s insufficient, order the next one and try again.

You can also save on the number of pads—the tradeoff here is time, as you’ll need to clean the pads much more often and wait for them to cool down. Also, using a pad more will shorten its lifespan, but if you’re just doing one car, that might not matter anyway. Keep in mind you should clean your pad every 1–2 panels, or even every half panel for large roofs or hoods.

Panel Prep

If you want to apply a ceramic coating afterward, panel prep is a must. If you’re just polishing for looks and don’t want to apply anything, it’s optional. If you’re using a glaze or a product with a sealant in it, panel prep can even be counterproductive.

You need the matching panel prep for your polish. An IPA mix can work with some polishes, but most modern polishes require a stronger panel prep. Check with the manufacturer of your polish. If they don’t offer a panel prep, refer to our recommended sheet.

Stay away from homemade panel preps that include acetone or other unsuitable chemicals.

The Polisher

This is the biggest area for potential savings. With a high-quality polisher, you pay for ease of use, minimal vibrations, and ergonomics—but not so much for results, which are far more influenced by pad and polish choice. What you want is a dual-action machine with a 5″ (125mm) backing plate. A 3″ (75mm) backing plate is very handy, and if it’s within your budget, a polisher that can do both 5″ and 3″ is preferable over one that can only do 5″.

Some cheap polishers come in 6″, but can fit a 5″ plate. You’ll need to do the math to see if that comes out cheaper.

The best budget option, if available to you, is renting a polisher. This way, you can sometimes get a premium polisher for a weekend at a low cost.

Hand Polishing

Last but not least, you can always hand-polish—you then pay with time and discomfort. For hand polishing, it’s strongly recommended to get an ergonomic polishing helper that attaches to a 3″ pad.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, the biggest saving is not polishing at all. No polishing is ever truly necessary—it’s always a cosmetic fix that can wait until you’re more financially stable and can afford the minimum setup. Don’t cut extreme corners.

A wholesale program can also be greatly beneficial to paying less, see our Wholesale Accounts guide