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The great thing about a metallic car, is that it will shine no matter what the weather thanks to the aluminium powder that is added to the paint.
However, small amounts of dirt can quickly make the car look messy, so frequent cleaning is required and the paintwork needs to be cared for. It’s perfectly fine to use polish and wax on a metallic vehicle, as you would any other, but you may need a little extra buffing to take car of any swirl marks.
In this guide, we’ll share the top polishes and waxes for metallic vehicles, along with the pros and cons of each.
What’s the Difference Between Wax and Polish?
Car polish can be used to remove defects in the paintwork of your car. These defects, like swirls and slight scratches and things, are filled in by the polish. Polish is also great for removing grease, grime and dust from your car too.
Car wax can then be used as a protective layer over the polish. So, polish is perfect for removing any minor defect in the paintwork. Wax can then be used to protect this layer and make your car look shiny and new again. So, car polish and wax should be used together to make sure that your paintwork looks the best it can and to protect it too.
Best Wax and Polish for Metallic Cars
Our top recommended wax and polish for metallic cars are:
- Best Polish: Meguiars – Ultimate Polish
- Best Wax: Turtle Wax – Metallic Liquid Wax
- Great for Scratches: Chemical Guys
- Great for Reviving Paint: T-Cut – Metallic Colour Restorer
Each product has it’s own strengths, below we’ve shared some further information about each product along with the pros and cons.
Meguiars Ultimate Polish
A great all-round polish from a brand trusted by amateur and professional detailers.
This is an excellent car polish that provides very deep reflections and offers a high gloss finish even before you apply wax. This car polish contains conditioning oils that add a lot of depth to your paintwork while filling in minor scratches and defects in your paintwork.
Although this isn’t designed especially for metallic cars, this polish works really well on them and can bring any paintwork after years of neglect. It works especially well on darker metallic vehicles. You will need to apply a wax over this polish as it doesn’t provide any protection to your paintwork. Still, it is designed to provide one of the best polishes in the automotive industry, not a protective layer!
Turtle Wax – Metallic Liquid Wax
Gives your vehicle a perfect shine whilst providing a protective coating
This is one of the best waxes for metallic cars on the market right now. The reason this car wax is one of the best is that it doesn’t require much elbow grease to get an incredible finish. With little work, you can enjoy a streak-free and professional shine on metallic paintwork.
You should use this car wax after a polish, but this wax also contains very fine polishing agents that will clean your car a bit more too. So, even if the results from the polish you used aren’t perfect, you can still get excellent results with this wax.
This car wax also offers one of the best protections for your paintwork on the market too. It contains PTFE which is why it doesn’t require too much buffing to get a good result. The PTFE also provides a lasting and durable shine that will keep your car protected.
Chemical Guys Scratch and Swirl Remover
A one stop shop for removing scratches in your paintwork
This car polish is designed to be used to remove heavy scratches and defects in your metallic paintwork. It should be used with a rotary polisher for best results. However, some users have used this polish to remove light scratches and very minor defects without a polisher and have had good results.
The product is a single-step solution for removing scratches in your paintwork. You do need to apply car wax over this polish as it isn’t designed to protect your paintwork and the finish that it offers.
Still, it is fantastic as car polish and works incredibly as long as you follow the instructions. For someone passionate about car detailing, this is a must-have polish that will breathe life into any metallic paintwork!
T-Cut Metallic Colour Restorer
This variant of T-Cut is designed especially to revive oxidation of metallic vehicles
T-cut metallic colour restorer is incredible. It removes oxidation, tar spots, ingrained road grime and dried insect remains. It leaves your metallic paintwork looking fresh and beautiful. This won’t remove deep scratches, but it doesn’t claim to. It claims to remove light scratches and swirl marks from metallic paintwork, and it does a fantastic job at that!
If you follow the instructions on this T-cut polish, you will get incredible results and bring your metallic paintwork back to life. Once you’ve used this product, make sure you use a good quality car wax on your paintwork for protection as this product doesn’t offer protection, but again, it doesn’t claim to.
Using Products Designed for Metallic Cars
If you have a metallic car, it is a good idea to use a wax or a polish that is designed for metallic paintwork. Why? Well, because car polish and wax that is made for use with metallic cars will give you the best results because it is designed for your car’s paintwork.
If you use a car polish or wax that isn’t designed for your style of paintwork, it may provide some defect repairs and will certainly create a protective layer. However, your car’s paintwork will not look as good as it could have if you used a polish or wax that was built for your car’s paintwork.
Featured image credit: Pixabay
Kieren is the founder and editor-in-chief of Auto Adviser. Kieren created the site to share his passion of cars that began long before he passed his driving test and is now a recognised contributor in the industry. Outside of cars, Kieren loves drinking coffee and travelling to far-off lands.