A Basic Guide To Machine Polishing

Master The Basics And Elevate Your Paint Correction Skills

It's no secret that machine polishing is often viewed as the most intimidating aspect of detailing, sometimes even considered a "dark art." While it's true that this is a skill where professional detailers truly shine, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn it yourself and achieve incredible results right away. In reality, machine polishing is far less complicated than many assume. With the right tools, the best detailing products, and a bit of practice, we’re confident anyone can grasp the essential techniques and eventually master the craft. But first, it all starts with understanding the basics—and that’s exactly where we come in. Let's take a look at our basic guide to machine polishing...

What Is Polishing?

Polishing can take on many forms, often referred to by terms like cutting, refining, restoring, or compounding, among others. While these names and subcategories may seem varied, the fundamental principle remains the same. At its core, polishing—whether done by hand or machine, on paintwork or glossy plastics—involves the mechanical removal of defects through surface abrasion.

The process works by abrading a microscopic layer of the surface to smooth out imperfections. This creates a flatter, more uniform finish, allowing light to reflect evenly and making the surface appear deeper, shinier, and more vibrant. In essence, polishing is like exfoliation, but for your car’s surfaces!

What differentiates cutting from refining is the level of abrasiveness in the products used and the result you aim to achieve. For instance, a coarse cutting compound is highly abrasive, removing material more quickly to eliminate severe defects. On the other hand, a finer finishing polish has much less aggressive abrasives and is designed to refine the surface further, leaving behind scratches so tiny they’re imperceptible to the naked eye.

You can liken this to sanding wood. A coarse sandpaper removes material quickly but leaves a rough finish. Following up with progressively finer sandpapers smooths the surface, creating a refined, pleasing texture. The same principle applies to polishing paintwork—just on a much smaller scale.

The key questions to ask are: how aggressive does the polishing need to be? And how much of the surface layer needs to be removed? The answers depend on the type of paintwork and the severity of the defects you're addressing.

Types Of Paint

Over the years, the types of paint used on cars have evolved significantly, driven by advancements in technology and stricter health and safety regulations for paint application. In the past, harmful substances like cyanide and other toxic ingredients were commonly used in automotive paints. While paint remains a chemically complex and potentially hazardous material, modern regulations have pushed for safer and more environmentally friendly formulations, leading to frequent changes in paint composition.

This ever-evolving landscape means there isn’t a quick or simple list of all the different types of paint that exist—entire books have been written on the subject.

The good news is that you don’t need to understand the intricate details of paint composition to polish it effectively. Whether it’s an air-drying paint or one that cures using a separate hardener doesn’t really matter in practical terms. What’s most important is recognizing that, in most cases, your paintwork will fall into one of two main categories…

Single-Stage Paintwork

Classic and vintage vehicles often feature single-stage paintwork, so named because it can (though not always) be applied in a single step. In simple terms, single-stage paint consists of just the colour pigment layer (base coat), which is applied directly over a primer layer. The cross-section of this paint system looks like: panel → primer → colour coat.

When machine polishing single-stage paintwork, you are abrading the top layer of the color coat itself. This is why you might notice some pigment transferring onto your compound or polishing pad. However, as long as the color isn’t the primer, there’s no need to worry—it doesn’t mean you’ve burned through the paint.

On two-stage paintwork, however, the process works quite differently.

Two-Stage Paintwork

Since the mid-1980s, most cars have been finished with two-stage paintwork. In this system, the paint above the primer layer is applied in two stages: a coloured base coat followed by a protective clearcoat (lacquer). This includes metallic and pearlescent paints, which achieve their sparkle through aluminium powder or ceramic crystals mixed into the base coat. Candy paints, on the other hand, gain their extra depth from multiple layers of tinted lacquer applied over the base colour.

With two-stage paintwork, you're not actually polishing the colour pigment layer—instead, you're working on the clearcoat. This is similar to looking through a window: polishing the clearcoat is like cleaning the glass to improve its clarity and reveal a more vibrant view of the colour beneath.

Clearcoat is always harder than the base coat, but its toughness can vary widely between manufacturers and even between individual cars. For example, German cars are known for having particularly hard clearcoats. Some attribute this to Germany’s strict regulations against washing cars on the street, which means these vehicles are often cleaned using more abrasive methods at local car washes. As a result, their clearcoats are designed to be more resistant to wear and tear.

This variability means that polishing techniques and the choice of compounds and pads need to be adjusted based on the specific vehicle. That’s why it’s always essential to test a small area first and err on the side of caution when selecting your approach.

For most detailers, especially hobbyists or enthusiasts, the majority of cars you'll work on will be relatively modern and feature two-stage paintwork.

How Much Can You Refine?

Paint thickness is measured in microns and varies between manufacturers. Generally, single-stage paint tends to be thinner (and softer), while two-stage OEM paintwork typically measures around 100-140 microns. This includes the primer layer (12-40 microns), the base coat (25-40 microns), and the slightly thicker clear coat (45-70 microns). For perspective, 70 microns is roughly the thickness of a human hair.

The first step in polishing is ensuring there’s enough of a layer to work with—one reason professional detailers rely on paint depth gauges, particularly when the vehicle’s history is unknown. When removing paint defects, you’re essentially leveling the surface to the bottom of the imperfection.

Another reason to use a gauge is that many cars have touch-ups or panels that have been repainted during repairs. These areas often show as unusually thick readings on the gauge. Repairs are commonly blended or "blown-in" to make them less noticeable, but machine polishing over these areas can risk exposing hard edges, so care is needed.

While this might sound intimidating, most cars you’ll detail will have plenty of clear coat, and you’ll usually know the vehicle’s history, including any areas to avoid. Plus, a single stage of polishing removes only a tiny amount of material—1-2 microns for fine refining and 5-6 microns for heavy cutting.

Typical Defects

Machine polishing is highly effective at removing various paint defects. While it can't fully eliminate deep scratches or stone chips that penetrate into the base coat or primer (as leveling the surface that far would be too extreme), it can significantly reduce their visibility. This is achieved by rounding off sharp edges, which softens the way light reflects off the surface, making imperfections less noticeable.

The most common defects encountered during detailing include...

Swirl-Marks

The classic washing nightmare—fine scratches caused by poor cleaning techniques, like skipping a proper pre-wash and dragging dirt across the paintwork. These scratches often appear as a spider's web when sunlight hits them. To make these and other defects more visible during correction, we use a strong light source designed to mimic sunlight, such as our Swirl Spotter Detailing Light. A quality detailing lamp is nearly as essential as a machine polisher for achieving professional results.

Fine Scratches

These light scratches, often caused by brushing against hedges or clothing, occur in the lacquer layer and are noticeable due to the way they refract light unevenly. Unlike swirl marks, these scratches tend to appear more linear in pattern.

Water & Acid Etching

Etching occurs when a substance eats into the clear coat or top paint layer, leaving a visible mark. In rare cases, when corrosive substances are left untreated for too long, the etching can become severe enough to penetrate through the layers and reach the primer. The most common culprits of etching are bird droppings, which contain highly corrosive uric acid, and acid rain. Acid rain forms when excess carbon and sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere dissolve into water vapor and fall as rain, causing damage to the paintwork.

Water-Spots

These marks are caused by impurities in tap water. Unlike rainwater, tap water—the kind we use to wash our cars—contains various mineral deposits. If left to dry on the paintwork, these minerals remain behind and can embed into the surface. That’s why it’s essential to dry your car thoroughly after every wash using an Aqua Deluxe Drying Towel or Silk Drying Towel. This prevents impurities from settling and potentially damaging the top layer of the paint.

Holograms

Often referred to as buffer marks or buffer trails, these imperfections usually result from poor refining techniques or are left behind after coarse cutting stages. They typically appear as dull, blurry streaks and need to be polished out during the refining and finishing stages to restore a flawless finish.

Oxidation

This issue can also be removed through polishing. It occurs when oxygen molecules in the air react with the paint over time, causing a milky, faded look. It’s especially noticeable on red cars, which can fade to a pinkish hue, or on black cars, which may fade to grey.

What Results Are You Looking For?

In addition to the defects you're working to remove, there are a few key questions you should ask yourself. The answers to these will guide the choice of detailing products, processes, and the time you spend on the job.

The most important question is: what results are you aiming for? Are you looking for a simple single-stage enhancement, full paint correction before applying a ceramic coating, or a show-quality finish? Depending on your goals, you could spend anywhere from a few hours on a single-stage enhancement to a week or more on a full multi-stage correction. It's crucial to plan ahead, considering both the time available and the results you want to achieve.

Another important factor to consider is the type of protection you'll apply after refining your paint. If you're finishing with a hard wax, you can technically use any compound or polish, including those that already have some wax-based protection, like our Tripple Car Polish. For a single-stage enhancement, Tripple is hard to beat—it removes oxidation, refines the paint, and adds a layer of protection, all in one step.

If you’re planning to apply a durable ceramic coating it’s important to avoid applying it over a wax layer. The wax will prevent the coating from properly bonding to the freshly prepared paint. In this case, only products like One Step Single Stage Polish, our Pro Series Compounds or the multi-stage compounds in our Revitalise System V2 should be used. These products contain no waxes or fillers, ensuring they won’t interfere with the chemical bonding of the silica in the coatings.

Combinations

You may hear detailers mention "combos" — this refers to a specific combination of polishing pad and compound/polish designed to achieve a particular result. Everyone seems to have their favorite "magic" combo, but it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. These combos can be easily adjusted by changing the pad or product to address the severity of defects or the differences in paint and clear coat hardness.

It’s important to remember that machine polishing pads are also abrasive. They range from coarser cutting/restoring pads to medium polishing pads, and finally to fine refining pads. The key is finding the right mix (or "combo") of product and pad for the task at hand. A multi-stage correction may require a cutting stage, followed by a polishing stage, and then a refining stage, each with its own combo.

We’ve made it easy with our color-coded Revitalise System. This set includes Revitalise No:1 Restoring Compound, Revitalise No:2 Polishing Compound, and Revitalise No:3 Refining Compound, along with matching 5-inch Revitalise Foam Pads. Our Pro Compound Kit also includes 3-different Pro Series compounds to take you through all stages of cutting and refinement, along with corresponding pads. Both of our combo systems are available in even more comprehensive kits that include a DPX Dual Action Machine Polisher - the Master Machine Polishing Kit and the Complete Polishing kit.

While everything is laid out for you, feel free to adapt each combo to suit the specific needs of the job.

Techniques

How a particular combo is used is just as important as the combination itself. In simple terms, how a car polish or compound breaks down or is "worked through" plays a crucial role in achieving the desired result. It’s essential to fully work the product into the paint, whether you're performing heavy cutting as part of a multi-stage correction or a single-stage enhancement with Tripple.

The goal is to allow the abrasives in the compound to break down fully, becoming less abrasive and offering a more refined finish as you work. Picture this as large, sharp stones being smashed together in a barrel—eventually, the stones break apart, their edges round off, and the large stones turn into smaller, smoother pebbles. This is what happens to the abrasives in the compound on a microscopic level. In most cases, you’ll need to work the product until it turns clear. One of the most common mistakes in machine polishing is not working the product long enough, often due to trying to tackle too large an area or rushing to finish the job.

For optimal results, the polishing area should be about six times the size of your polishing pad. Start at a low speed, work through multiple passes, increase to a higher speed, then finish with a final low-speed pass to ensure the product has fully broken down. It's also important not to rush each pass—moving the machine slowly and smoothly, while keeping it moving at all times, is key. A pace of about 2-3cm per second is ideal.

The only exception to this is our advanced One Step Single-Stage Car Polish, which requires a few more passes to fully work through. Unlike other compounds that break down only slightly, One Step starts as a coarse cutting compound and refines down to a fine finishing polish. This means you can achieve a heavy cut and finish with a near-flawless result without changing products or pads along the way.

For full, multi-stage corrections, it’s essential to choose the right pad and polish for the task, and this will often require testing. Not all paintwork needs restoration, and not all paintwork requires extensive refining. So, why perform a three-stage correction when a two-stage—or even just one stage—will suffice?

In short, unless the ideal combo is obvious, start with the finest compound and pad and test it. If it doesn’t remove enough of the defects, move to the next coarsest combo and test again. Once you find the best finish, you can begin your correction by working your way from coarse to fine combos.

Polishing Machines

The final piece of the puzzle is the polishing machine you choose to use. It's not just about the size of the tool itself—remember, you’ll want to work on an area roughly six times the size of your pad. That’s why we offer both our full-size 5-inch DPX Dual Action Machine Polisher and the MPX Dual Action Machine Polisher, which can also use 3-inch Revitalise Spot Pads for tackling smaller or more curved areas.

Equally important is how a machine polisher applies the pad to the vehicle’s surface. There are a few different types you might encounter...

Rotary Machine Polishers

A rotary polisher is specifically designed for correcting heavier defects and delivers direct power to the area being polished. Unlike orbital polishers, the pad on a rotary spins in a circular motion on a single axis.

Regardless of the angle or curvature of the panel, a rotary polisher won’t stall, even if too much pressure is applied. This makes it a specialized tool for heavy cutting, where significant heat and friction are required.

However, rotary polishers should be used with caution. Edges and low-paint areas should be avoided, and they are generally best suited for experienced professionals. While they are quick to cut, they generate a lot of heat under the pad, so there's a risk of "strike-through" (burning through the clear coat or paint layers). This is especially true on edges or painted plastics like bumpers, which don’t dissipate heat as effectively as metal panels.

Dual Action Machine Polishers

A DA (dual action) or random orbital machine is ideal for performing enhancements and multi-stage corrections without leaving visible marks. It uses a free-floating spindle that promotes pad rotation in two directions—concentric circles from the head and a wider, circulating motion from the spindle. This oscillation (often referred to as the "wobble") reduces premature heat buildup under the pad, helping to prevent burning through the paint. The "throw" of a DA machine refers to the amount of off-center oscillation, and the larger the orbit, the greater the surface area being polished at once, though it also typically leads to more vibration.

A DA will stall (stop spinning the pad and simply vibrate) if too much pressure is applied, if the machine is on the edge of the pad, or if it is held at an uneven angle. This stalling feature makes a DA much safer to use compared to a rotary polisher, as it’s nearly impossible to burn through the clear coat or paint layers.

An essential tool for both professional detailers and enthusiasts, modern machines like our DPX and MPX dual action polishers can handle the same heavy defects as rotary polishers, making them versatile and user-friendly.

Forced Rotation Dual Action Machine Polisher

This is a more unique machine that combines the qualities of both a dual action and a rotary polisher. The drive oscillates like a DA, promoting heat dispersal for safety, but the motion is force-driven to prevent stalling. This provides a finish similar to a rotary polisher, making it ideal for cutting and polishing curvy panels where a DA might stall. Without a stalling mechanism, it's more suited for professional use. While it’s generally safer than a rotary polisher, there is still a risk of burning through the paint if not used carefully.

The Polishing Process

Step 1 - Cleaning

First thing's first, it's vital to have paintwork extremely clean and decontaminated before any polishing can begin. This is simply to prevent dragging around any heavy dirt particles with your machine, and essentially doing more harm than good.

It also makes sense to perform your car wash as safely as possible - as you would on any maintenance wash - by following the correct procedures. This will prevent inflicting even more defects that will need to be polished out later. Why give yourself more work than you have to?

There really is no substitute for the correct preparation. So, always perform a thorough pre-wash, using a suitable pre-cleaner like Citrus Power Bug & Grime Remover, and be sure to flush out all the arches and panel gaps, to rid the vehicle of any dirt or dust that may interfere with your polishing stages later. Follow your pre-wash by using Avalanche Snow Foam to loosen and lift any remaining grime, and then contact wash with Lather Car Shampoo using the usual 2-bucket method.

Remember that getting the wash stage correct is important before polishing, and even more crucial when it comes to maintenance, in fact there's not much point in polishing at all if you don't wash you car correctly. Otherwise it'll be full of swirls again after just a few washes.

Step 2 - Decontamination

In addition to the washing process, we strongly recommend performing a full 3-stage decontamination before polishing. These quick and straightforward steps effectively remove contaminants that washing alone cannot eliminate from your paintwork.

The first stage focuses on chemically removing sharp, embedded metal particles using Iron Out Fallout Remover. Specifically designed to dissolve ferrous metals on contact, Iron Out can be sprayed onto both paintwork and glass. As it reacts with the metal particles, it turns blood red, suspending them in the solution. This allows the contaminants to be safely rinsed away without the need for any physical contact with the surface.

The next step involves using ObliTARate Tar & Glue Remover to dissolve stubborn tar spots and other sticky contaminants. This solvent-based formula breaks down these residues, making it easy to wipe them away with a microfibre cloth.

The final step in the decontamination process is using clay to physically remove remaining organic contaminants, overspray, and any other residues left behind. A detailing Clay Bar, used in combination with Glide Clay Lube, can be applied across the entire vehicle to leave the paintwork feeling exceptionally smooth. You’ll notice the difference as you work, with the surface becoming noticeably cleaner to the touch.

Step 3 - Dry Down & Mask Up

It's crucial to dry your vehicle before polishing, not only to prevent the water spots caused by mineral deposits in tap water, but to prevent diluting your compound, too. If you'd like to avoid making a mess, always polish on a perfectly dry car, and make sure take your time when drying, being sure to mop up any last drips that may trickle out from panel gaps, window rubbers, under wing mirrors and behind door handles.

The next preparation process involves using Masking Tape to cover any areas that may be damaged with your polishing pad - or indeed, areas that may actually damage your pad. Compounds and polishes are designed for paintwork, not rubber or matte plastic trim, so always mask up any areas that could potentially be in the way. Look out for window rubbers, badges, plastic grilles, sidelights, decals and matte plastics - basically anything at risk of coming into contact with your polisher.

Step 4 - Correction

This is the stage where the polishing happens. Whether you're performing a 3-stage correction, a single-stage enhancement, or something in between, we always recommend using one of our Dual Action (DA) Machine Polishers for maximum safety. Unless you have professional training and extensive experience with a rotary polisher, a DA is the best option—and even then, we’d still suggest sticking with a DA. It offers all the benefits without any drawbacks.

Step 5 - Protection

Whether you’re applying a ceramic coating, paint sealant or wax-based protection, now is the time to enhance the shine and, most importantly, shield your work from the elements.

Always remember, protection after correction is crucial. It would be a waste not to safeguard the hours of effort you’ve put into achieving flawless paintwork. Proper protection ensures your finish stays looking its best for as long as possible. With the right protection in place, all that’s needed moving forward is safe and effective maintenance washing.

Pro Polishing Tips

To wrap things up, consider using a few of our professional tips and tricks to make the process even smoother...

What's next?

And that's our guide covering the basics of machine polishing. Why not adapt these principles to your next detail, and push your results further than ever before?

In the meantime be sure to check out more top guides in the Detailing Guides Section Of Our Blog.