Wet Polishing

Wet polishing is a method of polishing a car which has gone out of fashion, but was still fairly common in the trade up to twenty years ago. The car was polished with a rotary polisher, fairly coarse compounds and kept wet.

The water would act as a lubricant and keep the panel cool. The abrasives in the compound would wear down, getting finer and finer as you worked, but wouldn't bind.

With the rotary polisher turned up to full speed, this was a very quick method of polishing a car and yet had little risk of causing burns. It was particularly effective on cars/vans with solid base paintwork which had oxidized. These older cars had a lot of paint to work with and a lot of the oxidized paint would be coming off, keeping it wet washed away residue.

This method of polishing has fallen out of favour, as has solid base paintwork, rotary polishers and compounds which were far less sophisticated than those used today.

What it means

Wet polishing is a way of machine polishing where you deliberately use extra water or a very wet compound on the pad. In bodyshops it is often used after wet sanding or flat and polish work to clear sanding marks and bring the gloss back. The added water helps the pad glide, keeps heat down and carries away spent compound so the paint can be refined to a smooth, reflective finish.

Why it matters

• Controls heat and dust: Water helps keep temperatures down at the polishing face and reduces airborne dust from dried compound.
• Refines after sanding: Following wet sanding or heavy flatting, wet polishing is used to remove the fine sanding marks and restore clarity and shine.
• Can give a very high gloss: Used correctly with suitable pads and compounds, wet polishing can help achieve a sharp, deep finish on fresh or thick paint.
• Shows up technique: Because the slurry is thin, poor technique can leave trails or patchiness, so it is usually a job for experienced operators.

Where you’ll see it

You will see wet polishing mentioned most in bodyshops, smart repair centres and some high-end detailing studios, usually as part of flat and polish or post-sanding refinement. Older trade descriptions may refer to wet mopping with wool pads and compound on fresh paint. Modern detailing systems are often designed to work with less water, but technicians may still describe a more fluid, slurry style of polishing as wet polishing.

Context

Wet polishing sits alongside wet sanding, flat and polish and normal machine polishing in the refinishing process. A typical sequence on a freshly painted panel might be wet sanding with fine paper, then wet polishing to clear the sanding marks, followed by drier refining stages for maximum clarity. On modern clearcoats many detailers prefer controlled, low-sling compounds and pads instead of heavy wet mopping, but the term wet polishing is still used to describe work where water plays an obvious part in the polishing stage.

Common mistakes

• Using too much water so the compound is washed out and the pad just skates around without doing meaningful correction.
• Letting the slurry dry on the panel or pad, which can cause dragging, marring and extra clean-up work.
• Wet polishing thin or unknown paint without checking thickness, assuming that the extra water always makes the process safe.
• Relying only on old-style wet mopping systems on modern clearcoat when a more controlled, low-sling polishing system would give better and safer results.

Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 18/11/2025 17:38