Can you polish a car too much?
Quick answer: In theory, yes — abrasive polishing removes a tiny amount of clear coat, so repeated heavy compounding will thin it. Done properly and occasionally, polishing only takes off a few microns and is safe. Correct only when needed, prefer the least-aggressive step, and preserve results with careful washing and protection to reduce how often it’s required.
Yes, you can polish a car too much. Every time you polish a car, you are removing some of the paintwork, around 2-3 microns if you are machine polishing, and so if you do it too often, you can make the paintwork dangerously thin or even go right through.
The smart thing to do is have the car machine polished once and then lock in the shine with a high quality ceramic coating.
You can even do this with hand polishing, although it's less likely these days. We have seen cars, where somebody has diligently polished their car with T-Cut every weekend, and worn through to the primer on corners and edges. However, this was many years ago and would have been on a car with solid base coat.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 23/09/2025 14:09