Can I save money by polishing the car myself?
Quick answer: Not usually. Hand polishing can brighten light oxidation, but it won’t remove wash marks; proper correction needs a machine, pads and polishes, plus skill. By the time you buy decent kit (and risk mistakes), it’s typically cheaper to have a pro do it, and correction is only needed every few years so the gear is unlikely to pay for itself.
Typically, you cannot save money by polishing your car yourself in the short term.
If you have some slight oxidation on the paintwork, then hand polishing will remove that, but do little to remove wash marks and light scratches. To remove these, you would need to machine polish the paintwork.
It is likely to be cheaper to pay a professional to do it for you than to go out and buy a decent machine polisher, the compounds, polishes and other equipment you might need to do a competent job.
Even then, it is a skill which takes training and practice to do well, and it does have its dangers. It is possible to make things worse and even permanently damage your paintwork.
Generally speaking, your car should only need a light polishing every few years, so it doesn't scale up to a point where you will save money.
With that said, there is a huge community of car enthusiasts who love to buy all the equipment and polish their cars, and the cars of friends and family. They may even be able to earn a little bit of money doing it. But as they are enthusiasts who love to keep buying the latest gear, and spend countless hours doing it, it is debatable whether they ever make their money back. It is great for a hobby, but I suspect they spend a lot more than they save.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 25/09/2025 15:08