How often should I polish my car?

What this question is really about

If your car is ceramic coated, the real question isn’t “how often should I polish?” - it’s “should I be polishing at all?”. Polishing abrades the surface. On a coated car, that means removing or weakening the coating.

Why polishing and ceramic coatings don’t mix routinely

Machine polishing works by levelling the surface to remove defects. That process will remove the ceramic coating in the area being corrected. Even light polishing can compromise performance.

• Polishing removes coating before it removes clear coat.
• Hand polishing is still abrasive, even if milder.
• Routine polishing defeats the purpose of long-term protection.

When polishing may be justified

• Noticeable scratches or swirl marks that bother you.
• Isolated defects that require correction.
• High spots or application issues that need refining.

In these cases, it is usually machine polishing rather than hand polishing - and the affected panels will need to be re-coated afterwards.

What to do before reaching for polish

• Try a proper wash and decontamination first.
• Check whether water behaviour is simply masked by traffic film.
• Consider whether the defect is visible in normal lighting or only under inspection lamps.

The smarter long-term approach

Correct the paint properly once, apply the coating, and then focus on safe washing. The goal of a ceramic coating is to reduce the need for polishing - not to create a cycle of polish, re-coat, polish, re-coat.

Best-practice checklist

• Don’t polish a coated car unless there is a clear reason.
• If you do polish, expect to reapply coating to that area.
• Use safe washing techniques to avoid reintroducing defects.
• See polishing as correction, not maintenance.