Videos: #car-polishing

Key scratch vandalism: almost always through the paint, cannot be polished or rattle-canned. Needs a body shop with a proper booth -- door handles off, strips off, full respray. Light lacquer scratches from hedges may polish out. Insurance claim worth considering.

An Aston Martin DB11 collected two days earlier -- already carrying dealer wash marks and scratches around the door handles. Polished out and sealed with Fireball Butterfly 5-year ceramic coating before the owner had even cleaned it himself.

A VW Scirocco came in covered in dried concrete splatter. Three acid washes to dissolve the lime and calcium, a machine polish to remove the grit scratches, and it came out cleaner -- and cheaper -- than expected.

Del always wanted a Jaguar. He doesn't much like the new ones -- so a new Jaguar for him means finding a good used example and making it like new. James clay-barred and double-buffed the paintwork; we cleaned the leather throughout and advised a trimmer for the worn driver's bolster.

Gary explains the difference between traditional acrylic sealants and ceramic nano-coatings -- how they behave, how they're applied, and why the preparation matters as much as the product.