Toyota C-HR Hybrid | Machine Polishing

A Toyota C-HR Hybrid being brought in before a sale. The owner wants to give it some love before it goes -- a black car that has picked up a few scratches and needs a proper buff. Double-stage machine polish across the whole car, paint correction on a few areas, close-match paint on the cosmetics, three-month protective wax.

What the Polish Will and Won't Fix

Light to medium scratches -- removed or significantly reduced. A slight scratch running across one panel: corrected out. A couple of cosmetic marks at the rear and front bumper: improved. The bonnet has a scratch that will see about 60 per cent improvement -- not dramatic, but better. Anything that has gone right through the lacquer cannot be polished out; that requires a smart repair or a panel respray.

The Bird Etch -- and Why Ceramic Matters

After the buff, Gary notices something on the roof. Bird droppings that have been left on the car long enough to etch right through the lacquer and into the base coat. The paint has gone. There is nothing a polish can do at that point.

This car had no ceramic coating and probably just a basic wax when new. Gary's point: a ceramic coating would not guarantee this never happens, but the coating takes the hit instead of the paint. In his experience, even when the ceramic gets marked by bird etch, the paint underneath has always been fine. The coating is a sacrificial layer -- it absorbs the damage so the lacquer does not have to.

Modern cars like a Toyota are mechanically very reliable -- they will run and run. The value and desirability at the point of sale is almost entirely cosmetic. This is exactly why protecting the paintwork from day one makes financial sense. See our machine polishing service and ceramic coating range.