Nothing brings a car to life than a good polish.  The quality of finish on your car can have a huge impact on it's overall appearance, and if you are looking to resell then it can help to add value or be the difference between clinching the sale and having a potential buyer walk away 'to think about it.' 

As most car enthusiasts will tell you, giving your car a regular polish isn't just vanity - using a high quality product can actually help to repair and protect the paint job of a vehicle, reducing scratches, marks and fade.  While dedicated car enthusiasts may not dream of introducing a classic or high end car to the rough ride of an automated car wash or over-eager scrubbing by a teenager at a fundraiser, the car's previous owners may not have been so scrupulous, and all of those tiny scratches can add up to a dull finish, even after a loving clean and polish. 

Meguiar's are well known for their great range of polishing products, and they have just released a new Scratch X 2.0- the 2.0 signifying that this is an improved version for 2009.  Their Scratch X 2.0 is designed to be used before a final polish to buff out minor scratches, oxidization and some other superficial marks without damaging the paint of the vehicle.  Although more serious chips and scratches will need professional help, this is a great product to get rid of those fine, web-like scratches caused by car-washes that polish alone just won't cover up, and their 2.0 formula is said to be both the most effective and the gentlest for your car's paintwork.  At under $10 per bottle,  it's not hard to justify this purchase to keep your car looking as flawless as possible.

If a hand buff with the above product isn't enough to bring your car's finish back to 110%, then you might need some extra muscle-power in the form of mechanical tools.  Enkay Polishing kits were featured in the Best New Tools and Equipment Product at the SEMA 2008 car show in November, and include a full range of specialized products for buffing aluminium, chrome, glass and painted finishes. 

Their selection of polishing bits for rotary tools such as Dremels are particularly handy when you need just the right kind of tool for a hard to reach place. Whether you need to remove a patch of rust, buff away scratches or swirls from small areas of the paintwork, or sweep away dust and hair from around air vents and buttons on the dash, there is an attachment to do the job.  The car buffing kits are sold in packs that include everything you could want or need to complete a detailing job on your car's body, trims or windows. 

The kits are all reasonably priced, and come complete with bars of polishing compounds, cotton wheels and felt buffs and if you need a little expert advice to go with your new expert tools, you can find some great polishing tips on their website.

Sources:
http://www.autogeek.net/megscratxfin.html

http://semadigital.com/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=20673&site=np2008 

By Angela Neal

Angela grew up around the show room and workshop of her Dad's motorbike business and has been fascinated with cars and bikes ever since.  She has a keen interest in concept cars as well as innovations in design and technology that lead to smarter, sleeker, sexier vehicles.