And how to tell which one your car needs
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**Wax**: A paste/liquid you can apply to a vehicle, it gives a protective layer to the elements, it also fills in scratches resulting in a better shine.
**Ceramic Coating**: A modern evolution/replacement to wax; it has better chemical resistance, longer longevity, and better hydroponic properties.
**Polish**: An abrasive paste/liquid you can hand/machine apply to a vehicle, it wears down the clear coat so that it becomes level with any scratches, thus making it smooth once again and gives a better shine (the level of shine can depend on the intended gloss of the polish).
**Compound**: More abrasive than a polish, only used when needed as it will eat away more of your clear coat.
**Paint Correction**: Just a general term, it usually just means using compound & polish, hopefully after prepping the vehicle (cleaning and then using something like an IPA panel prep to strip existing coatings/chemicals/oils off).
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> And how to tell which one your car needs
If your paint has swirl marks when the light hits it, then polishing may help you.
If your paint is faded, then a compound is likely what is needed, most compounds also should be followed up with a polish.
Nobody really is buying waxes anymore (except car meet guys who want the warmer glow that a natural carmine paste wax gives).
I’d say that everyone would benefit from a spray ceramic wax (after a thorough cleaning). Besides making it easier to clean the car, it also helps reduce paint fading cases by UV (either by having UV blockers or preventing/slowing the oxidation process as the coating is a buffer layer between the clear coat and the air).
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