Car polishing done right – step-by-step with Koch Chemie
Professional paintwork restoration begins long before the actual polishing. For ambitious home users who want to achieve perfect results, a clear process is essential: thorough cleaning, decontamination, a gradual polish, and a final sealant. Koch Chemie offers a comprehensive range of products that optimally cover each of these steps.
1. Pre-wash & thorough cleaning
Before you start using clay and polish, the paint must be completely clean. This is the only way to avoid dirt particles later acting like sandpaper.
- Hand wash with pH-neutral shampoo (e.g. Gentle Snow Foam) for a gentle pre-wash
- Insect remover or alkaline pre-cleaner if necessary
- Rinse and dry thoroughly to avoid water spots
2. Knead – smooth the paint surface
After pre-washing, the paintwork is clean, but often still contains embedded particles (tar, rust film, industrial deposits). You can feel these when you gently run your hand over the paintwork.
- Use cleaning clay in combination with a suitable lubricant
- Blue clay for light soiling
- Red clay for heavier contamination
- Important: Apply only light pressure to avoid scratches
The result is a noticeably smooth surface – the ideal base for polishing.
3. Polishing – Remove defects, build shine
Now comes the most important step: polishing. This depends on the condition of the paint and your goals. Koch Chemie offers a multi-stage system that can be flexibly adapted:
- Heavy Cut (e.g. H9): for severe defects such as deep scratches or grinding marks
- Fine Cut (e.g. F6): for medium swirls and car wash scratches
- Micro Cut (e.g. M3.02 or M2.02): for the finest scratches, holograms and the high-gloss finish
- Micro Cut & Finish P3.01: if you want to polish and seal in one step
The choice of pads is crucial: hard pads for major defects, medium pads for corrective work, soft pads for the finish.
4. Sealing – protection for the result
Polishing without a sealant is like a freshly waxed floor without a protective coating: The results won't last long. There are several options for permanently protecting the paint:
- 1K Nano: high-quality long-term sealant with very good durability and strong beading properties
- Micro Cut & Finish P3.01: if you prefer an integrated solution and want to save the extra step
- Quick alternatives: spray sealants or waxes if you want to keep things simple
Conclusion – the perfect process for ambitious home users
A successful vehicle polish is not a coincidence, but the result of a clear system:
- Pre-wash – gently clean, remove dirt
- Kneading – removing embedded particles, smoothing the surface
- Polishing – depending on the severity of the defect, work with Heavy Cut, Fine Cut or Micro Cut
- Sealing – protecting the result in the long term
With the coordinated products from Koch Chemie, you can easily implement this process at home – and achieve results that come very close to professional standards.