February 12, 2025
If you're keen to restore or maintain the exterior of your car in pristine condition, then regular buffing is a must. Driving can take its toll on your car’s paintwork. Road contaminants such as salt and environmental contaminants like tree sap and dirt can all dull your paintwork over time and cause minor scratches and swirl marks. But by buffing a car, it is possible to remove any minor blemishes and restore your vehicle’s paintwork to its former showroom look and feel.
In this guide, we explain everything you need to know about buffing a car, including top tips from our expert car detailers on how to achieve a high-quality, professional-looking finish.
Car buffing essentially involves rubbing off a thin layer of your vehicle’s paintwork, which contains imperfections like minor scratches and swirl marks, to restore its condition.
You can buff your vehicle manually or using a machine. Hand buffing a car has the advantages of giving you a better feel for the pressure you’re applying and being more in control. However, it can be a very long, time-consuming, and laborious process.
On the other hand, using a buffing machine can be much quicker and requires less effort. However, you must be careful that the machine isn’t too powerful and that too much pressure is applied, which can damage your car’s paintwork.
The benefits of buffing your car include :
● Restores shine – Buffing a car helps to revitalise dull paint, giving it a desirable, glossy finish.
● Removes imperfections – By buffing your vehicle, you can remove any minor scratches, swirl marks, and oxidation, restoring your car’s paintwork to its former glory.
● Protects paintwork – Buffing helps to prepare your car’s paint surface for waxing, which can enhance the protection against environmental contaminants, ensuring your car stays looking its best for longer.
● Improve resale value – If you’re looking to sell your vehicle, restoring its paintwork through buffing could help boost your car’s resale value and ensure it sells faster.
Having the right tools makes all the difference when it comes to buffing a car. Before we dive into the steps, make sure you’ve got everything you need to get that professional, high-quality finish.
Although you can manually buff your car, the time and effort it takes can be a barrier for many people, so we recommend using :
On top of this, you’ll need basic car washing equipment to ensure you can thoroughly wash your car before you attempt buffing it. You can find out more in our ultimate guide to washing your car.
Before buffing a car it is important to fully prepare your vehicle by performing a thorough wash to clean away any existing grime. Having a clean car before you start buffing is essential as it lets you see any imperfections in the paintwork easily and ensures you won’t waste time buffering away dirt spots or scratching paintwork by spreading small dirt particles across the surface.
To ensure the best possible finish ready for buffing, we recommend following our top tips for washing your car or booking professional car wash services.
Once your paintwork is clean, you should inspect it for signs of deep scratches that may require professional attention. It’s important not to attempt to buff any deep scratches yourself, as you could cause more harm to your paintwork.
If you are worried about damaging delicate areas of your vehicle or getting polish in hard-to-remove places, consider using masking tape to provide protection. Common areas people choose to mask up when buffing include :
Below, we share a step-by-step guide on how to buff a vehicle :
The first step to buffing your car is to apply a small amount (three to four small blobs) of your chosen car polishing compound to the pad of an orbital buffer. It’s best to apply the product to the buffer pad rather than directly onto your car to ensure a more even application of product.
Pro tip: if you’re using a new buffing pad, spray a little detailer on it before applying polish to add some lubrication and achieve a better application.
Dab the buffer pad over the section of car you are covering before turning the buffer onto its lowest setting and gently spreading the polish over the area.
At this stage, you are just trying to achieve an even application of the product rather than buffing, so keep the pressure light.
Pro tip: Split your car into small sections and work on one section at a time when applying polish and buffing your vehicle.
Once you are happy you have spread the polish evenly in the area you are working on, you’re ready to start buffing.
Turn your orbital buffer to power five or six and apply light pressure to the top of the buffer with your hand. First, work in horizontal lines, ensuring you overlap by around 50% as you move across the area. Then, repeat the process, moving the buffer vertically across the area, continuing to overlap by 50%. Once you’ve buffed an area horizontally and then vertically, you have completed one pass.
Repeat the process until you’ve completed three to four passes in the same area. This should take around three to four minutes.
Pro tip: Try to keep an even pressure on the buffing machine and avoid pressing too hard as this can cause damage to your paintwork.
Once you’ve completed the area, wipe it down with a clean microfibre cloth to remove any excess residue from the polish.
Pro tip: Use either a circular motion or wipe in straight vertical lines when removing polish residue for a professional quality finish.
Use a torch or detailing light and shine it on the completed area to inspect your work. You shouldn’t expect to get a perfect finish, especially if you are new to car buffing, but you should see a noticeable improvement compared to areas that you haven’t worked on.
Clean your pad after completing every section or two. The best way to do this is to turn it on at a low setting and gently stroke the pad with a soft-bristled toothbrush until it is completely clean.
Repeat the buffing process until you have buffed your entire vehicle.
When it comes to buffing a car, some common mistakes people often make include :
● Applying excessive pressure – When using an orbital buffer, it’s important to let it do the work for you. You only need to apply light, even pressure when using a buffing machine. Pressing too hard can cause uneven buffing and even lead to damage to your paintwork.
● Incorrect pad selection - There are three main pad types available; wool, microfibre and foam. Wool and microfibre pads tend to have a more abrasive action that provides a lot of cutting power so are best left to the professionals who have years of experience using them.
Foam pads tend to leave fewer marks and imperfections behind and are more forgiving for people with less experience buffing vehicles. Foam pads are usually colour-coded depending on the specific purpose and hardness of the pad, so check to make sure you’re choosing a suitable pad for your vehicle.
● Skipping preparation – Not taking the time to properly prepare your vehicle for buffing can result in damage to your paintwork or delicate areas of your car.
After buffing your vehicle, it’s important to follow correct aftercare and maintenance to help preserve its high gloss finish for longer. The best way to do this is by applying a specialist car wax. This will help protect your car’s paintwork from UV damage and other road and environmental contaminants and keep it looking pristine for longer.
Regular washing will help remove contaminants and dirt from your car and keep the paintwork in the best possible condition.
Pro tip: Always use a Ph neutral car-specific washing solution when washing your vehicle to avoid stripping the paintwork protection.
Although it may seem like an effort, regularly taking the time to buff your car’s paintwork will help to keep it in the best possible condition.
As a general guide, we recommend buffing your car once or twice a year. However, depending on how often you drive, where you park your car and the environmental conditions your car is exposed to, you may find more regular buffing is required to retain your car’s shine.
If you’re not confident buffing your car yourself, then you can always leave it to the experts. At Star Car Wash, we offer spot buffing to treat specific areas of your car as parts of our professional detailing services.
But if you feel your car would benefit from a complete buffing treatment, speak to our experts at your local Star Car Wash. Car buffing can be added onto our detailing packages to ensure your car gets the care it deserves.
To restore the lustre of your car’s paintwork and keep it in pristine condition for longer, let our experts help. As Australia’s leading professional hand wash, our expert car detailers are dedicated to offering the very best car wax and polish services.
Since 2003, we’ve detailed thousands of cars, helping to restore their showroom look and feel once more. Our expert car detailing services go beyond an ordinary car wash, by removing blemishes and restoring paintwork, as well as revitalising interiors from leather seats to plastic coverings.
Book online today or visit your nearest Star Car Wash branch.
