There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing your car’s paintwork looking clean, smooth and scratch-free.

Our simple guide to paint correction, created with Royal Warranted Car Care experts Autoglym, takes you through the steps to restore your car’s shine and give the paintwork a fresh, polished finish.

Step 1: Clean your car

Before you use any polish or wax, start with a thorough clean. Dirt, dust and road grime can scratch the paintwork if they’re left on the surface while you’re polishing.

For the best results:

• Work out of direct sunlight to avoid products drying onto your vehicle’s paintwork
• Choose a dry day, ensure your vehicle is bone dry before beginning
• Make sure the whole car is clean before starting

The Autoglym Polar Range is a great place to start, helping you clean your car and get the paintwork ready for the next stage.

Don’t forget the rest of the car, either. Give your wheels and tyres a good clean and apply some tyre dressing. A quick vacuum and dusting of the interior will also help give the whole car that fresh, clean feel.

Step 2: Prepare the paintwork

Once your car is clean, it’s time to remove anything that’s still stuck to the paintwork so you’ve got a nice clean surface to work on. This step is important because polishing over dirt or contaminants can cause further marks and scratches.

Remove iron fallout

Start by removing iron particles, brake dust and other fallout from the paintwork.

Autoglym Magma is designed to target these tiny iron particles. Spray it onto the paintwork and watch as the product changes colour as it reacts with the contaminants. Once it has worked, rinse the product away thoroughly so there are no bubbles left.

Use a clay bar

Even after washing, your paintwork can still feel rough because of contaminants such as tree sap. A clay bar can help remove these stubborn particles and leave the surface feeling smooth again. Apply the supplied lubricant and gently move the clay over the paintwork, keep folding the clay to expose a clean surface as it picks up dirt.

Remove tar and rubber marks

Tar and small rubber particles can build up on your car, particularly around the lower bodywork. Use Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover on affected areas to help remove these stubborn marks.

Remove light scratches and scuffs

Now it’s time to tackle light scratches and scuffs.

The Autoglym Scratch Removal Complete Kit can help remove light marks, including scratches around door handles from keys, scuffs from shoes and some light parking damage.

Step 3: Revitalise the paintwork

Give the car another wash to remove any excess residue before moving on to polishing.

Once the paintwork is clean and dry, use Autoglym Super Resin Polish to bring back the shine. It helps remove fine scratches and can fill minor imperfections in the paintwork, leaving the surface looking smoother and more evenly finished.

Step 4: Protect the finish

Now you’ve put the work in, it’s time to protect the finish so your results last.

There are plenty of Autoglym waxes and paint protection products to choose from, but for longer-lasting protection, we love the Autoglym Ultra High Definition Ceramic Coating because it provides a durable ceramic coating designed to protect the paintwork while enhancing its glossy look.

Top Tip: For the best results, always follow the product instructions carefully when applying your chosen protection.

The finished result

By cleaning, preparing, polishing and protecting your car’s paintwork, you can give it a smoother, glossier finish and help keep it looking its best. All that’s left to do is admire the results and enjoy the drives ahead!