Best car polishes 2023

Yes, it brought a good shine to our classic car’s paintwork, but it dries quickly so is prone to leaving residue if you’re not very quick to work it in and buff it thoroughly.

It’s also only available in a large 1-litre bottle, and more than that, the price appears to be extremely erratic. When we did our polishing tests the Glart cost around £21 for the litre bottle, but by the time we sat down to write it up, the price had rocketed to a frankly hilarious £54.98.

Classic & Sports Car says 1 star

7. MER Ultimate Shine Polish

Min price per litre £12.88

The Mer is a good price, although it’ll take up a bit of space in your shed or garage, because it’s only available in a 1-litre bottle.

The bottle has a child-proof cap that is also excellent at keeping adults out, but if you’ve got the shelf space and the dexterity, this is another good product from this reassuringly Germanic brand. It left our BMW’s paint looking free of the worst marks, with a smooth-to-the-touch finish.

Mer Ultimate Shine isn’t as good at getting deeper scratches out as some others here, though, and overall we prefer the Turtle Wax for a good, long-lasting, low-cost polish.

Classic & Sports Car says 3 stars

6. Sonax car polish

Min price per litre £21.10

Everything on the Sonax’s bottle is in German apart from (ironically) the phrase ‘made in Germany’. Nevertheless, polish isn’t the hardest thing to work out so the fact that our stilting, classroom German didn’t stretch to the Sonax’s instructions didn’t stop us, and this polish proved to be a really decent option. 

It dries quickly, but we worked it in swiftly with our mechanical polisher and it brought our classic BMW’s paintwork to a high shine and really showed off the metallic finish.

Sonax polish is not the cheapest, but it’s a good product, and you can learn some German while you polish.

Classic & Sports Car says 3 stars

5.  T-Cut Color Fast

Min price per litre £23.98

This colour-specific polish is designed to be particularly good on deeper scratches, as the coloured polish imparts its pigment to help more effectively blur out any damage.

It didn’t match our classic BMW, but we had a white Corsa to hand that had been keyed and was a great test for the T-Cut.

Rather impressively, it buffed out all but the deepest parts of the scratch and in more general use around the car it delivered a bright shine that lasted for a good few weeks.

T-Cut Color Fast comes with its own application and finishing pads, too. 

Classic & Sports Car says 4 stars

4. Turtle Wax Renew Polish

Min price per litre £13.58

Turtle Wax is another established and trusted name when it comes to car care, and the Renew Polish goes on easily and buffs to a bright shine without too much effort.

Although it wasn’t as good at getting scratches out as some of the other products in this test, Renew Polish did a great job on fine haze and the general wear that you see on paint after a couple of decades.

It’s an effective general polish that delivers a high shine that lasts well.

Classic & Sports Car says 4 stars

3. Simoniz Liquid Diamond polish and wax

Min price per litre £12.53

The Simoniz Liquid Diamond polish is a great all-rounder.

It doesn’t quite match the performance of the Meguiar’s when it comes to deeper scratches, but it’s easy to apply, polishes up very quickly, and leaves a really deep and glossy shine.

The Simoniz also lasted superbly, keeping our classic car’s paint looking smart and feeling smooth to the touch for many days afterwards, with most daily muck and water running off nicely for a smart finish for weeks afterwards.

For a well-priced, general car polish, this is a brilliant option.

Classic & Sports Car says 4 stars

2. Autoglym SRP325 Super Resin polish

Min price per litre £33.51

Autoglym is something of a default option for plenty of classic car owners who want the reassurance of a well-known name when it comes to car care, and this polish shows that the brand deserves that loyalty.

The Super Resin polish brought the paint up to a really noticeable shine that lifted the car’s depth of colour and lasted for weeks afterwards.

It wasn’t quite as effective as the rival Meguiar’s at removing deeper scratches, but it did a brilliant job on transforming general haze and dullness into a lustrous finish.

For a long-lasting shine-and-protect polish, this is hard to beat.

Classic & Sports Car says 4 stars

1. Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound

The Meguiar’s polish isn’t the cheapest, but it did the best job at removing a deeper scratch that marred our classic BMW’s side panel, and also helped to fade out a fairly noticeable scuff from a supermarket trolley.

The polish goes on smoothly and buffs quickly to a very pleasing shine, bringing out the paint’s metallic finish and depth of colour, and leaving it looking bright for a number of weeks.

Whether you’re considering car polish for general maintenance, for car-show prep or to try and buff out a specific scuff or scratch, Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound is really excellent.

Classic & Sports Car says 5 stars

Min price per litre £31.09

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