im planning on polishing my 240 and then waxing it based on an article of someone doing it with a 7 series and having good results. I know very little about paint but i was wondering if i could get better results by polishing and then ceramic coating as i am willing to spend the money(as long as it will work). has anybody tried this before and have any information about it?

How to refresh a dull paint of your Volvo

 

ceramic coatings are quite expensive, and as I understand it, pretty hard to apply properly without a lot of practice.

polymer coatings are more forgiving, and also a lot cheaper. either of these, you need to polish the paint to a high shine without any wax products before applying the sealant coating

 

can a high enough shine be produced without a buffing machine or will i need to get one? and how do polymer coatings hold up against ceramic coatings? ive head ceramic coatings can last around 5 years of a super hard and resistant surface which is what im looking for

 

polymer coatings can last 2-3 years if kept reasonably clean. on boats, they suggest annually.

um, a clay bar can probably get you that shine. hand rubbing with polishing compounds is a lot of work.

 

so your recommendation would be to wash, clay bar, wash and then coat it with polymer(or ceramic). so no polishing compound?

 

if its heavily oxidized, you probably should use a 'cleaner' compound' first, and these come in heavy (only for the worst cases), medium (for a bad case), and fine cut (for a mild case, and always use this after any of the previous), then use a polishing compound, THEN clay bar for the final polish, then a sealant coat.

 

so likely heavy or medium and then light, then polishing compound, claybar and seal. how do i know when im done polishing and to move on to clay? or will it be obvious as i work

 

you have to thoroughly wash any residual compound off after each pass before switching to a finer cleaner or polish. also use clean polishing pads or rags, as you don't want to mix the heavier compounds with the finer ones.

 

awesome ill give it a shot

 

I just picked up my new ride and got a quote for a ceramic coating. Detailer gave me one that is good for 3 years and because my car was new he didn't think the prep would be to bad. The cost quoted was $1600 .