For the uninitiated, the idea of polishing a car can be daunting. Professional detailers have paint depth gauges, access to varying strengths of polish and hours of practice using a machine polisher while an amateur may not even have an applicator. Properly polishing a car can totally transform how the paintwork looks, but do it incorrectly and you can leave burns and permanent blisters.
But don’t be worried, polishing is a perfectly natural part of car care. There’ll come a point that the bodywork is so full of little scratches (picked up through washing and daily driving), that it’ll start to dull the paintwork and make even the prettiest car look as slab-sided as a Bristol 412.
Launched in the 1980s and heavily revised in 2012, Autoglym’s Super Resin Polish is an icon of car care and a top seller to this day. It's not like typical car polish, it uses really fine abrasives powders, meaning it's perfect for hand application and shouldn't cut through paintwork. It also includes fillers to mask small scratches creating a smooth surface and has a small amount of wax included to provide a thin layer of protection.
For a total beginner to the world of car polishing, it's a great product to learn with. Easy to apply and decently capable, all with no risk to your paintwork. The only issue is that it doesn't cope well with deeper scratches.
Verdict: The perfect polish for beginners, it fills small scratches but isn't the strongest option on sale.
Score: 4.5/5
| Pros | Cons | |
|---|---|---|
| • Perfect polish for beginners | • Not the longest-lasting option | |
| • Hides scratches | • Leaves greasy marks on bare plastic | |
| • Easy to use |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1000ml |
| Strength | Light abrasive |
| Extras | Contians fillers |
What's good?
Super Resin Polish prides itself on its versatility. Autoglym claim it's perfect for new or old paintwork, restoring dulled paint and removing small scuffs and scratches. It contains light abrasives that are okay for removing the smallest of scratches but will only start to strip away paint if you work the applicator really hard (or use it with a machine polisher). All this means is that nothing will be removed from the car's paintwork as you work, happy news for anyone worried about causing damage to paintwork.
Our testing saw it applied to a 15-year-old Volvo that judging by the spider-web of mini scratches present in the paint, had never been polished. It was the perfect conditions for Super Resin Polish, if it could excel here and mask those scratches, it could do it for just about anything.
The application was simple with a microfibre applicator, Autoglym print the instructions clearly on the bottle and it becomes a case of working panel by panel, ensuring that the paintwork is sufficiently coated. Helpfully the polish hazes up nicely (like a quality wax), a visual reminder of any areas you may have missed.
An important test for the Super Resin Polish is the paintwork surrounding a car's door handle. Here rings and other jewellery can regularly bash into the finish leading to a multitude of scratches and creating a really dull finish. With Super Resin Polish applied and buffed away, there was a noticeable improvement in the finish. There are a couple of deeper scratches present if you really crane your neck towards the image but the vast majority of scratches were expertly removed or filled to give a smooth finish.
All of this was achieved without needing to buy an expensive machine polisher or spend hours with a specialist light looking at the paint from every angle, for hiding fine scratches easily, Super Resin Polish is an industry leader.
What’s okay?
As we’ve already established, Super Resin Polish lacks the abrasive qualities of a stronger car polish which has the plus of being really easy to use, but also means that it's not the most effective at hiding deeper scratches. Applying more pressure will give a noticeable boost in its polishing ability (and sore arms), but it still won't be enough for heavily damaged paintwork.
The fillers included aren't permanent and the wax that's mixed in won't last very long. A proper coating of wax over the top of the polish will offer better protection. It does make Super Resin Polish ideal for a car show or taking some pictures of your car due to the immediate visual boost it offers, just don't expect those fillers to last long term.
Any negatives?
The small plastic wrapper on the bottle top seems to be made from Vibranium and wouldn't budge or tear no matter how much we struggled with it. In the end, it was simply compressed down so the lid could be opened properly. Not the end of the world but visually jarring and fiddly.
It'll also leave a greasy mark on unpainted plastic, rubber seals and glass. This residue is easy to remove with a microfibre towel but is once again an annoyance to deal with.
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