Nu Finish Car Polish
Car Polish, Car Wax, or Car Paint Sealant?

Nu Finish Car Polish has been around as long as I can remember. I still remember the old television commercials where a car that has been "polished" using Nu Finish is run through a car wash a hundred of times.

And the water still beads on the car, thus proving that the Nu Finish car polish must still be there, working to repel and bead up water with its revolutionary "once a year" claims

Nu Finish Car Polish on Amazon

The Once a Year Car Polish...really?

The problem I have with Nu Finish is the same problem I have with virtually every other company that makes cosmetic car care products.

Misleading marketing and labeling, along with hyped-up terms that sound provocative and sophisticated, but in reality are completely ambiguous at best, and false at worst.

We are going to unpack this product, the marketing, and the terminology so you can become a more informed consumer and car owner.

Nu Finish Car Polish: The car polish that isn't.

Since Polish itself is a tricky word, I am going to start broad and work into the specifics of Nu Finish Car polish itself.

What is Polish?

The word polish is a tricky word for many reasons:

• Polish as a noun: this means it is a physical product. You can buy it, touch it, hold it.
• Polish as a verb: you can use the product to polish something. As the act of polishing something. Or to "polish a car"
• Polish pronounced differently (even though it is spelled identically): now it becomes a label for ethnicity. A person from the country of Poland would be called Polish.

For this part of our journey into the world of polishes, polishing, and car polishes specifically, right now we will be discussing "polish" as a noun.

Not all polishes are created equally. Some use chemicals as the "polishing agent", while others use abrasives as the polishing agent. (Once again, we need to remember that polish as a noun, is different than polishing as a verb)

1. Chemical Polish: chemicals will be used as part of the formulation. These chemicals will help to remove unwanted oxidation, haze, contaminants, etc. to restore shine and luster.
2. Mechanical Polish: These types of polishes will have some form of abrasives as part of the formulation to abrade away unwanted oxidation, haze, surface defects, scratches, micro-marring, imperfections, etc. (notice that "mechanical polishes" are capable of doing more) These abrasives will be suspended within the other active and/or inert ingredients that make up what is called the emulsion. (Emulsion in simple terms is the blending of multiple liquids that don't naturally blend together. Typically, additional chemicals or ingredients are used to keep these "unmixable" ingredients suspended together into an emulsion. A tight emulsion would be mayonnaise or facial cream. A "rudimentary" emulsion would be a salad dressing [vinaigrette] that you would need to shake before using to blend or emulsify the ingredients back together)

Darren's Note: Now days with advances in chemical engineering and manufacturing, there are these things called hybrids (just like hybrid cars that combine a gas powered engine and an electric motor into a single car) This means there are many car waxes, car polishes, car paint sealants that are formulated using both natural wax ingredients along with synthetically made ingredients.

What this means in the context of a Nu Finish car polish is that you can have a product labeled as a wax, and yet be formulated with virtually all synthetic ingredients.

Many times this is simply to make things easier on the consumer. If most people are familiar with car wax, then trying to educate them on the benefits and science behind synthetic sealants is not a challenge many companies want to take on)

It is easier just to call a product a wax, instead of the confusion that may enter the picture if it is labeled with a term that is obscure or unknown to most people. As the adage goes: "We don't need to reinvent the wheel"

What is Polishing?

Now we enter the wold of polishing as a verb. (an action word: like running, sweeping, cleaning, and wait for it...polishing)

In simple terms, it is rubbing a surface (of something) to create shine, gloss, and/or to remove unwanted defects, restore a surface (or thing) that has been rendered imperfect, or surface (of something) that has been defaced.

Literally anything can be rubbed by anything else with force or repeated actions, to create friction that will in most cases remove unwanted dirt, discoloration, surface contaminants, etc. (think of taking your finger and rubbing it very hard against the dirty windshield on your car. It will instantly remove a certain amount of dirt and create a more desirable appearance. Technically you could say that you have now polished your front windshield with your finger)

Nu Finish Car Polish: A deep-dive.

Now we will enter the wold of Nu Finish car polish and take a look at some specifics to this well known car polish that isn't.

Or is it?

What is Nu Finish Car Polish?

Nu Finish car polish according to industry standards of the auto detailing and surface car care is neither a polish nor a car wax. It would be more appropriately designated as a car paint sealant due to its synthetic ingredients.

As a rule a car wax must be made with some form of natural wax ingredient such as, but not limited to carnauba or beeswax. (Brazilian carnauba wax is the most popular and most widely recognized type of natural wax use to formulate car wax)

Because of the way Nu Finish is marketed and labeled, there is much confusion as to what Nu Finish really is. This means despite the mislabeling or ambiguous labeling of Nu Finish, it is what is considered as a car paint sealant.

Darren's Note: car waxes and car paint sealants are products designed to add protection and visual enhancement to your cars paint.

These products are done without making any permanent changes in the form of defect removal as would be provided by a true polish that has been formulated with "abrasive technology". (a glorified way of saying the polish has some form of abrasive particles in the formulation)

Does Nu Finish Car Polish Work?

Yes. But this really depends on what you mean when you ask "work". It is effective at making your car paint look better, creating a certain level of water-beading" effect, and a certain level of overall "protection".

So in the context of asking if any form of car wax or car paint sealant works, Nu Finish car polish meets the demands of that over-simplified question.

Is Nu Finish Car Polish Really a Polish?

Yes and no. Once again, due to the complexity of the word "polish", it all depends on your definition of a "polish". Based on the simple definition of polishing (the act of polishing), I could argue that basic tap water can be labeled as a polish.

I could also argue that my spit (saliva) can be a polish.

Haven't you licked your finger and proceeded to rub your wet finger against a surface with the goal to "polish" some unwanted dirt or blemish away from some surface? (how many kids have pulled away in disgust as mommy licked her finger and rubbed [polished] the grunge off their kids face)

This means that Nu Finish is not incorrect in labeling their product as a polish. The issue I take with Nu Finish car polish is multiple reasons:

• Misleading marketing
• Exploiting the ignorance of their audience
• Exploiting generalizations of language

I will examine each of these for greater understanding with this statement I have made many times on the pages of this website and within my YouTube video tutorials:

"Virtually every company selling cosmetic car care products uses hype, generalizations, and misleading advertising and marketing to separate you from your money."

It is a pervasive problem that most every industry uses, and a problem that actually grows within the industry of detailing, surface car care, and cosmetic car care.

Misleading Marketing: Nu Finish is misleading in that it uses a generalized word (polish) that leads people into thinking that the Nu Finish car polish is capable of performing like other forms of car polishes that contain actual abrasives and can actually improve the paint surface of your car through abrasive polishing.

It also misleads by calling it the "once a year car polish". That in itself is not only a bold claim, but a claim that is in most ways, impossible to verify.

Very few people look for excuses to wax or polish their car, so naturally we are going to be seduced by a product claiming to last a full year. But once again; a claim virtually impossible to verify.

Exploiting Ignorance: Any topic of life is worthy of a deep-dive of knowledge, experience, and understanding. I will use the analogy of an old-school, mechanical wrist watch. The kind your father probably wore that had a face with 2 or 3 moving "hands": the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand.

All that is required to "use" a watch is the ability to read the moving hands.

What goes on below the surface is of little concern to most people. As the owner of such a watch, you have a rudimentary understanding of how to set the time on your watch and how it operates. But if you were to lift the face of the watch to reveal all the countless moving parts, your jaw would likely drop in disbelief!

The countless sized gears, cogs, levers, pins, and dials turning and spinning below the surface is of no concern to you.

But that is where your knowledge ends and your ignorance begins. And your ignorance is exactly where marketing and advertising likes to play. Because within your ignorance, anything is possible.

All you have to do is add the right words, create the right emotions, add enough mystery and intrigue and Bingo! You are now separated from your money.

Exploiting Language: I realize this statement likely makes little sense to most of you. It is one of my "pet peeves" with any sector of business and life. Companies use ambiguous terms and even coin new terms used to market and sell their products.

Terms that are dramatic, sound sophisticated, or create intrigue. Terms that at a casual glance make a compelling case, but when examined are nothing more than empty, hyped-up words!

Language is filled with endless examples of terminology that is not standardize, is not regulated, and therefore are used to exploit peoples' ignorance on any given subject.

Does Nu Finish Remove Scratches?

No.

Nu Finish car polish can make your paint and the scratches in your paint "shinier", but Nu Finish will not actually remove scratches, but simply shine-up the current scratches in your paint.

Which for many cars owners, that is all they want: car paint that looks shinier, despite all the defects remaining.

Because Nu Finish car polish contains no abrasives (despite the product being called a car polish which implies that it can remove some degree of scratching or other paint defects) it cannot remove scratches or other paint defects.

Car polishes formulated with abrasives are the only way to truly remove scratches or other car paint defects. Car waxes and car paint sealants (Nu Finish is a car paint sealant) only "cover" paint defects and car paint scratches temporarily as these type of products wear off and need new applications. (car waxes/sealants only help conceal paint defects and blemishes temporarily)

Does Nu Finish Protect Paint from UV Rays?

No. Just as no traditional car wax or paint sealant can.

Despite the fact that most car waxes promote their products as being formulated with UV inhibitors or UV protectors, this claim has never been substantiated. By anyone! Ever!

And even though this claim has never been proven, manufacturers continue to label and promote their car waxes and car paint sealants has having this ability.

Enter into the world of sunscreen for application on your skin to protect from sunburn and UV rays and you will see specific ratings as to how much UV protection is formulated into a particular sunscreen.

This is known as SPF: Sun Protection Factor. And I ask if the world of sunscreen can quantify their products, why does the world of car wax not quantify the UV protection supposedly in their car wax products?

Does Nu Finish Car Polish Really Last a Year

Yes and no. It really depends on who you ask.

The metrics or standards you use to validate as to whether Nu Finish really lasts a year, or the durability of any car wax/sealant is critical before you can truly answer that question.

In my professional opinion and experience, no car wax or paint sealant can last a year based on "normal" conditions. (whatever normal would mean)

If you ask me, I will quickly work very far down that proverbial rabbit hole and dissect that question for clarity, before I give an answer.

Just like you searching for the "best car paint sealant". How do you define or determine the standards used to determine what "best" means:

• Easiest to apply and remove?
• Cheapest to buy?
• Most resistant to harsh chemicals?
• Easy to find and purchase (most readily available)
• Doesn't stain black trim?
• Can be used in direct sunlight on hot paint?
• Can withstand repeated car washings with car wash soap?
• Can reduce, or eliminate etching from bird poop or water spots?

No single product will be capable of every conceivable benefit. And as I am often heard saying, "There is no perfect solution, only trade-off's." (thank you Thomas Sowell!)

You trade one benefit in exchange for another benefit you consider to be of more value. This adage holds true with Nu Finish car polish or any other car polish, car wax, or car paint sealant.

These products all have their own set of pros and cons.

Can I recommend Nu Finish to You?

Yes!

Due to advances in chemical engineering and formulating, you have more very good products than you could wave a stick at!

This is both the good news and bad news.

It's nice to have options, but I find that too many options leave many people in "analysis paralysis" and can't make a decision.

No decision, and no wax on your car. No wax on your car, and no protection on your car.

That is a problem.

Nu Finish car polish and sealant kit on Amazon

And since I am not just a problem finder but more importantly a solution provider, here is my solution:

• Nu Finish Scratch Doctor (allows you to use a product that can actually remove or improve scratches in your car paint)
• Nu Finish Original "Once a Year Car Polish" (not a polish but a good sealant to create a foundational base coat of protection and gloss)
• Nu Finish ceramic coating spray (this is your maintenance product to keep your paint looking its best between applications of the Nu Finish Car Polish)
  

Is Nu Finish Car Polish a Car wax, a Car Polish, or a Car Paint Sealant?

Great question!

So glad you asked. And once again; largely depends on who you ask and your definition of each of those terms or labels.

Based on the most accepted definition of those terms within the world of professional auto detailing, Nu Finish car polish would be most appropriately labeled as a car paint sealant due to its synthetic formulation, and the fact that it is 100% free of any form of natural wax. (this can be verified at the official Nu Finish website)

Nu Finish Car Polish: Keeping it Simple

I can tell you from first hand experience that Nu Finish is a good product and delivers on expectations (at least some of the expectations). I have also read many positive reviews that back this up.

And the simple answer is that if you want to keep things super simple, you needn't look any further than Nu Finish car polish as an answer to protecting and enhancing your cars paint finish.

Getting Professional Results

What you will never find among the countless positive reviews of Nu Finish car polish is how to take your car paint to the next level prior to using any of the Nu Finish products.

And that is where the clay bar comes in. Prior to any waxing or polishing of your cars paint, you need to prepare the surface by removing the air borne contaminants that will collect and bond to your car paint.

If you are not familiar with the clay bar or detailing clay, (one in the same) you are in for a real treat!

This tool of the trade will raise both the user experience of any product, and increase performance of any product by creating a contaminate-free surface prior to application. If you need further understanding on this unique tool of the trade, visit my comprehensive Q. and A. page on detailing clay.

Steps to Proper Surface Car Care:

• Wash car
• Decontaminate paint using clay bar
• Apply your choice in a car wax, paint sealant, or the Nu Finish car polish
• Do this as often as you are willing (the exception is the clay bar. Your car paint will only have to be decontaminated periodically and for most people this is approximately every 6-12 months based on the specifics to air pollution levels in your immediate area)
  

Once you have prepared the surface of your car paint, it is time to apply your choice in of the Nu Finish products found on this page above.

• Use the Scratch Doctor to treat any areas of your paint that could use a combination of "elbow-grease" and some mildly-abrasive polish.
• Use the Once a Year Car Polish to apply your initial base coat of gloss and protection.
• Use the Ceramic Spray to add an additional layer to the base coat or simply use as your maintenance product to help extend and preserve the base coat.
  

Nu Finish Car Polish Summary

I hope you now understand the differences in car paint sealants and car waxes, as well as realize the choices you now have as a results of advances in manufacturing and chemical engineering.

Sincerely,

Darren Priest

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