My paint is about a year old right now and has never been polished or waxed since I got it back from the body shop. It has not been a daily driver and has been garaged (which it will still be getting garaged) so I did not see any need in it, even though it still shines like the day I got it back Well it is fixing to become a daily driver (so it will see plenty of rain) and I was wondering what I can do to protect the paint and keep rain spots at a minimum? Besides washing the car every weekend what else should I do?Should I wax the car every other week or should I polish the car? What is the best product I can get at Autozone or Wal-Mart?

 

what i would use is a 3 step system, i used the meguirs on mine and it worked great,. wash, paint cleaner, polish and wax.

 

is polish like a clear coat. or is it the real fine gritty stuff like rubbing compound

 

polish adds depth and shine, wax is what i think your talking baout with a "clear coat". i wouldn't wax i would use zaino.

 

Do both, Polish & Wax.

 

does polish break down the paint like compound

 

Not really, You need to both polish then wax after cleaning the paint. Compond removes small imperfections from the surface. Then you polish to get the shine/wet look and then wax on top of that to protect it. If you just polish without waxing ,it won't last long. If you polish your car and then leave it in the sun the polish will actually evaporate. The wax locks in the shine you get with the polish.

 

when i scratched my dads black dodge and i tried to use rubbing compound it dulled the paint. and it took away the glossy look

 

I think we should go back to basics here.....WIPE ON/WIPE OFF.
:doh Start by reading the instructions for the product, both for polish & wax and they are about as close to being idiot proof as possible.