Stage 4 – Glaze
By The Wax Man
If your car did not require compounding, that's great. Let's get started on hand glazing. This is one of the shorter sections in writing. Don’t let that mislead you! Glazing should be conducted slowly and extremely carefully. Time and care taken now will reflect in the overall finish of the car.
The purpose of glazing is not to fix paint imperfections. That's what we used the fine compound for in the previous step. Glazing is used to refine the paint surface and to begin the process of glazing. When paint is fully glazed, it has taken on all of the natural gloss and reflection it can without assistance from a wax or sealant.
Just as with polishing, you need to adjust your thinking with glazing. Many people and product manufacturers suggest using a terry cloth towel or terry cloth applicator to apply polish. This is no longer the best glazing tool.
Today, the best tool for glazing is a high-quality foam applicator. Likewise, for buffing off polish residue, do not use terry cloth or flat cotton towelling. A good Microfibre polishing cloth is far superior and is many times less abrasive than cotton terry cloth towelling.
The procedure for glazing is not much different than it is for polishing. The idea is to keep the polishing applicator as flat to the paint surface as possible. Use a light-medium cutting polish such as SMART Polish or Signature Pro-Cut Polish and work very lightly with hand pressure only. You are not looking to remove too much material now, just even up any light surface marring.
Apply Signature Pro-Cut Polish to the pad and work in small circles. If the previous stages have been carried out correctly, there should be little if any residue on the sponge, but keep checking anyway. It takes just one piece of grit to destroy the fine gloss you are looking to achieve.
Work in small areas and inspect regularly. Concentrate on the horizontal surfaces. These take far more of a battering than the vertical ones. If you are used to a good quality wax then you will not see the depth of shine that you are used to. What you are aiming for is an even gloss look that shows no signs of haze. If you still see haze, keep going and remember light hand pressure only.
Do not get confused with the term glaze. Many companies sell glazes and these are often just glorified sealants. Glazing paint is a form of light polishing. You are removing minute amount of paint to even up the finish to reveal the paints gloss. You are not adding a gloss layer to the paint.
Glaze sealants are really not required and we do not stock them at all. A good polish followed by a real sealant is all that is required to gloss and protect that gloss.
Remember take your time here and then onto stage 5…