how often should you polish

If you use a good polish it should only need doing a couple of times a year as long as the wash/wax you use on a regular basis is any good.that doesn't mean it has to be expensive i've had good results with wash and wax from the likes of the range and pound shop with ones that contain carnuba wax.

You'll damage the paint if you continually use a cutting polish.

Never use washing up liquid as it contains some harmful to paint salts.

I don't think washing up liquid itself is all too bad, more so what you're using to wash the car eg a sponge/mitt. However washing up liquid is a degreaser so you'll be stripping back any protection the paintwork has rather than cleaning on top of it.

Also what is your definition of polish, more specifically what is the product you're using? I've come across a lot of people that 'polish' their cars by applying wax. The two are different, polishes also come in many different flavours. A polish is a light abrasive used for removing the top few microns of the top layer of paint in order to remove light scratches and defects, some are more abrasive than others to remove more microns and thus deeper defects. Once you've done your polishing and removed as many defects as you feel you can or you're happy with, you should consider the paint work corrected and aim to keep it that way way rather than regularly use the polish. Once corrected protect your paint with waxes and sealants. With enough protection the dirt will sit on top of the protection and won't stick to the paint, meaning a fairly quick wash will easily remove the dirt and bring your shine back. Apply wax/sealant as regularly as you can, the better you are at keeping on top of washing and waxing the better protected your paint will be and you won't need to correct or properly polish your car again for years.

The other key to keeping good paintwork is to use good tools. Don't use a sponge that traps dirt against the paint as you drag it over the car, that's how you get scratches. Use a microfibre noodle mitt instead. Use a decent ph neutral car shampoo that doesn't strip your protection. Use two buckets, one with fresh water one with your shampoo, after each pass on the car rinse the mitt in the fresh water to get the dirt off before you redip in the shampoo and do another pass. Rinse the car with clean water once washed. To avoid water marks use a car drying towel, lay it on the wet paint work and pat the towel, then do the next section. As you're not dragging it you're not causing scratches. Use a decent applicator to apply wax/sealant and clean soft microfibre to buff off. Done.

Some consider the above completely OTT, but none of it's expensive nor any more time consuming than a traditional wash. It's far from the level of OCD car detailing. Last year I picked up a 20 year old saab 9000 with very faded and oxidised paint. Spent a fair bit of time machine polishing to a decent standard but since then I've done exactly as above and the protection is paying dividends now. A quick clean gets it looking comparatively as new, and an occasional wax keeps it topped up. Between other cars, work, family and a house to bring into this century I don't have time to get obsessive with it so it gets a wash every two or three weeks, if not longer, as do the other cars.

I "think" from experience Colour Magic is slightly abrasive,so it polishes by removing paint,though it does have fillers and wax in too.Might be better to just go with a pure wax every now and again and keep washing with the carnuba wash/wax.

An ex's mum used to wash her classic car with Ciff.

My mum once cleaned a car with Ajax.



Don't to either of those.

I polish my car around twice a year, and then go over it with a durable wax. I don't really need to do it any more often at all in all honesty and use a half decent car shampoo like Meguiars or Autoglym. In my case, Collinite 476S which is superb and it seems to last a long time, i.e more than around 5 months, and it's easier to clean the car in the the future as a bonus. I may get 915 next time as that can be easier to apply, but 476S isn't that bad to put on for a wax paste.

If you can't be bothered to get Collinite there are a few off the shelf solutions that come very close, and are probably the same. Autoglym's HD Wax is superb ; it lasted an age on the Mazda ; I wasted my time polishing one panel on that, put it that way ; the PO HD waxed the entire car ; he was a painter by trade.

Meguiar's Ultimate Wax is also good and pretty long lasting. Autoglym Extra Gloss is very good too, but that is more of a sealer over a wax, so it may not add that bit of 'bling'.

These days I tend to do the following by hand with good long lasting results, and the car taking me around 15-20 to wash and dry start to finish:

-Autoglym Super Resin Polish
-Collinite 476S

I was about to say how I tackle car paintwork regarding polishing, but it's not in the spirit of this thread so I shall start a new one.