The term “paint restoration” gets thrown around a lot in detailing circles. Professional detailers know exactly what this means, but many people who are just learning about car restoration use the term broadly and sometimes incorrectly to describe washing or waxing their cars, so let’s clear this up. Washing your car does not restore your paintwork, and, depending on the kind of product you’re using, waxing your car may not either. In this guide, we’ll take a step back to provide some clarity on the topic.

First of all, what do we mean when we say “paint restoration?” That answer is pretty straight-forward. It’s the step in your detailing process when you use polishing agents to remove scratches, swirls, stains and oxidation from your car’s clear coat. Washing your car thoroughly, including removing embedded contaminants from the clear coat, is necessary prep work for paint restoration. Likewise, waxing your car isn’t a restorative measure, but car wax does help to protect your car’s paint finish after you’ve corrected it.

Makes sense, right? You might think so, but there is an exception to this rule, and it’s called “cleaner wax.”

The standard car waxes that most people know and love add protection and a nice, glossy sheen to a vehicle’s clear coat. This is true whether you use carnauba wax, bee’s wax, synthetic polymers or any other combination of wax and protectants. We recommend using these products after you correct any damage in your car’s clear coat. That’s because polishing removes any wax layer that had been present before you corrected the paint and because you’ll want a protective barrier on top of your newly restored finish.

Similarly, cleaner waxes add shine and protection to your finish, thanks to these same wax ingredients, but they also contain built-in polishing agents. This combination means that for a clear coat with very light scratches or oxidation, you can knock out your waxing and paint restoration in one easy step. The tradeoff for this convenience is that cleaner waxes won’t fully restore more severe damage and imperfections, and they don’t provide the same deep, glossy luster as a dedicated wax product, but they do offer a convenient, single-step option for light-duty paint restoration.

However, if you’re looking for a product to help you avoid the need for a new paint job or give you an easy fix for a classic car restoration, a cleaner wax is not the right tool for the job. That level of paint restoration is going to require a more specialized and aggressive polishing compound, followed up by a separate wax or sealant product for gloss and protection.