Meguiar’s Ultimate Polish is all about refining your car’s bodywork. It’s been designed to polish your paint to perfection, delivering a deep, wet look. But how does it stack up as a standalone car polish? I give it a serious polishing challenge to see if it can deliver dazzling results.
Sizes available: 16 fl. oz (473ml) RRP: $20.00, buy here / £17.05, buy here.
How I tested Meguiar’s Ultimate Polish
I used a sunroof test panel, which was washed and then clayed, to remove any wax or coatings. The panel was then dried, and divided into sections. Using a gloss meter, I took an average gloss reading for the test section. I then applied Meguiar’s Ultimate Polish using my DA polisher, carrying out four sets of four overlapping passes. I wiped away any product residue and then used the gloss meter to obtain a new average gloss reading. Finally, my inspection light was used to check surface clarity.
For full disclosure, this test was part of car polish group test. So, if you’d like to see how Meguiar’s Ultimate Car Polish compares against rivals, check out my guide to the best car polishes of 2024.
What Meguiar’s says
Meguiar’s bills Ultimate Polish as the final step before waxing for maximum gloss and reflectivity. It features rich polishing oils that add a deep, rich, wet look to paint. While it works great on all paint, it’s especially good on dark-coloured cars. Ultimate Polish perfects the paint before waxing, giving you the perfect surface to work with. Based on this, I’m expecting not so much in terms of correction, but I’m hoping for plenty of gloss.
What it’s like to use Meguiar’s Ultimate Polish
Meguiar’s Ultimate Polish is another product that’s very nice to work with. There is a bit of sling, but it’s nowhere near as bad as its Ultimate Compound counterpart. As Ultimate Polish has been designed to deliver a refined finish, I knew the cut wasn’t going to be great. And the inspection light showed that some surface marks remained. I had been hoping for an impressive gloss increase, but it seems that without some prior prep with a more aggressive product, Meguiar’s Ultimate Polish struggles a little.
Gloss meter readings and verdict
- Gloss reading before: 83.9
- Gloss reading after: 88.5
- Gloss increase: 4.6
If you’ve compounded your car and are looking for that next level of refinement, or are working with paint that needs just a tiny bit of correction, Meguiar’s Ultimate Polish is a great choice. Just the fact that it delivered a better increase in gloss than Ultimate Compound while having a much gentler cut is proof of that. However, on its own, it just doesn’t cut it as a standalone polish if you’re looking for strong correction.
Sizes available: 16 fl. oz (473ml) RRP: $20.00, buy here / £17.05, buy here.
