About Pad & Polish

Pad & Polish is an independent buying guide for DIY paint correction and ceramic coating gear — machine polishers, pads, compounds, ceramic coatings, and wax. We compile the published specs, do the cost math, and tell you plainly what we'd buy and what we'd skip.

Who writes this

I'm Stephen — an enthusiast who's genuinely into keeping paint right. I don't run a lab or a detailing shop. What I do is read the manuals, compile the published specs, and do the math on what a product actually costs to use, then say what I'd buy and what I'd skip. No lab coat.

That framing is deliberate. Nobody is a credentialed expert across polishers, pads, compounds, coatings, and wax all at once, and claiming otherwise would be dishonest. What I can offer instead is a consistent, documented method applied the same way to every product, so you can see exactly how a recommendation was reached and judge it for yourself.

What this site is

• A place where every roundup follows the same published method — see How We Research — starting from manufacturer data sheets and specs, not guesses.
• A source for the cost-of-ownership math (cost per application, cost per year, coverage per bottle) worked out from published sizes and coverage claims, with the inputs shown so you can check the arithmetic yourself.
• Honest about fit — every pick we make also says who should skip it, because a product that's right for one driveway isn't right for every garage.
• Funded by affiliate commissions, disclosed in full on our affiliate disclosure page.

What this site isn't

• We are not a testing lab. We don't claim to own every unit we cover or to have run hands-on comparisons we didn't actually run.
• We are not a detailing shop, and nobody here holds themselves out as a professional detailer.
• We don't accept payment to rank a product higher, and commission never changes a recommendation. See our editorial policy for the details.

How this site is funded

Pad & Polish earns commissions when readers buy through the links on this site, primarily via the Amazon Associates program. That relationship is fully disclosed on our affiliate disclosure page, and it never changes which product we rank first — the full explanation is in our editorial policy.

Contact

Spotted a factual error, an out-of-date price, or a discontinued product? Email info@padandpolish.com or use the contact form. We aim to fix confirmed errors within 48 hours.