Thought I'd take advantage of the decent weather today and get some polish on the car before winter sets in.

One coat of Autoglym 'Ultra Deep Shine' later, I thought I may as well go the whole hog and put some 'Extra Gloss Protection' on the top. I couldn't help but notice though that the panels treated with just the polish actually felt smoother than the ones treated with the protection coat. Maybe smoother isn't the right word, but there was less drag on the polishing cloth, less of a waxy feel.

Is that normal?

More generally, is a sealant coat actually required at all these days? The blurb for 'Ultra Deep Shine' says it's Autoglym's first new retail polish for 23 years! Materials technology must have changed massively in that time.