What is paint correction?

Paint correction is an often misused term, let's start by understanding what is happening at a micro level......

If you were to magnify your paint, you would see lots of hills and valleys (this is normal) what isn't normal is these valleys can be filled with contaminants that fall on your car.

In damaged paint, these valleys fill up with these contaminants and dull the overall shine or your paint.

Further, as cleaning can dislodge some of these larger contaminants, there will be swirl or hologram scratches, that further tarnish a good shine on your paint.

These contaminants are often quite corrosive (industrial fallout, bird droppings, organic matter etc) and as such they will easily attack your vehicles paint system. Once they penetrate the outs clear layers, it can be too late to save the paint.

This is why it's critical to keep your car super clean (yes more than a regular wash) and that means a solid paint correction, followed by paint protection by a qualified installer.

At George's Prestige Detailing, we follow these steps when paint correcting:

1. Assessment - We understand paint system, thickness, level of contaminants, type of contaminants, and then proceed based on that knowledge. This is a critical step where years of knowledge are key to taking the next steps, otherwise further damage can occur, we often get vehicles brought to us after failed attempts from 3rd parties. We prefer our customers come to us first and avoid the disappointment and devaluation of your vehicle that can occur with inexperienced or time constrained busy shops. 

2. Removal of Contaminants - We choose the appropriate level of chemicals and abrasives to lift the contaminants without damaging the various complex layers that make up your paint system. We work on all paint systems, from the early enamels, to acrylic, to modern 2K systems.

3. Polishing - this process smooths the surface of all the hills and valleys to resemble light undulations, preventing the deep crevices where contaminants can become lodged, as well as providing a mirror smooth appearance.

4. Sealing - As described before, if you imaging the magnified hills and valleys of your paintwork, we now want to seal in a protective layer, to stop future contaminants from lodging in deep valleys. This is often a choice between the vehicles usage, budget or preference, but we are able to apply the high grade Carnauba waxes as well as the high tech Ceramic coatings.

4. Curing - in most cases we cure our work to give it an incredibly durable finish. This step is key to getting a lasting finish, unfortunately many shops that pack in many cars to maximise profits miss or rush this critical step. This is why we often take a lot longer to complete a car, but for good reason.

5. Education - we then educate our customers to spot damage scenarios, how to correctly wash their vehicle, how to dry and how to prolong the protection.

Want to get a free assessment of your paint's condition, reach out to us!