Over the years car paint has to endure a staggering amount of wear and tear. Swirl marks, bird mess etching, water spots, fading, dull colour and a loss of shine; there are a lot of reasons behind why your car paint may be looking tired.
Damage and wear and tear come in many forms and can largely happen despite the best efforts to keep your car clean. Elemental damage such as UV, contaminants, staining, damage from repeated abrasions and most commonly improper wash technique all take their toll on your paintwork over time.
Even if your car is spotlessly clean, damaged and tired paintwork will result in a less-than-satisfying finish, especially in direct sunlight. Luckily, this is where car paint correction comes in. We offer several different auto paint correction and enhancement packages to meet your needs, helping to bring back that flawless gloss finish.
Auto paint correction is an intensive process in which paint damage and imperfections of this nature are polished out. This is done by using a multitude of different specialist compounds, cutting pads and equipment. Generally, a lot of paintwork defects are in the topcoat of lacquer, whether it’s swirls, polishing holograms, stains or etching. When direct sunlight (or any un-diffused lighting) hits paint with these defects, rather than hitting a smooth surface and reflecting a clear shine, the micro scratches and defects will catch the light in the low spots of the lacquer and produce that swirly finish. This leads to a dull and aged-looking paint finish.
During paint correction, the paint depth is assessed to ensure safe correction, and a fine layer of the lacquer (or topcoat, depending on the car's paintwork) is carefully removed using machine polishers to eliminate these defects. Doing this leads to a corrected, smooth, high-gloss finish. All painted and lacquered areas of the vehicle will be corrected – not just the body paintwork! This process is highly bespoke, and different paintwork and wear and tear patterns may require multiple stages of correction and different techniques to produce a corrected finish. With the swirl marks, polishing holograms and etching removed, the smooth surface of the lacquer will result in an undistorted, clear reflection, even in the harshest direct sunlight. Carrying this out provides an instant impact on the look of your vehicle.
Be aware that some detailers may use special ‘one step’ compounds that contain silicone fillers at a much cheaper price. These produce fast glossy results without any paint correction and after many washes will usually break down to reveal the uncorrected paint once again. We specialise in true car paint correction and protection using only the best combination of products and techniques.
After paint correction, we will always seal the car with a high gloss protective sealant regardless of which package you choose. However, we highly recommend opting for a ceramic coating to ensure much stronger and longer-lasting paint protection to maintain the corrected finish of your vehicle. We offer a number of different brand coatings, all from the best tried and trusted specialists in the world, in 2, 5 and 9-year coatings. Click here to read more about ceramic coatings and how they protect and enhance your car’s paintwork. We can also advise you on upkeep, products and wash techniques to ensure your vehicle stays looking its best!
An enhancement polish is the entry-level paint correction package. An enhancement polish will remove fine swirls, light defects and oxidisation, but won’t usually remove some of the deeper marks if the vehicle has them. Yet, this polish will produce a high gloss finish. It is a great, cost-effective way to renew gloss to your tired paintwork.
Completion time: 5-6 hrs.
A Stage 1 car paint correction is the next step above an enhancement polish. It utilises a longer, more advanced process and a heavier cutting compound and pad combination. These are carefully selected for your vehicle to achieve better paint correction results. A Stage 1 correction will remove swirls, polishing holograms, oxidisation and a host of defects. It will also generally remove deeper marks than an enhancement polish to yield great results and a superb gloss finish.
Completion time: 15-20hrs.
A Stage 2 car paint correction is a much more intensive process. This involves the car’s paintwork being corrected in multiple stages – a heavy cut stage to eliminate more serious defects, oxidisation and deeper marks, followed by a refining cut to polish out any micro marks from the heavy cut stage. There’s also a refining pass to ensure supreme clarity and gloss. Some vehicles will require additional polishing stages depending on the characteristics of the paintwork, but this is covered within the stage 2 package. A Stage 2 correction will generally take longer to complete but will yield the best results. With this service, you can eliminate deeper marks in the lacquer and restore your car’s paintwork to the most refined level of clarity and gloss.
Completion time: 20-30 hrs.
We offer car paint correction within our detailing packages found on our services page; however, we can offer a personal service to fit your specific requirements. Each vehicle is different, so we always welcome you to come and see us for a consultation to assess your vehicle's paintwork and discuss your needs in person!
Have some questions about our services, or just need some general advice? Contact us below or call on 01252 929328 and a member of our team will be more than happy to help!
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