Car paint correction cost depends on the level of work required. For instance, if your vehicle’s surface has more swirl marks or scratches, it would require more labor and machines. Hence, the cost of stage 3 paint correction is more than stage 1 car paint correction.
Light buffing improves paint condition. It can remove light scratches. Technically, this is known as the first level of correction; however, if the swirl marks are deep, the stage 2 and stage 3 Paint correction costs more.
Subjectivity
Car paint correction cost depends on the nature of swirl marks and scratches. The first step in paint correction is inspection.
Correction amount
When you level up a paint correction depends on the thickness of paint as well as budget. Minor scratches take a few months to happen and are not hard to rectify. A professional detailer uses a polisher, polishing compound, and pads to remove minor swirl marks.
If your vehicle paint condition has worsened with deeper scratches, it requires more work to recover the vehicle paint. This happens especially when you have taken your vehicle to power washes frequently. It is known as stage 2 paint correction.
However, if the scratches are deeper it requires more work. Assume that your vehicle paint needs to be thick enough to correct. The amount of car correction depends on the structure of the detailer’s services.
Stages of the correction
There are three stages of paint correction
Stage 1
The car paint correction of stage 1 is polishing and making minor adjustments in the paint condition. In this stage, only a single polishing pad and compound are used to remove a significant amount of swirl marks. Stage 1 paint correction takes a maximum of six hours of polishing. If the detailer works uninterrupted, it will take around four and a half hours to complete the task. However, a detailer can put more pressure or effort, and it yields better results. Auto Boss detailers give a significant amount of time to provide you with the best results.
Stage 2
The Stage 2 paint correction is done to make your car’s factory paint look errorless. It takes almost eight to twelve hours of paint correction. More cutting pads and polishing compounds are used in this process. In most cases, stage 2 paint correction is enough to remove imperfections in your paint. We usually provide stage 2 paint correction to save the client’s money and time and preserve vehicle paint. Our technicians typically don’t move to stage three if the vehicle paint is soft.
Stage 3
Paint correction of stage 3 includes correcting each and every inch of the vehicle, including the engine bay, door sills, painted trim parts, etc.
The decision of car paint correction mainly depends on paint thickness
Paint type
If the vehicle has enough paint on it, or you have yet to go for paint correction and you want your detailer to make it perfect, it takes 15 to 20 hours of correction. The detailer may take more time if the paint condition needs to be better.
Your vehicle would require different types of polishes/corrections depending on the paint type. Hard paint is difficult and requires more time for correction; however, soft paints are easily damaged. So, leaving soft paint in pristine condition after paint correction is difficult. Soft paints can be finicky as compared to paint protection film. If the paint is smooth and black, it would be more difficult to correct. However, the paint is a hard color does not matter. For instance, if a detailer is providing paint correction to a Porsche 911, its color doesn’t matter. The paint correction for Porsche, regardless of color, requires the same amount of paint correction.
If the black paint is soft, it requires more time for polishing and correction, whereas white but soft paint requires far less time to buff. At the same time, a hard white paint with a larger number of swirl marks or scratches, takes more time to get corrected. Hence, deep scratches on white colored paint are difficult to remove. A professional detailer takes enough time to bring in the best condition of your vehicle.
Vehicle type/size
A larger vehicle requires more time and effort for complete detailing. At the same time, complex vehicles having steep curves, curvatures, and complex panels require more labor, and the detailing costs for this type of vehicle are higher.
The second thing besides vehicle size is the panels. If the panels are made up of plastic, the paint correction is difficult because of their flexibility. However, paint correction for metal panels is more difficult.
Location of the detailer
Detailer’s location largely affects the cost of your vehicle. The rule of supply and demand also works here. A detailer in a rural area costs less than a detailer located in bigger cities. The cost factor also depends on the operational costs of the detailer.
The overall cost of car paint correction
In a nutshell, a car paint correction cost depends on the labor and time consumed. It also depends on the detailer’s expertise and location of the detailer. Remember! Hiring a professional detailer assures you peace of mind and the finest end results.
Conclusion
Hiring a professional and reputable detailer can cost you around $500 and goes up to $800 for stage 1 car paint correction. Stage 1 correction improves your vehicle paint by up to 80%. However, stage 2 paint correction improves your car paint by up to 95%.
Car paint correction includes proper detailing and applying waxes or sealants to protect the car paint. If you have enough budget you can have a ceramic coating over paint correction. However, some of the detailers include additional services such as wheel detailing or interior cleaning.
FAQs
Is paint correction worth it?
Yes! Paint correction makes a huge difference to your vehicle, especially if it has a larger quantity of swirl marks.
What is the first stage of car paint correction?
It involves using polish and a finishing pad to refine vehicle paint.