Paint Correction FAQs

Learn More About Paint Correction

This page is to answer some common questions we’ve gotten from our customers. If you’d like to learn more about our exact service, you can read our paint correction page.

What is paint correction?

This is when we remove defects from your vehicle, likes swirls, scratches, and etched bugs/bird poo, in order to reveal the true gloss and clarity of your paint. We achieve this by using a combination of polishers, pads, compounds, and towels. This service really transforms your vehicle.

Why does paint correction take so long?

It’s one of the most extensive services we offer. We only work small sections at a time to ensure we’re getting the proper outcome. If we try to move faster or work on larger section, it’s actually counterproductive as it slows down the results. It can take even longer if the the type of clear coat you have is very hard or very soft.

Depending on the size and condition of your vehicle, we’d require you to drop off the vehicle at our shop location for at least two days.

Are you actually removing paint from my car?

Technically it’s the clear coat that we’re removing, but yes, we are. When we’re polishing the paint, we’re actually evening out the clear coat to where it’s a flat surface. So we are removing clear coat. Of course, it’s well-within a safe boundary. We’ll take paint measurements before we get started so we have an idea of how much paint we’re working with.

This is where it takes the discipline to know when we can keep on going to get better results and when to stop to keep the paint healthy. If the clear coat is too thin, we won’t get aggressive with it because we don’t want to risk the chance of burning through the clear coat. When this happens, the only option to fix it is to respray the panel.

What brands do you use?

We have dozens of brands across all polishers, pads, towels, compounds, polishes, and lights. Nonetheless, we only select the brands that yield us the best results. We use Adam’s Polishes, Meguiar’s, Griot’s Garage, Shine Supply, Malco Products, and much more.

Do you offer mobile paint correction services in Houston?

At this time, we no longer offer paint correction as a mobile service. There’s been too many times where we’re working in a too small of a garage, while it’s raining, in the brutal heat, or while lawns are getting cut. With this type of environment, it makes it much more difficult to focus on our process since we’re dealing with other little nuances the entire time.

Can you remove restore my paint?

It really depends on the condition. If the clear coat is failing, which could be visible cracks in the clear coat, peeling of the clear coat, or a very faded look, then unfortunately, there’s not much we can do there. At that point, a respray of the panel is required.

That being said, there’s other times where the panel is completely oxidized, it looks like the paint is too far gone, but with some sanding and polishing, can completely restore the gloss again. That’s why we like to inspect the vehicle in person to check what we can do.

Are these permanent results?

You have to be proactive with your car maintenance in order to keep your vehicle shining. If we spend 15 hours correcting and polishing the paint, and over two weeks you take it through a hand car wash, then you can easily be back to square one. You would either have to learn how to properly wash and dry you car or hire someone to do it (which we can maintain your vehicles via our maintenance program).

I took it to another detailer and it looks worse now. Can you fix it?

We get this all the time. We usually get the vehicle with a bunch of holograms in the paint and wax all in the emblems and honeycomb areas. This is clear signs of an inexperienced detailer with a rotary and a wool pad.

Can you remove all the scratches?

Even with our paint correction services, which is aimed to remove 90% of the imperfections, we can almost never remove 100% of the imperfections. Why? Sometimes the scratch is dug to deep. Even if we at it very aggressively with wet sanding, it still may not be removed (and worse, you’ve dramatically decreased the clear coat).

For most vehicles, 80 to 90% swirl-free finish will make the vehicle look absolutely amazing. To try and dig out the last 10%, it’ll take a significant more time for not much greater results.

Is the clay bar treatment included in the paint correction service?

Yes, all steps will be taken to properly prep the vehicle for paint correction. That includes an iron decontamination and clay bar treatment step. This is where the paint surface feels as smooth as glass.