Paint correction is a process in automotive detailing aimed at restoring and rejuvenating the paintwork of a vehicle. Over time, various imperfections can occur on a car's paint surface, including scratches, swirl marks, oxidation, water spots, and other blemishes. Paint correction involves using specialized techniques, tools, and products to remove these imperfections and restore the paint to a flawless and glossy finish.
The process typically involves several steps:
- Washing and Decontamination: The car is thoroughly washed to remove dirt, grime, and other contaminants from the paint surface. Decontamination may involve using clay bars or chemical decontamination products to remove embedded contaminants like tar, industrial fallout, or tree sap.
- Paint Inspection: The paint surface is carefully inspected under appropriate lighting conditions to assess the extent and severity of imperfections such as swirl marks, scratches, or oxidation.
- Paint Correction: This is the main step where imperfections are addressed. It involves machine polishing the paint using abrasive compounds and pads of varying aggressiveness to level out imperfections and restore clarity and gloss to the paint surface. Multiple polishing stages may be necessary, starting with more aggressive compounds and pads to remove deeper imperfections and progressively moving to finer compounds and pads to refine the finish.
- Finishing: Once the correction process is complete, the paint surface is thoroughly cleaned to remove any polishing residue. A final inspection is carried out to ensure that all imperfections have been addressed and the desired level of gloss and clarity has been achieved.
- Protection: To maintain the newly corrected paint finish, a protective sealant or wax is applied to the surface. This helps to enhance gloss, provide UV protection, and repel dirt and contaminants, keeping the paint looking its best for longer.