If you take a closer look at the lead image of this post, it pretty much answers the question that’s posed in the title of this article. As you can see, there’s a HUGE difference between the left and right sides of the picture and this epitomises what paint correction detailing actually is. Nevertheless, in order to get the results seen on the right, there are quite a few stages to go through. If you want to know what they are, click here to skip to the bullet points at the bottom.

Everyday wear and tear

Unless a car is brand new, its paintwork will normally have seen its fair share of minor damage. If it’s used regularly throughout the year, the weather, atmospheric pollutants, road grit and general washing and polishing will all eventually begin to take their toll. All of these combined will usually end up creating marks, scratches and even tiny chips on the paintwork. Taking your car to the local carwash won’t rectify this (and may even make it worse) nor will washing and polishing it by hand at the weekend. This is where professional paint correction packages can make a real and lasting difference. The process doesn’t take an hour or two either but runs into days instead. If you scroll down to the package details section of the page, you’ll see just how involved it really is.

New Cars

Even if you buy a new car, it may not always arrive in the condition you’d expect. This often turns out to be the case when you accept the dealership’s offer of an in-house pseudo-detailing pre-delivery package. It may sound harsh, but we use the term ‘pseudo-detailing’ as the packages they offer often leave the car in worse condition than if they’d left it untouched. While we appreciate that new cars need a decent clean at some stage between rolling off the production line and delivery to the customer, we don’t recommend paying extra for the dealership to do it.

This is because the work is often carried out by inexperienced members of staff who don’t really have sufficient knowledge of what they’re doing. Also, the products they use tend to be inferior to what any professional detailing outfit would normally use. For example, if you’re dealing with a car’s paint job, it’s imperative that uncontaminated materials are used when they touch the surface of the vehicle. If they’re already dirty and contain small particles, it’s likely that they’ll create tiny micro-scratches on the surface of the paint. You might also see buffer trails and swirl marks and, if they really make a mess of things, a resprayed panel.

In all fairness though, it’s not always the dealership that causes problems; some paintwork problems can actually be caused in the factory, i.e. before the car even arrives with the dealer. This can entail fine scratches, surface marring, factory-induced sanding marks, metallic fallout and lacquer “fish eyes”.

Regardless of the cause and whoever caused them, paint problems can normally be corrected by professional car detailers like FRSH Customs.

Our paint correction detailing package – The full process

This is a 2 stage detail designed to remove 75-85% of all surface defects including oxidation and some heavier scratches that a 1 stage polish may be unable to remove. The process begins with a first stage medium-strong cut compound to remove defects and is then followed by a second polishing stage to refine the paintwork and increase gloss levels.

  • Full 21 stage wash process using 2 bucket method
  • Vehicle hand dry with ultra-soft microfibre drying towels
  • Blown dry to remove trapped water and eliminate drips.
  • 2 stage machine polish
  • Finished with a Synthetic paint sealant or carnauba wax (Ceramic upgrades available)
  • Wheel faces protected (full wheel protection upgrade available)
  • Interior thoroughly vacuumed including luggage compartment
  • Interior and exterior glass cleaned and polished
  • Exterior trim & tyres dressed
  • Stainless steel/chrome polished and sealed

If you’re wondering how much this costs, the rate for a stage 2 correction largely depends on the car itself and its overall condition beforehand. If you’d like a bespoke quote, the best option is to get in touch with us so that we can arrange an inspection. We’ll then be able to give you an exact price.