How Does Paint Correction Work?

It’s often difficult to consider spending your hard earned money on something you don’t even understand. So by the end of this, hopefully you have a little more insight into what paint correction is and why, when done properly, it makes a vehicle look brand new.

Paint correction on a microscopic level actually does not affect the paint at all, it affects the clear coat on top of the paint. You know when a car is fresh off the lot and looks shinier than ever? That’s because the clear coat is in perfect condition. What happens overtime is that the same clear coat gets scratched from improper washing, poor weather conditions, or being parked outside its whole life. Eventually, it has no shine left and simply looks dull. 

Here’s what’s happening on the vehicle's surface: when clear coat gets scratched overtime, it fills up with these microscopic valleys on the surface, and when sunlight hits the vehicle's paint, it bounces around in those valleys before refracting off, as shown in the photo below.

Compare that to a car with perfect clear coat, the sun instantly bounces off, giving it that perfect shine.

What we’re doing when performing paint correction is removing a very small amount of that clear coat, essentially leveling off the top layer where all those scratches live.

You may be wondering, “Won’t that take away most of my clear coat?”

Not at all. Most modern clear coats are very thick. The only time it could ever be dangerous is if the vehicle has already received paint correction multiple times in the past and has minimal clear coat left. But even then, we always measure the clear coat level before even touching the paint to ensure there’s no risk of damage. 

Once the clear coat is leveled down and scratch free, we add some level of protection. Most often this is by applying a ceramic coating, which is essentially a layer of liquid which becomes extremely durable after hardening onto the surface. It’s almost like a second clear coat for your car's paint! Learn more about our ceramic coating services here.

Once we’re finished with your vehicle with the scratches and swirls removed, combined with the gloss of a ceramic coating, your vehicle will be glowing. This is the perfect combo for an unmatched shine.

If you’re in central Indiana and looking to bring the gloss back to your vehicle, with the added protection of a ceramic coating that will last you years to come, give us a call or fill out our quote request to get a price that’s customized to you and your vehicle!