What Is Paint Correction?
The term "Paint Correction" is mostly by Pro detailers, car enthusiasts, and those weekend warriors that genuinely understand the process of restoring a vehicle's painted finish. Correcting the blemishes consists of eliminating imperfections, that make the shine look dull. The imperfections reflect light in various directions making the finished painted surface look less smooth, detracting from a true crisp reflection. The imperfections are truly detected by the human eye by looking at a source of light as it "reflects" off of a surface and picked up by the person looking at the light as it comes off the surface. When you see the sun gleaming off of your vehicle's surface the next time, look at the reflection. If you have not had your paint corrected for some time you will see things like swirl marks & fine scratches, etching from poop, and acid rain etching. If you have had a bad correction done on your vehicle, you will see hologramming, buffer trails, and possibly random isolated deep scratches (or RIDS) that were not corrected. If, and only if these imperfections are properly removed, then you will be correct in using the phrase paint correction. Just merely covering them up or hiding within the filler-based products is not a paint correction. Actual paint corrective involves removing a small layer of the clear coat or paint from the surface with abrasive polishes, and the appropriate polishing machines, to level out the vehicle's surface.
Before any paint correction, a meticulous wash with our #BucketGritBlaster and decontamination of the vehicle surface. When the vehicles finish is properly washed using the #GritBlaster, any loose dirt, and debris is removed with great accuracy and precision and removed form the wash environment so you do not add to the damage that is going to be removed, This is what we at #BucketBlasterBrand call the #HealthyCarWash. After the washing process is completed the surface needs to be clay bared, to safely remove any bonded surface contaminants like tar spots and other stuff like industrial fallout. these contaminants must be removed before the paint correction process because if they're not these particles can become dislodged in the pad in the polishing process be it hand polishing, or polishing with a machine, which will easily cause damage to the surface very easily. Using a clay bar or mitt assists in making the finished surface very smooth, in turn, allows the polishing pad to move freely over the surface. Lastly, claying helps you see the true condition of the surface as you are working on it.
The polishing is usually a multistage ranging from heavier cutting compounds that remove the surface imperfections, to finer products which then remove marks that the heavier products inflicted to refine the finished surface even further. You may want to use a paint depth gauge before, during, and after the process to monitor the thickness of the paint on top of the metal of your vehicle. this helps to ensure that you are not removing more paint than you have to which leads to leaving the paint too thin or even burning through the paint.
Some hardcore detailers use halogen or LED lamps to check the condition of the paintwork. These lights replicate the effect of direct sunlight on the surface to see the progress of the surface scratches and imperfections as they are being removed. Sometimes the scratches are too deep to safely remove without risking removing too much paint or clear coat and so they are reduced as much as possible using the machine polisher and polishing products that round off the edges of the scratches. This makes them way less visible when seen in direct light.
After the paint correction process, all panels are wiped down with 3:1 isopropyl alcohol and water. This mixture removes any oils & polish and reveals the true finish, along with areas that may have been missed or require a little bit more work. A fully corrected paint job will shine brilliantly and produce stunning reflections because more scratches and imperfections scatter and reflect the light rays in different directions.
Paint correction is very labor-intensive and is the most time-consuming part of the car detailing process. This is why it commands such high premiums ($) from professional detailers & car maintainers. You should only attempt to correct your own paintwork if you are completely confident in doing so or have enough experience to successfully and safely carry it out.
A fully corrected vehicle when viewed in direct sunlight will show the true reflections without swirl marks, scratches, or any blemishes that can be visible to the naked eye.
In conclusion, paintwork that has been treated with products that are made to mask and fill in surface imperfections such as an "all in one polish". The use of these products should not be referred to as paint correction no matter if you cannot see any scratches or blemishes after using these sorts of products. The blemishes have NOT been genuinely removed, they are still present under the product's fillers, and in a short time, will wash away and reveal the hidden scratches once again, and that's not kool!
Thanks for reading and hopefully we can get to know one another through our words.
Best Regards,
Creator J. Robert Freeman
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