avi8tir

First, who does paint correction? I personally never have, but I see more and more people doing it on brand new cars.

Is it worth it?

Second, any high end recommendations in the houston area?

bronson7

I'm not sure if I would do it, unless 100% necessary. Could someone explain what actually happens to the paint during this process. In order to remove any marks, are you not actually removing a bit of paint, thus leaving less thickness???? Would claybarring be the same or just a lighter version of paint correction? Thank you in advance.

chuckbdc

First decide what needs "correcting". Your Porsche has a clear coat over the pigment layer. If that has been broken or rubbed off, you need repainting rather than "paint correction" to get it back to right. If not, and you don't like the way the paint looks- possibly due to swirls from careless washing and wiping, discoloring or abrading of the clear coat, then attention to the finish is needed.

New cars are not immune from imperfections- they have not been in a sterile environment since leaving the factory paint process, and quality control is not "quality perfection" on any mass produced vehicle.

There is plenty of car care stuff readily available and depending on your interest, attention to detail and time commitment, most can do a pretty good job of doing what needs to be done. Professionals typically do better (although plenty of Porsche owners can match them). Shops specializing in properly removing contaminants (clay barring or the equivalent), then polishing out imperfections, then applying protective coatings (wax or the equivalent) usually have the best tools, (even specialized lights and thickness meters) lots of experience and always take more time and care than casual polishers. They charge for their expertise and time. At a certain high level of skill and performance, it is for sure "paint correction".

chuckbdc

delete dup

kosmo

new cars are prepped and polished at the factory. Some do better than others. A few yrs ago I took a buddy to pick up his new Ferrari. The next day we put it under the lights and wow. sloppy application of the top coat and swirls everywhere. It was terrible for any car let alone a $250,000 one.

kyrocks

Mr. Tomato
Tomato Werks DFW Luxury Auto Detailing
Facebook: Tomato Werks
956-453-5515 Text Please
Ti23@Yahoo.Com

He goes to Houston too.

LexVan

The dealerships do the BIG damage when they remove the residue that holds the protective white shipping film in place.

My detailer told me there is enough clear coat on our cars to polish and OptiCoat Pro (for example) my car 25-30 times. Keeping in mine, the car might not need another application/process for 2-4 years. That's about 60-120 years worth of professional detailing services.

Money2536

If you are asking this quesiton, you probably don't care about the definition, so I'll spare you.

The answer to your question is that it is worth it IF you learn how to care for the paint after it is done. If you don't take the care to wash it properly it's probably a waste of money. You'd be better of just slapping some wax or sealant on the car every-so-often and call it day. Once you head down this path, you need to committ to it.

chuckbdc

+1 to whatever Money tells you about detailing!!

CAlexio

I would love to see in real life what the differences between one of these cars that gets the Money treatment (double entendre), or paint correction… Or a car that just gets waxed occasionally. I'm all about spending money for a result which I can easily see, but when the returns become very marginal, like in high-end audio for example… I try to direct my money elsewhere.

I'm not implying that these processes don't make a difference, I would just love to actually see what difference you get for the money. Maybe there are some detailing shows, or ways I can actually see this in real life. I can't imagine being the guy who tells the dealership not to wash his car… When I buy something new I'm all excited about whatever's presented to me… Maybe I need to be a little bit more discriminating

LexVan

Go to any one of your local PCA Concours events, schools, or Parade and see the cars.

Sent from my iPhone using Rennlist

Money2536

It all depends on how **** you are. Let's say the two of us walk around at Orlando Cars and Coffee. We have the typical German Autos, Exotics, Japanese, etc. We inevitably see about ten or twelve guys with detail spray and microfiber towels wiping their cars down from top to bottom. They clearly wax regularly and maybe claybar their car a few times a year. So they spend hours washing and "detailing" their car. We walk up to one of these glossy cars to take a closer look.

To you, (sane person) their car looks shiny and well maintained. When I (maniac) look at the car I see scratches, swirls, sanding marks, etc. The good news here is that you go on with your day parking in the first parking space you find at the grocery store. I'm begin to twitch and drive around the back of the parking lot five times trying to make up my mind on which parking space make the most logical sense to avoid dents (usually miles from the front door of the building).

If you don't see the flaws or don't care, you are much better for it. Unfortunately for me, I see it, and it hurts my soul. If the shiny, flawed paint doesn't bother you or you are lucky enough to not know the difference, you are probably better off. Once you are in the know, you might as well erase a few thousand hours from your life or a hundred thousand or so from your bank account. In my case, both...

Once you go correct, you can't go back.

nlpamg

Absolutely agreed.

It's a huge difference. Some so-called detailers often times do terrible jobs.

I prefer to wash and detail my cars the Money way as well. It's a commitment and I find myself spending a few hours every weekend just washing cars, but it's worth it. Every year or when I find time or if the car ever gets back from the track, I'll make sure to do a correction and protective wax/sealant.

A lot of people hold themselves out to be "detailers" but just really shoddy quality products or don't know what they're doing or try to rush through the job. You can see the marks, buffer trails, etc. that shoddy quality detailers and often times dealerships do. Even on my white cars, I specifically tell the dealers not to wash them.

There are very few "detailers" that I trust. One of my cars got "detailed" by the supposed detailer for O'Gara Coach (Rolls Royce/Bugatti/Bentley/Aston Beverly Hills) and the job was horrible. They put a cheap really thick wax layer that looked great the first day. A couple weeks go by and I carefully washed the car, I could see all the imperfections that they put into it and I had to detail it myself.

NYC_AREA_GT3

Massive difference if you care / are ocd about perfection. PM me if you want a referral in Dallas area - he does amazing work and has a 2014 Pebble Beach concours winner under his care. He has a shop in Dallas and in NJ - he does work on all my cars.

grendel88

Last thing I think most of us on the board needs is ANOTHER expensive and time hungry obsession