justabout

Each time the car finish is "corrected" material is removed. Is there an estimate of how many corrections are possible before the clear coat is completely removed, assuming corrections are part of yearly maintenance ?

Archimedes

It depends on how thick the paint was to start with and how aggressive the person doing the correction was each time. I don't think true 'paint corrections' should be part of annual maintenance. That would be a bit excessive and likely result in some pretty thin paint relatively quickly.

Bigalfromfl

^^^Yes, it would depend on the 'thickness' and condition of the paint as well as the methods used for the correction in order to give you an answer.

What I will say, is make sure the person doing the work has a paint thickness gauge/meter and are well versed in the current methods/products/etc of paint correction.

Hope this helps!

STG

Less is more in this case. There are different levels of "correction" based on the aggressiveness of the compound and pads.

Doing a major 2 step correction, I wouldn't want to press more than 10 times personally. I think a bigger risk would be had at 20+ times.

A one step light polish between the more intensive corrections would be suggested. You really need to maintain the finish with proper washing and maintenance to get longevity out of it.

This is where expertise comes in. Someone can really work down your clear coat if they don't know what they're doing with the pads, polish, and a buffer.

Maybe one of the "pros" here can chime in. Moe or Jean Claude??

LexVan

Also depends how deep the swirls and scratches are.

My detailer said my car could easily be paint corrected and OptiCoated 25 times. So every 2-4 years you can easily see the scope.

arch7

Paint corrections can be avoided by proper protection and washing technique. If you're going to paint correct and then go to the local car wash, I'd rethink the paint corrections. Keep in mind you may want to save some clear coat for the occassional tree branch scratch or other mishap. Occassional "polishing" , not cutting, will help too.

DerekS

I raised some concern about paint correction once and got smacked down pretty hard...but any way you slice it, a correction is removing clearcoat.

I like going the other way; building _up_ the clearcoat using a synthetic polish like Zaino.

You can add layers all you want, but removal is forever.

That said I would totally do a correction if the paint was really beat up, but I would not do it as a detailing step.

fastdiablo

If you're a long term owner, a full wrap of xpel or Suntek makes sense, then correction is completely unnecessary and moot.

Archimedes

You need to paint correct before you wrap or your just wrapping in all the swirls and imperfections.

MoeMistry

As others have mentioned, it comes down to the person behind the polisher and what process he/she will use. Rule of thumb is, 10% of material removed will begin compromising the UV protection of the clear coat.

Typical 911s, 996 to present, have readings of 90-130 microns. That TOTAL material from metal up: primer, basecoat, and clearcoat. Actual clear coat is about 30-70 microns.

Sanding and compounding will remove the most material. Use an aggressive compound and an aggressive pad, and you can take down a few microns very fast. So, this is where the skill and expertise of the technician comes in. Speaking for our shop, we subscribe to the phylosophy of going the path of least resistance and taking into consideration how the owner will take care of the car post-correction.

If a client has no time to wash his/her own car, we most likely will do a light polishing, as opposed to a correction. If client has interest or will have us do the maintenance, we're a good fit for a proper correction. You want to do this as few times as possible. The neat thing about our industry at moment is nano coatings. Say you remove 2-3 microns of material during a heavy paint correction. Now, you can add back 2-5 microns of material by applying a nano coating. Not only does this take you back to pre-correction readings, but it further helps protect the paint by adding a scratch-resistant, not scratch-proof, element to the clear coat. The depth, shine, and jetness of color are also amazing with nano coatings.

I use the analogy of "how many heart by-passes can one endure". IMHO, paint correction is the equivalent of open-heart surgery. Just as you have one heart, you only get one ORIGINAL paint job from the factory. Just as if you didn't eat right or exercise, you'll have heart complications. By not washing or caring for the paint properly, you'll have unsightly swirls and scratches. Can all these things be fixed, absolutely. Just as if your heart fails and you can put another heart in, so does the paint and repainting. Will you ever be same after a new heart, not 100%. Will even the best paint job be the same, not 100%.

That's why some technicians will charge a few hundred $$s for paint correction, and other will charge upward of $1000. You're paying for the best heart surgeon for your paint Choose the right technician, and you won't have to worry about how much paint is removed, what process is done, or how legitimate is the finish on your car.

Hope this helps

STG

Thanks for the info Moe.

"Typical 911s, 996 to present, have readings of 90-130 microns. That TOTAL material from metal up: primer, basecoat, and clearcoat. Actual clear coat is about 30-70 microns."

To put this into perspective guys, a sheet of paper is 100 microns thick.

Don't leave this to amateurs and don't be the guy who does DIY paint correction every other weekend.

R_Rated

This is correct. It may be a good idea also to make a sticky with basic info for recommended detailers and clear wrap protection. I had a nightmare the first attempt and have to take the installer to small claims... This is definitely something where you need a great, experienced installer > product.

squid42

If you consider doing regular corrections you could buy a paint thickness meter. They cost a couple hundred but that isn't much in what might be your maintenance budget anyway. It is a lot less than having to redo an entire panel after too many corrections. That way you have complete control and you can leave panels alone that are already thin.

I wonder whether those thickness meters will work to detect paint thickness over wood... Anybody knows?

MoeMistry

I should clarify..."correction" is a term being rather misused in the industry. True "correction" is like saying a few heart "bypasses" are OK from time to time. So, the only reason one needs "correction" routinely, is because the maintenance care is not done properly and imperfections are being introduced. "Polishing", either by hand or machine, is a more accurate description of you're doing it more routine. It's like doing a "detox" a few times a year to your body to "cleanse".

You can never have a swirl-free finish that is legit, unless you get it perfect and not touch it again. Reason being, over repetitive washes, even the best techniques will induce micro- scratches just from friction from towels and wash mitt. That's ok and is "manageable". A whole other topic.

But I just wanted everyone to be clear of what true paint correction is and what it's not...at least how I define it in my world.

As for meters, you can definitely get good ones for about $300...they may not read different substrates such as aluminum, plastic, carbon fiber, etc. There are meters from DeFelsko, an excellent company, that do read aluminum, carbon fiber, plastics, etc., but they are north of $1-2k...they also make some that reads wood 👍