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Glossary Techniques & prep

What is paint correction?

Definition

How many correction steps does a car need?

  • Paint correction — Machine polishing that removes swirl marks, scratches and oxidation from clear coat to restore gloss and clarity.
  • Graded by steps — a 1-step refines, a 2- or 3-step removes progressively deeper defects — and priced off the paint's condition and the bay hours it takes.

Why it matters to a shop

Correction is sold in hours, not products, which makes it the line most often given away for free before a coating. Quoting it as its own priced stage protects the coating's margin and gives the customer a real choice about how far to go. On pricing the steps separately, read paint correction pricing.

FAQ

Paint correction questions, answered

What is the difference between a 1-step and a 3-step correction?

The steps are passes, and each pass trades clear coat for clarity. A 1-step refines with a single polish and removes light haze. A 2-step cuts first, then refines. A 3-step adds a heavier cut for deeper defects. More steps means more hours in the bay and more clear coat gone, which is why the paint's measured thickness, not the customer's ambition, decides how far a shop should go.

Does paint correction remove clear coat?

Yes, a little, every time. That is how it works: polishing levels the surface around a scratch rather than filling it. A factory clear coat is finite, so a car that has been corrected repeatedly has less left to work with. Measuring thickness before starting is what lets a shop say no to another cut instead of handing back a car with nothing left to protect.

Should paint correction be quoted separately from a coating?

Almost always. Correction is sold in bay hours and varies with the condition of the paint, while a coating is a product with a fixed application time. Bundling them hides the hours and is the most common way a coating package quietly stops paying. Price correction as its own line and the customer gets a real choice about how far to take it.

Go deeper

Related terms

More from techniques & prep — How the work actually gets done in the bay.

Swirl marksFine, spider-web scratches in the clear coat, usually from improper washing and drying. They're most visible on dark paint under direct light and are removed by paint correction, not by wax or a quick polish.Clear coatThe transparent top layer of a factory paint system that provides gloss and UV protection. Paint correction works within the clear coat; cutting through it exposes the colour layer and means a respray, so measuring paint thickness matters.DecontaminationThe prep step that removes bonded contaminants — iron fallout, tar, industrial fallout — that a normal wash leaves behind, often with a chemical iron remover and a clay bar. Skipping it traps grit under film or coating and ruins the finish.Clay barA malleable resin bar (or mitt) dragged across lubricated paint to pull off bonded contaminants the wash missed, leaving glass-smooth paint ready for correction, coating or film.Cure timeThe window a coating or adhesive needs to fully harden or bond before the vehicle is exposed to water or delivered. Ceramic coatings need protected cure time; PPF adhesive keeps bonding for days after install. Scheduling has to leave room for it.Cutting plotterA computer-driven cutter that cuts PPF or tint to a vehicle-specific pattern from a software library, instead of bulk hand-cutting on the car. It speeds installs and reduces waste, though every job still leaves some offcut. Service VIN does not cut film and does not replace a plotter: it prices the job, tracks the roll the pattern comes off, and books the bay the cutter feeds.

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