Paint Correction (Buffing)
$150 – $600
Machine-polished to cut swirls, wash marks and light scratches out of the clear coat.
Machine Polishing — Winnipeg
Paint Correction in Winnipeg
Swirls, scratches, and dull, tired paint — cut out with proper machine polishing. We bring the whole setup to your driveway and give the finish back its depth. A full day, one car, done right.
No travel fee in the city · Free estimates
From
$150Rises with correction steps
Booking
Full dayExclusive — one car per day
Removes
SwirlsWash marks, etching, oxidation
Will not
Fill chipsMissing paint is body work
Check it yourself first
Hold a phone torch against the paint at night.
A foot away, straight at the panel, in the dark. If a fine web of circular scratches lights up around the beam, your paint is swirled — and swirling is what makes a dark car look flat and grey in the sun.
If the panel comes back clean under that light, you do not need correction and we will tell you so. It is the most expensive thing we sell and the easiest one to talk somebody out of.
01 — What comes out and what does not
Some marks polish out.
Some marks polish out.
Some are through the clear.
Swirl marks
The fine cobweb halo you see under a gas-station light or direct sun. Almost always put there by washing. This is the defect correction exists for.
Comes out
Wash and buff marks
Straight-line scratching from a drive-through brush or a dirty towel. Sits in the same shallow layer as swirls.
Comes out
Water spot etching
Mineral rings that have started to eat into the clear coat. Shallow etching polishes out. Deep etching may leave a faint ghost.
Usually
Oxidation and dullness
Chalky, flat-looking paint — common on older red and black cars. Correction is what brings the gloss back, not wax.
Yes
Deep scratches
If your fingernail catches in it, it is through the clear coat. Polishing it would mean removing more clear than is safe. We will say so rather than take the money.
No
Rock chips
Missing paint is missing paint. Correction cannot add material back. That is body-shop or touch-up work.
No
02 — What it costs
$150 – $600
$150 – $600
and here is why.
The variable is how many machine stages the paint needs. One polishing stage on lightly marred paint sits at the bottom of the range. A cutting stage followed by a refining stage on heavily swirled paint sits at the top, and a large vehicle moves it further.
Full-day service — exclusive booking required. We do not stack a correction on top of other bookings and we do not quote it blind.
Pair it with a coating. Correction restores the clear coat; a coating is what stops it swirling again on the next wash. See ceramic coating →
Book a correction
03 — Correction questions
All questions
Asked and answered
How do I know if my paint needs correcting?
Park in direct sun or hold a phone torch a foot from the panel at night. If you see a fine web of circular scratches radiating out from the light, that is swirling, and it is what correction removes. If the panel looks clean under a hard light, save your money.
Why is paint correction a full-day booking?
Because it is measured in panels, not in hours of spraying. Each panel is washed, decontaminated, machine-polished in passes, then wiped and inspected under light. Rushing it is how you get holograms and burnt edges. We take one correction booking per day and that day is yours.
What makes the price range so wide?
The number of correction steps. Lightly swirled paint may need one polishing stage. Heavily marred paint needs a cutting stage before the polishing stage, which roughly doubles the work. Vehicle size then multiplies it. We look at the panels first and quote the actual job.
Should I coat the car after correcting it?
That is the right order and the reason to do both in one visit — you have just spent a day making the clear coat perfect, and a coating is what keeps it that way. Correcting and then leaving it bare means you start collecting swirls again on the next wash.
Can you correct paint in a Winnipeg winter?
Not well, and not outdoors. Polishing needs a controlled surface temperature and somewhere the car can stay clean and dry. Book correction from late spring through fall, or in a heated garage.
Keep going
The rest of what we do
Run the torch test.
Then call us.
Photograph a panel under a hard light and add it to your booking notes. If the paint does not need correcting, we will say so. No travel fee inside Winnipeg city limits.