.png)
Reveal Maximum Gloss with Professional Paint Correction
Paint correction is all about restoring clarity, depth, and gloss by removing swirl marks, light scratches, oxidation, and other surface imperfections from your vehicle’s paint.
Depending on your goals, we can tailor the service to correct anywhere from 65% to 90% of defects—bringing your paint back to life.
Our 2-step correction process involves a precise cutting stage followed by a polish to refine the finish, enhance gloss, and deliver a mirror-like reflection.
Not every imperfection can (or should) be removed. Deep scratches, compromised clear coat, or delicate panels may require a more conservative approach to preserve the long-term health of your paint. That’s where our experience comes in—we’ll assess each panel and correct safely without risking damage.
Whether it takes 5 hours or 20, we’ll match our level of work to your desired outcome—and deliver results that stand out.
Even New Vehicles Need Paint Correction
Just because your car is new doesn’t mean the paint is flawless. Even vehicles that are only a few months off the lot can benefit from a 2-step paint correction.
Why? Because from factory to showroom, your vehicle has already been handled, transported, washed, and stored by many people—often in less-than-ideal conditions.
By the time it’s delivered, most vehicles—regardless of make or model—already show signs of swirl marks, hazing, and minor scratches caused by improper washing and handling.
Paint correction is more than just a cosmetic upgrade—it’s a long-term commitment to the health and appearance of your vehicle. But correction is only half the battle. After the service, it’s crucial to follow proper washing and drying methods to avoid reintroducing those same imperfections.
This is one of the most meticulous services in detailing. Depending on your vehicle’s condition and your desired results, the process can take 8 to 15+ hours of focused work.
The Caro Paint Correction Process
We specialize in restoring gloss, depth, and clarity to the paint of luxury and exotic vehicles—all from the convenience of your own driveway. Whether you're refreshing a recently purchased vehicle or restoring years of wear, we follow a precise process designed to safely correct imperfections and enhance the finish.
Here’s what our paint correction service typically includes:
Wheel, Tire & Fender Cleaning: We begin by thoroughly cleaning your wheels (faces and barrels), tires, and inner fender liners for a complete, polished look from the ground up.
Gentle Foam Hand Wash: Your vehicle is coated in thick foam and washed by hand using soft mitts to prevent micro-scratches. During this step, we also clean door jambs, gas caps, and remove bug splatter.
Iron Decontamination: We apply an iron remover to pull out embedded ferrous particles from the paint. This step ensures the surface is clean before any correction work begins.
Clay Bar Treatment: Next, we clay the paint to remove remaining contaminants that are bonded to the surface. After this step, your paint will feel smooth and clean to the touch.
Masking Sensitive Areas: We tape off trim, emblems, and delicate areas to prevent polish buildup or staining and ensure a clean, professional result.
Step 1: Compounding (Correction Phase): Using a machine polisher, cutting pad, and compound, we remove a significant portion of the swirls, oxidation, and light scratches. The goal is to safely correct 65% to 90% of surface imperfections, depending on paint condition and client goals.
Step 2: Polishing (Refinement Phase): We follow up with a polishing stage to refine the paint, remove micro-marring from the compounding phase, and boost gloss and clarity.
Panel Wipe Down: To assess the true finish, we wipe down each panel with a solution that removes any polishing oils or residue—so nothing is hidden by fillers.
Paint Protection Application: Based on your preference, we apply a wax, sealant, or ceramic coating to lock in the results and protect your vehicle from the elements.
Tire & Trim Dressing: We restore a deep, even finish to your tires and exterior plastics with a non-greasy dressing that enhances the overall look without attracting dust.
Glass Cleaning: Streak-free cleaning of all exterior windows and mirrors to complete the detail.
Final Inspection & Touch-Ups: We carefully inspect every panel and touch up any remaining areas to ensure your vehicle looks as flawless as possible.
We’re not a high-volume or rushed operation. This is a meticulous service that takes time. Depending on the size and condition of the vehicle—and the level of correction you want—this process can take anywhere from 5 to 20+ hours over the course of one or more days. Our mobile setup is fully equipped to deliver high-end results right at your garage—without cutting corners.
Why Your Car Needs a Paint Correction
The goal of our paint correction service is to eliminate swirls, scratches, water spots, and other imperfections from your paint—bringing out the full depth and gloss your vehicle was meant to have.
Once we finish, your car will look dramatically better. But the key to keeping it that way is how it's cared for after the service.
Taking your car through an automatic car wash—especially ones with spinning brushes—will undo the correction quickly. Those high-speed bristles are harsh and often loaded with debris from previous washes, which can drag across your paint and leave behind new scratches.
We’ve seen it many times—vehicles with fresh swirls and deep scratches just weeks after a correction because they were run through a quick wash with dirty tools or poor techniques.
Even some hand wash locations can do more harm than good if they’re using worn-out mitts or rough towels. It doesn’t take long for that shine to fade and the swirls to come back.
Whether you have us maintain it or bring it to someone you trust, the key is proper care between corrections. If it’s maintained the right way, your paint can stay looking incredible—and may only need a light polish every year or two to bring it back to perfection.
What is a Ceramic Coating?
A ceramic coating is one of the best ways to protect your paint after correction. It’s a highly durable layer that bonds to your vehicle’s surface and helps repel water, dirt, and grime—making maintenance easier and keeping your paint looking cleaner, longer.
After it’s applied, you’ll notice that rinsing your vehicle removes most of the dirt on contact. Washing is quicker, drying is easier, and the gloss stays locked in far longer than wax or sealants.
That said, ceramic coatings won’t stop rock chips or deep impacts—that’s what paint protection film is designed for. But if your goal is to keep your paint glossy and easier to clean, a ceramic coating is the way to go.
Hire a Paint Correction Expert in Charlotte
When it comes to paint correction—experience matters. Choosing the right professional isn’t just about getting great results; it’s about avoiding costly mistakes.
We’re often called in to fix poor correction work done by other detailers. One of the most common issues we see is buffer trails—those hazy, smeared patterns left behind when someone improperly uses a high-speed rotary with the wrong pad and no refinement process.
In more severe cases, improper technique can burn through clear coat or cause paint damage—issues that can’t be fixed with polish and often require repainting a panel.
At Caro Detail, we know how to approach each vehicle safely and effectively. We use a range of dual action and rotary polishers, along with the appropriate wool, microfiber, or foam pads—matched carefully to your vehicle’s paint type and condition—to deliver premium results without compromising the integrity of your finish.
The Right Tools and Products For Maximum Results
Polishing your vehicle’s paint to perfection takes more than just a machine and a bottle of product. It requires the right combination of tools, techniques, and experience to remove swirls, restore clarity, and bring out a deep, reflective gloss.
Polishers: The Foundation of Paint Correction
Polishers are the core of the process, and we use a variety of them—ranging from 1", 3", to 5" machines, in rotary, dual-action, and forced rotation types.
Each tool serves a purpose. For broad, flat panels like hoods or doors, we use large-throw machines to efficiently remove swirls. For tighter areas like bumpers or around emblems, we switch to smaller polishers for precise control without risking damage.
Pads: Where Precision Meets Paintwork
The pad is what makes direct contact with your vehicle’s paint—and it plays a critical role in how aggressive or refined the correction process is.
We use a combination of wool, microfiber, and foam pads depending on the level of correction needed. Wool pads are ideal for heavy cutting when paired with a rotary polisher, while foam pads offer a smoother, more refined finish.
We test pad and compound pairings before every job to ensure the safest and most effective result for your specific paint system.
Compounds & Polishes: The Finishing Touch
Compounds and polishes vary in strength and purpose. Heavy compounds help remove deeper swirls, scratches, or oxidation, while finishing polishes bring out maximum gloss and clarity.
We carefully select the right combination of product, pad, and machine for each panel—because no two vehicles (or paint conditions) are exactly the same.
Hard vs. Soft Clear Coat: What’s the Difference?
Clear coat is the transparent protective layer on top of your vehicle’s paint. While it’s there to shield your color coat from the elements, its characteristics can vary greatly depending on the manufacturer and paint system.
Hard Clear Coat: A hard clear coat is more resistant to scratches and swirls, which helps your paint stay looking glossy for longer.
However, when imperfections do appear, they’re more difficult to correct. These vehicles often require stronger compounds, aggressive pads, and more correction time to achieve a flawless finish.
The upside? Once corrected properly, a hard clear coat tends to hold up better and stay swirl-free longer with proper maintenance.
Soft Clear Coat: Soft clear coat is much more delicate and easier to scratch—but also easier to correct. Light polishing with mild compounds and soft pads is often all that’s needed to remove most imperfections. The downside is that it’s easier to re-scratch, so maintenance has to be more careful.
If your vehicle has a soft clear coat, it’s especially important to avoid improper washes or drying techniques.
Regardless of whether your vehicle has a hard or soft clear coat, we have the expertise, equipment, and product knowledge to get the job done right—safely and effectively.
Paint Correction FAQs
Where are you located?
We are a 100% mobile detailing service based in the Mooresville and Lake Norman, NC area, and we bring our full paint correction setup directly to your home. There’s no need to drive to a shop—we come to you with the tools, power, and expertise needed to correct your paint safely and professionally.
Depending on the size, condition, and desired results, paint correction can take anywhere from 5 to 20+ hours, sometimes spread over multiple days. (To be eligible for our paint correction services, you must have a garage with enough room to work on your car. We cannot perform paint correction in direct sunlight.)
What tools and products do you use?
We use a full range of professional-grade polishers, pads, compounds, and lighting systems. This includes 1", 3", and 5" polishers to reach every part of your vehicle—even the tightest edges and contours found on exotic and luxury cars.
For heavy correction, we may use wool or microfiber pads paired with a rotary polisher, while lighter refinements are done with dual-action machines and foam pads. Every setup is tested on your specific paint type before we begin.
Note: We currently do not use a paint thickness gauge but always polish with safety and preservation in mind.
What’s the difference between a wax and paint correction?
A wax simply masks minor imperfections and adds short-term shine—it doesn’t fix the paint. You can apply wax in under an hour, and it wears off over time.
Paint correction, on the other hand, removes the actual swirl marks, scratches, and defects from your paint to permanently restore gloss and clarity. It’s a time-intensive process and can take a full day or more, depending on what your vehicle needs.
My paint is chipping. Can you still polish it?
If your paint is chipping, flaking, or cracking, we’ll need to inspect the affected panels before polishing. We won’t work on surfaces where paint failure is active, since machine polishing could make it worse. However, we can still correct the rest of the vehicle, as long as the other panels are in safe condition.
For any failing areas, repainting or touch-up would be the next step before any correction can be done.
Does the color of my car affect paint correction?
The correction process is the same for all paint colors, but darker colors like black or deep blue show imperfections much more clearly, especially in direct sunlight. These vehicles often need more polishing time to look perfect.
Lighter colors like white or silver tend to hide defects better, though the same level of correction can still reveal a big difference in gloss and clarity.
How often should I polish my car?
Paint correction shouldn’t be done every year. Your vehicle’s clear coat is finite, and each polish removes a tiny layer of it. The goal is to correct once, then maintain it with proper washing and drying methods to avoid introducing new swirls.
If well-maintained, you may only need a light polish every 1–2 years to refresh the finish—especially if your vehicle is ceramic coated.