how does paint correction pricing work?

I’m interested in having my vehicle fully paint corrected due to loads of water spots, swirl marks and etc..

So my question is there a set rate when it comes to this skilled labor or is it a case by case thing? TIA!

 

@War Machine can probably provide some insight.

 

It's all per the work being done. There are several stages to paint correction and it depends on how many stages your paint needs. I just started getting into detailing and I have a 5 step correction kit that can get pretty aggressive. If your paint is fairly good and only needs 1 or 2 steps you'll pay significantly less.

 

geez 5 steps as in primer exposed or something?

 

Ha not that crazy. Look at it like sanding a piece of rough wood. You wouldn't go straight to the ultra fine sand paper at first. You'd start with the rough stuff and work your way down. If your car is really rough they have heavy duty stuff that will remove almost everything then you use the others to bring it back to smooth and shiny.

 

100% case by case. They want to see how bad your paint is and how much work it will be to correct it and that they can correct it. People don’t flat rate that kind of thing.

 

It’s case by case, especially based on what market you’re in, time of year, paint condition, how busy the detailer is, etc..

That said, your truck is only a couple of years old, and it’s grey (lighter colors are easier to make look right than darker ones). Since it’s newer, the imperfections probably don’t run as deep as an older one would.

You’re in southeast Texas so I can assume your market will be similar to mine. A couple of months ago I got three quotes to have my black Tundra paint corrected. I had a ton going on and just didn’t have the time or inclination to do it myself.
The prices I got ranged from 400-600 including full detail. That was in November, which is generally a slower month for detailers, and a lot of them are trying to get as much work as they can before Christmas. It would probably cost a decent amount more during the Spring / Summer.

So all in all, I’d guess you can have it done in the neighborhood of 500.00 including a full interior and exterior detail. The top rated detailing company in my area was at $600.00. I’ve seen their work and know they do a damn good job.
Just read reviews, check out pictures of their work, and just get a feel for how professional they are.

 

I will go more in details for you.

Here in FL a one step correction can go from $250 to$350 depend on the car color conditions of the paint etc..
a two step correction go from $400 to $550. like I mention depend on many factors specially the condition of the paint.

 

Everyone pretty much covered this, but to reiterate it's highly dependent on mainly two things: paint condition and your area. My prices wouldn't fly in rural areas, whereas I'm cheaper than a lot of shops closer to metropolitan areas. Typically prices have a set starting rate and are then adjusted according to paint condition and how much time it would take to get the desired result.

 

Any of you providers here in the DFW area? I’ve been thinking about having this done and possibly ceramic

 

I'm in too. I am 45 miles west of Chicago (Fox River valley/St. Charles area).

Can anyone recommend a good shop/person to do paint correction and ceramic coat on an essentially new vehicle?

Thanks for any guidance.

 

Hi, this is Gunes from CeramicFX, as a professional, I would be glad to answer your questions.

If the water spots are due to a carwash, you can first try an acidic car wash shampoo (such as CARPRO Descale) or a limescale remover (such as CARPRO Spotless or Koch Chemie FSE). If they are due to sprinklers, however, paint correction will be a better option. These products can only dissolve the calcium deposits but cannot repair etching.

If there are both water spots and swirling/scratching, I would highly recommend paint correction, rather than spending your time with these limescale removers.

Traditional paint correction is, unfortunately, a "case by case thing" for vehicles that are not brand new. Our paint correction process can include up to 6 stages: 2000 grit sanding, 3000 grit sanding, 5000 grit sanding, heavy compounding, mild compounding, and fine polishing. If there are scratches that you can catch with your fingernail, those areas most likely require wet sanding (6-stage process), if not, heavy compounding (2-3 stage process) will (or may) satisfy you.

The table in this link explains the difference between "correction/cutting" and "gloss enhancement".
https://ceramicfx.com/services/paint-correction/
You will see that each stage has a specific purpose, either correct/cut the paint, enhance the gloss, or both.

If you are looking for a paint correction process with a "set rate", we have a process called RestorFX clear coat restoration. In this process, we lightly wet sand the paint with a 5000 grit sanding disc, and install a new layer of 2-stage clear coat.
https://ceramicfx.com/services/scratch-repair/

If your Tundra has deep scratches, RestorFX would be a better option than paint correction, because Toyota's paint thickness, in general, is below – in certain colors "way below" – industry average, and we wouldn't prefer cutting the paint more than 5 to 10 microns. If the depth of a scratch is say 20 microns, I either have to take the risk of burning the paint or just partially repair it. With the RestorFX process, we first cut a few microns of the clear coat, then install an 8 to 10-micron thick layer of new clear coat, so there is less removal but more correction.

Our price for a Tundra is $1149 – if the vehicle is stock or lifted less than 4 inches.
https://ceramicfx.com/service/scratch-repair-fullsize/

If the truck is lifted more than 4 inches, our price is $1899
https://ceramicfx.com/service/scratch-repair-oversize/

I gave all of these details because you are looking for a set rate, so the answer is yes. Hope this would be helpful.