How many times can you "Correct" your car?

RoyalBlUE08

RoyalBlUE08

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I'm wondering how many times do you guys detail and do a paint correction on your car?

How many times before you completely remove your clearcoat and need an entire repaint?

I assume people cant keep on doing thier cars over and over once it starts to get swirled up again.
 
Im sure it would depend on the thickness of your clear coat as it varies with all cars. So i dont know if there is a specific answer here.
 
There is no standard number as to how many corrections would it take to wear through the clear coat of any given car. No two cars have exactly the same thickness. Remember the key to maintaining a corrected finish is proper washing techniques that don't re-instill swirls and other defects.If every time you wash and or wax your car you find it in need of major correction then you may need to rethink you maintenance methods. There is quite a difference between maintaining a daily driver compared to a show queen.So with proper wash methods after correction your cars paint should last a long long time.
 
yeah, my car is a daily parked outside 24/7. i try to keep it as swirl free as possible but its impossible living around trees in NY along with the construction and dust and gravel on the roads
 
I did ONE correction (paint was swirl free). From that point on, I dialed in my wash routine to the point where I can get swirl-free results every time. Having sad that, swirls and scratches are inevitable, and I'm not going to correct the paint each time...so I am a big fan of long lasting polishes and glazes that make the paint look perfect...WITHOUT removing the clear coat.

I've discovered two incredible products that do this without compromising any paint...and they LAST and do not wash off easily because they are acrylic polymer based. It takes multiple IPA wipe downs to remove them.

1) Sonus Swirl Buster...it polishes the paint, and leaves behind acrylic polymers and can be layered to make the paint look near perfect.

2) Wet Glaze 2.0 (new formula)...also acrylic based, can be layered...can be applied under any wax or sealant...or ON TOP of any LSP. Lasts for weeks and perfect just before a car show. Being a glaze proponent..I have not seen any glaze like this. No cleaners (can be layered), no abrasives, just pure glazy gloss. Its like the old Megs show car glaze in do far as look, but has no oils or silcone, or cleaners...its like I said..acrylic based.

My routine now that my paint was corrected once:

Polish with Sonus Swirl Buster
Wet Glaze 2.0
Blackfire Wet Diamond
Wet Glaze 2.0
Maintain after every wash (BF Polymer spray OR XMT spray wax...both extraordinary).
 
thanks for the tip! i havnt corrected my car yet but i have done 5 cars so far lol. im going to do mine in the summer :D
 
+1 on the clear coat and maintenance comments.

That said, my opinion is that corection 2 times per year is fine.

I am somewhat of a rookie, so any contradiction to my statement above may very likely be spot on.
 
silverfox said:
I did ONE correction (paint was swirl free). From that point on, I dialed in my wash routine to the point where I can get swirl-free results every time. Having sad that, swirls and scratches are inevitable, and I'm not going to correct the paint each time...so I am a big fan of long lasting polishes and glazes that make the paint look perfect...WITHOUT removing the clear coat.

WOW John, very well stated!

It's rare we hear of the wash routines people have.
We always see full paint corrections and the sort, but we never see above average wash routines.
When I sell a paint correction, I offer wash package to my clients to keep the vehicles from needing polishing every year. If they don't use my wash services I can't say how long their car or truck could stay swirl free. Pay me now or pay big time later. Don't get me wrong if a client wants his paint polished off the vehicle, I probably would recommend against it but will surely take his $$ or someone else will for sure.

John, I don't use products with fillers, but I do AGREE with your trend of thought
It's all about the shine!
Click to expand...
 
How long do you intend to keep the car?

If only two years go ahead and do whatever you want, Up to and including a wet sanding. As long as you don't go through to the base coat it will last that long.

Three to seven years. Stay away from heavy compounding or wetsanding. The thinner the clear coat the less UV resistance.

Seven to twenty years. I wouldn't even want to do a correction, especially if the car is parked outside in the sun all day.

My Explorer is almost always parked outside and I used to do a correction three or four times a year with Meguiar's #83. Paint always looked great for the first 17 years. Than the sun and thin clearcoat finally caught up with it. Now the clear is failing and I will be getting it re-shot with clear. Hopefully before the base coat fails.

But as an example, I have a neighbor that has always kept her Ford (1993 Lincoln Mark VIII) garaged. The paint has never been corrected and because it was always carefully hand washed and waxed with a pure, non abrasive nuba it still looks like new. It's the combination of UV from the sun and paint (clear) removal from polishing that really kills the chance of a decades long paint job.
 
If you don't want to polish and need a super glaze to hold you over, then CG Glossworkz is killler.

I never used anything that fills like GW. Amazing shine too!

merlin said:
Anybody use Chemical Guys GlossWorkz Glaze?
Click to expand...
 
Your clear coat is precious. I keep my Sky well maintained and polish with only a super fine polish PO 85Rd once a year.
 
I cannot find it, Mike as a thread on a test he did with wet sanding and correcting.

He took before and after measurements with what he did, to give an idea of how much removal goes on for each step in the process.

Obviously, you would need to get a reading from an expensive paint thickness gauge to get the starting point on your specific paint.

Still looking, if I find it in my bookmarks I'll post the URL
 
oldmodman said:
How long do you intend to keep the car?

If only two years go ahead and do whatever you want, Up to and including a wet sanding. As long as you don't go through to the base coat it will last that long.

Three to seven years. Stay away from heavy compounding or wetsanding. The thinner the clear coat the less UV resistance.

Seven to twenty years. I wouldn't even want to do a correction, especially if the car is parked outside in the sun all day.

My Explorer is almost always parked outside and I used to do a correction three or four times a year with Meguiar's #83. Paint always looked great for the first 17 years. Than the sun and thin clearcoat finally caught up with it. Now the clear is failing and I will be getting it re-shot with clear. Hopefully before the base coat fails.

But as an example, I have a neighbor that has always kept her Ford (1993 Lincoln Mark VIII) garaged. The paint has never been corrected and because it was always carefully hand washed and waxed with a pure, non abrasive nuba it still looks like new. It's the combination of UV from the sun and paint (clear) removal from polishing that really kills the chance of a decades long paint job.
Click to expand...


I plan on keeping my car at least for another 7-8 years. Until im around 30 and start making money after finishing dental school. Im 22 now and I do not plan on buying a new car anytime soon since i just Bought it (well ive had it since 2008 when it first came out but i just payed off my car)
 
2old2change said:
There is no standard number as to how many corrections would it take to wear through the clear coat of any given car. No two cars have exactly the same thickness. Remember the key to maintaining a corrected finish is proper washing techniques that don't re-instill swirls and other defects.If every time you wash and or wax your car you find it in need of major correction then you may need to rethink you maintenance methods. There is quite a difference between maintaining a daily driver compared to a show queen.So with proper wash methods after correction your cars paint should last a long long time.
Click to expand...
I agree and add that if you coat with OC or something like it, you have a hard barrier between the clear and the elements. Oc adds a couple mils of urethane as I recall. You can polish it and add another coat with the latest version!
 
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