One of the biggest problems with owning a car is that your car can go through a lot of wear and tear. This can result in getting marks and scratches all over your car from basic daily damage. In these circumstances, paint correction is the only solution.
With that in mind, here’s your complete guide on how much paint correction costs!
How Much Does Paint Correction Cost?
First of all, it’s important to clarify what exactly paint correction is. You will usually need paint correction on a vehicle when it is full of minor scratches and marks from daily wear and tear.
The newest cars on the market get damaged once in a while too, so getting the paint corrected from time to time is helpful to ensure that your car looks brand new every time you take it out for a ride.
To correct the paint on a car, you generally need to get an electric buffer. Occasionally you will need to do some wet sanding using 400 grit sandpaper.
By the end of the correction process, your car should look practically brand new. If you want to do the paint correction yourself, you can do so with ease so long as you have the right tools in place. Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Cracking Paint
Sometimes the damage is so bad that there are large amounts of paint chipping off the vehicle.
In these situations, it’s often better to completely repaint the car so you don’t have sections that look off.
Rusting
Paint correction is not necessarily going to fix a rust problem. Instead, you are better off using a rust and paint stripper to remove the rust from your vehicle.
With that being said, if you don’t have any other issues and the paint just looks like it’s seen better days, a paint correction should suffice in most circumstances. It’s a simple and cost effective way to get your vehicle looking like it’s just waltzed off the showroom floor.
Naturally, the prices for paint correction can differ depending on the vehicle in question and the kind of paint that you buy. You could spend as little as around 100 dollars, or as much as a few thousand dollars. Now, we know that’s vague. For that reason, we’re going to break down the costs even further for you.
The Average Cost of a DIY Job
This is probably going to seem obvious, but your most cost effective solution will be to do the paint correction yourself. It’ll cost you a lot less money, but you’re going to have to spend your time on doing the work, which is something to be mindful of in advance.
Paint correction is hardly a difficult thing to do however. All you need to do is wash the car, put the correction compound onto the car and then wax the car. It consists of a few key steps. There are a few supplies that you will need to invest in for the paint correction process, however.
Supplies for Washing the Car
Washing the car is a vital first step. This is because using a buffer on things like animal droppings or dirt can cause some serious damage to your existing paint job.
The better option is to get some water and connect it with a water softener then clean the car with it.
Hand Washing
There are very few things that are easier than washing a car’s exterior. It just takes a little elbow grease and some good supplies. Grab yourself a sponge, car wash solution and some warm water.
Then, you can pretend that you’re in one of those 80s movies where someone is seductively washing a car, if you feel so inclined.
Once you’ve washed the car, you are then going to need to dry it. It’s a very bad idea to mix the correction compound with water, so make sure that your car is thoroughly dry before you put the compound onto your vehicle.
Buffer
You will also need to invest in a buffer in order to do the paint correction on the car. Ideally you will need an electric buffer. With this, you aren’t going to have to take your vehicle to a professional to get the work done.
Fortunately, buffing is pretty easy to do. Simply put some of the correction compound onto the buffer pad. Then, put it directly onto the part of the car that you want to buff, then just turn the device on.
With this, you can get your car looking scratch free in no time at all. You can get rid of minor scratches, fading paint or paint errors with minimal effort.
Correction Compound
In order to correct the paint, you are going to need to have a correction compound. These usually cost around $20 – $100. It’ll cost less money to buy a smaller container, and will cost more for a larger one.
If you have some compound left over, you can also restore your headlights to their former glory too, as long as you have an electric buffer.
Wax
The next thing to do is apply the correction compound. This is important, since it helps to protect your vehicle from things like dirt and water when it’s out on the road. This prevents further damage. It’s possible to apply if just with a hand use pad.
Polishing Pads
Make sure that you have the right paint correction pad to use with the bugger, and you will also need to make sure that you have the right pad so you can put the wax onto the car after you have used the buffer.
Ceramic Coating
You don’t necessarily need to have a ceramic coating but it can certainly be useful if you want truly spectacular results. It will give your car that extra amount of protection that it needs after you have finished the paint correction process.
You won’t need to pay to detail the car, since you have paid for ceramic coating instead. It can save you a lot of money!
Adhesive Films
It’s worth putting an adhesive film onto your car, especially in the front. This is mainly because you are going to get the most damage on the front of your car.
Clay Bar
Finally, you should think about getting a clay bar kit. This is useful since it helps you to get rid of small marks on the car such as tree sap. It will help you to get a better finish since there are no blemishes ruining the look of your paint correction job.
Professional Costs
You’re going to be spending a lot more money on getting a professional to do the paint correction on your car. With that being said, a professional charges more money for a reason.
You are going to get a significantly better finish, and a professional will pay attention to the smaller details that you may not have noticed. As such, you can expect a thorough job to be done, and the car will not need paint correction for a long time.
You will usually find that paint correction work performed by a professional will cost between $200 to over $1000, though it depends on the amount of work that you need to have done.
It’s going to take a lot longer to perform a paint correction on an old car, for instance, meaning that it may cost you more money. It’s worth keeping this in mind. You may find that not as much work needs to be done if you have a newer car with fewer imperfections from wear and tear.
Making an Estimate of Cost
Making an estimate of the cost is going to help you to budget correction for the paint correction job! The first thing to do, however, is to figure out whether you will perform the paint correction yourself or if you will get someone else to do it for you.
It can sometimes be difficult to decide exactly what to do. Honestly though, it’s much better to get a professional to work on your car if it is expensive. You don’t want to accidentally mess up the detailing due to inexperience because you’re doing it yourself! It’s better to get a professional to do it in these circumstances, since they know what they’re doing.
If your car is much cheaper and you aren’t too bothered about the appearance though, there’s nothing stopping you from doing the paint correction on your own.
It’s not super difficult to do – it’s just better not to take the chance if your car is basically like your firstborn child and you don’t want to mess it all up thanks to inexperience. Ultimately, the decision is down to you.
Cost Per Square Foot
You are usually going to find that paint correction will cost you roughly $1.40 – $5 per square foot. On average, a car will have roughly 100 square feet of painting surface, though this can vary between models. It’s definitely a good idea to take your car’s measurements before you attempt to perform the paint correction.
If you are going to be doing the paint correction yourself, you will need to buy a buffer which will cost around $100, then you will need to buy some correction compound which should cost around $30.
Hypothetically speaking, you would then need to spend roughly $140 for the whole job in this scenario. This equated to $1.40 for each square foot – a pretty good deal, really!
So what about when you get a professional to do the work for you? Well, in this situation you may expect to spend around $500 in this particular imaginary scenario. If the size of the car is still 100 square feet, then you would be spending roughly $5 per square foot. It’s a lot more expensive than doing it yourself, but at least you can feel confident that the job will be done to the highest standards.
Costs for Professional Paint Correction
A professional will usually charge $200 at the minimum for a paint correction job. For particularly complicated tasks, a professional may charge a few thousand dollars. It depends on what needs to be done and what vehicle you have.
If you’re looking for something relatively simple, for instance if you’re just trying to make your newer vehicle look a little nicer, then you may be charged from around $50-$100 for a simple touch up. It’s hard to give a definitive answer since it can vary depending on the vehicle in question.
Approximate Labor Costs
Do It Yourself
So how much does it cost in terms of labor for you to do the work yourself? Well, all you really need for a DIY job is to sacrifice a little bit of your time.
You’re going to need to get the gear though in order to do the job. You’ll want to invest in a correction compound, an electric buffer, buffer pads and a microfiber towel.
You could realistically expect this to cost between $50 to $300, though it ultimately depends on what products you are planning on buying. It’s best to look online to see if you can find any deals.
The biggest cost is going to come in terms of the time you are going to be spending on completing the job, however. You can expect paint correction to take anywhere from 2 to 8 hours if you are being thorough. This varies depending on the vehicle size.
Professional Labor
It should cost you around $200 – $500 to get the entire job done if you’re hiring a professional to do the work for you. For this price, the pros will steam clean your carpets, do a full interior detail and will do the paint correction. It’s certainly worth the money!
Making Some Savings
Paying for paint correction can be expensive, but thankfully there are ways to save yourself some money!
DIY
The best way to save yourself some money with paint correction is to do the work yourself!
Do Your Research
If you’re hiring professionals, make sure that you do your research and shop around. It will help you to make some savings. You can also get a handyman to do the job for you which won’t be nearly as expensive as paying a professional.
Buy Your Products Online
You’re likely to get your products for a much cheaper price if you buy them online. Jump on Amazon and wait for the delivery guy to drop off the goods!
Saving Money Painting Car Doors
Painting It Yourself
Get your tools together and be prepared to paint your car doors yourself if you want to save money! It’ll cost a fraction of the price that you would pay to get a pro to do it for you.
Invest in Old Paint
Facebook marketplace and Craigslist are your best friends. Check online – you never know when you may be finding someone selling your paint for a significantly lower price.
Shop Around
If you’re getting a pro to do the job, shop around. If you compare quotes, you may even find that some companies will knock some of the cost off the job if they can see that a competitor has charged less.
Conclusion
In short, paint correction is fairly affordable as long as you spend your money wisely.
Happy painting!
