Last updated on December 13th, 2023
Welcome to Detail Your Rides! If you want to restore your car’s exterior to its former glory, you have come to the right place. In this post, Scratch-free Shine: Paint Correction, I will discuss one of the essential components of automobile detailing. Specifically, I will focus on achieving a scratch-free shine on your vehicle’s paint.
Scratches, swirls, and imperfections in your car’s paint can make it look old and worn out, which is the last thing you want for your prized possession. Fear not because you can restore your car’s paint to its original brilliance with the right tools, techniques, and products.
I will cover everything you need to know about paint correction, from identifying several types of paint damage to choosing the best products for the job. I will also share some insider tips and tricks that professional detailers use to achieve an excellent finish.
At the end of this post, I will ask you to act on what you have learned. Whether you are a seasoned fanatic or a first-time DIY detailer, I want to empower you to achieve a scratch-free shine on your car’s paint. Sit back, grab a coffee, and dive into the paint correction world!
Affiliate Marketing Disclaimer: I am an affiliate marketer with links to online retailers on my website. When people read what I have written about a particular product, click on those links, and buy something from those links, I earn a small commission from the retailer at no extra cost to the buyer.
Perfect Paint: Erased Scratches on a Blue 2019 Mazda CX5!
I was productive and accomplished much over the past extended holiday weekend. The weather was more cooperative than we had experienced over the last six weekends. We did not have any rain whatsoever. There was a lot of sunshine, and the temperatures were conducive for working on cars in the garage. I repaired some scratches and corrected the paint on four different vehicles.
The first vehicle I worked on to correct scratches was my wife’s 2019 Blue Mazda CX5. You might have seen it on other web posts on my site. If not, you can see it in the Ultimate Guide: Get Showroom Shine with Waxing post.
She had several scratches on the right rear quarter panel and a large scratch with a dent on the left back door underneath the door handle. You can see small images of the scratch and the corrections below. If you click on the photos, they link to larger pictures and open in new browser tabs.
Before Scratch & Paint Corrections | After Scratch & Paint Corrections |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
Crystal Clear: Fixed Paint Blemishes on a 2022 Red Ford Maverick.
On Friday evening, I worked on a foot-long scratch on the passenger’s bedside of my brother-in-law’s 2022 Rapid Red, 1st Edition Lariat, Ford Maverick. Fortunately for him, it was not a deep scratch, just long and unsightly.
He accidentally scratched it while the truck was parked in his garage. There was a sharp object protruding from his snow blower, and he got caught on the way walking by the truck.
This happened only a few months after receiving the truck from his special order nearly a year earlier. You can see small images of the scratch and the corrections below. If you click on the photos, they link to larger pictures in a new browser tab.
Before Scratch & Paint Corrections | After Scratch & Paint Corrections |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
Flawless Finish: Repair Paint Woes on a Ruby Red 2022 Mazda CX5.
The next car I worked on has appeared on my website and in my garage before. Something about this car…it must have a bullseye on the hood. My daughter, Madison’s 2022 Ruby Red Mazda CX5, has more damage on the hood. This time it was all her fault…LOL!
She began closing the automatic garage door at her house, which caught the very front of the hood. Fortunately for her, the hood was scratched and not dented. Undeniably, when I looked, I thought there was no way I could remove those scratches. I told her and her husband as much. The scratches were rough and deep into the layers of the paint.
One of these days, I will replace the hood with carbon fiber or armor if she continues to damage it… LOL😉!
As it is now, I have completely stripped the wax, sanded, clay barred, polished, buffed, sealed, and waxed her hood on three separate occasions. There is not much paint left on the hood, and it needs another layer of clear coat. You can see the repaired scratches and corrections to the paint I made in the pictures below. If you click on the photos, they link to larger images in new browser tabs.
Before Scratch & Paint Corrections | After Scratch & Paint Corrections |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
Glossy Glow: Eliminated Swirl Marks on a Velocity Blue Ford F-250.
Finally, I saved the best for last, as I mentioned before, and if you have looked through my previous posts, you know I have a 2020 Velocity Blue Ford F-250 Platinum Edition truck. It is a beautiful truck, and I take excellent care of it.
Overall, there are few scratches, and the paint does not require many corrections, but I always find something that needs addressing on the body. Unfortunately, this time I saw many swirl marks.
So, what I did this past Saturday was applied an all-over rinse-less car wash, clay bar detail, spot polish, buff, paint sealant, and wax on the truck. It took 3:30 PM Saturday until 12:30 AM Sunday to complete the work, but it undoubtedly looked impressive. The wonderful thing about putting all that time and effort into the truck is that I am set for spring and summer. The truck should need nothing more than regular ceramic soap maintenance washes from here on out until the middle or end of fall.
Rinse-less washed, Clay Barred, Polished, Buffed, Paint Sealed, & Waxed.
With this in mind,
Thanks for reading my post on achieving a scratch-free shine through paint correction. It is evident from the examples shared above that paint correction is an essential part of automobile detailing. Absolutely, it can restore your car’s exterior to its former glory. Scratches, swirls, and imperfections in your car’s paint can make it look old and worn out. Regardless, you can achieve a flawless finish with the right tools, techniques, and products.
Whether you are a seasoned car fanatic or a first-time DIY detailer, I hope you have gained valuable insights into identifying distinct types of paint damage and choosing the best products for the job. Remember, paint correction requires patience, dedication, and diligence, but the results are worth it.
Now that you have learned the ropes of paint correction, I encourage you to act and restore your car’s paint to its original brilliance. If you do not have the time or skills to do it yourself, consider hiring a professional detailer to help you achieve your desired results.
Finally, I hope you have enjoyed reading about my recent experiences with paint correction, and I invite you to join me on my website, Detail Your Rides, for more informative and engaging content. Thank you for being a part of my experience, and I look forward to hearing your questions, techniques, and success stories with paint correction.
The detailed pictures of damage on the vehicles and of subsequent corrections you made are very helpful visual aids. I appreciated the opportunity to quick-link to enlargements allowing closer examination of the results of the correction process. However, I’m uncertain that I can easily develop the skill to do the best job. Most likely I will look for a detailer with your expertise, or I just won’t get any more scratches on my car! How likely is that, lol!
Do you offer any classes in some of the detailing procedures you explain? I think detailing tutoring would be of interest to individuals who would like to apply some of these techniques to their vehicles. Something to think about…
Thank you, Sue. I am glad you enjoyed the pictures.
Unfortunately, my photographers were so intrigued by my work and how quickly I addressed the scratches that they neglected to fulfill their duties as photographers and videographers. Otherwise, I would have added some excellent video tutorials to my post.
Keep returning, as I expect there will be more opportunities for me to capture some video tutorials to add to pages and future posts.
Regards, Matt