This was about 5k for correction and PPF and ceramic coating. Another 5k for respray and fender work. If your car was in better condition probably get away with just 3k for correction and Ceramic.
The most important part of paint correction is learning to live with some defects that are deep into the clearcoat. If you compound them all out, your clearcoat will be too thin, and could fail.
I have done this type of work since the late 70's, it is an incredibly hard and extremely tedious job to do. I have a huge respect for those who do this to make a living day after day!!
*Me standing around with my $20 MeGuires clay bar kit, bottle of turtle wax and paper towels* _Ahhh, yes. I too have swirls on my performance oriented vehicle_
30 hours is a typical light to medium paint correction labour. If it's really bad, it can take 50-60 hours. Important to remember - this doesn't mean the car stays there for that amount of time. The labour cost is split between all people working on the car simultaneously. So, for example, one guy does 5 hours, another 10 and another 15, well, then combined it's 30 hours, but done in 15 hours.
Great video, Mark! As someone who has spent days and days polishing and correcting paint in the past, its nice to see this skill getting some more attention. It's extremely time consuming and labor intensive, but man, the results speak for themselves.
I gave up trying to keep my car nice a long time ago. It's just too stressful, expensive and time consuming. Plus there are too many idiots on the road hauling rocks on the highway with open truck beds, people hitting your car with shopping baskets or dinging with their doors. Forget about it.
I'm not a pro but yes. It took me two 8 hour sessions to get my 2013 Honda fit cut and and buffed and polished back up. Worth it though. It's a good way to bring an older car back to its glory days and with thst and the headlamps surefire way to make money in flips
Think the best idea is to do the ceramic coating on a car brand new and then stick to a touchless wash every week at least. Thanks for highlighting this, definitely learnt a lot.
If I did that to my car, there is no way I would drive it. Keep it in my garage (if I had one). I would only be in it outside if I hired a towing company to have the car sit on a truck bed, riding around town at 30mph.
I’m a tow truck driver and although in know this is a joke a flatbed is 3x more likely to f up your car than just carefully driving it around besides they ppf the car it’s literally a film that completely protects your paint so driving it after this is no issue.
The car that got me through college was black and I swore I would never get another. It's a pain to keep up, everything shows, and in the south, it gets baked to hell. I'm not even mentioning just how much hotter it is when you get in at the end of the day and it's been parked outside.
I said that too, but was in a place where I *had* to have an SUV for both semi-cheap and didn't handle like a tipping hazard. Got a Ford Edge but could only find black. I will say that Ford's tuxedo black is the *one* paint that doesn't look terrible with defects thanks to the massive sparkles in it
The beauty of this channel is attention to detail and pursuit of a high quality product. I can see why you partner with these guys at Chicago Auto Pros. Impressive & inspiring work!
12 Minutes I'm pretty sure this is a short video for Savagegeese! Honestly I really enjoy polishing/compounding my car, it is a lot of work but when you are done and the car just shines its a great feeling.
Jason from Chicago Auto Pros is a top-shelf guy. I bought some detailing supplies from them and he sent me a personalized thank you note. You chose wisely and your car looks great.
Your videos are seriously high quality, so collaborating a bit with Chicago Auto Pros seems reasonable (they seem to also do things properly. I've watched too many of their videos already, there's just something about watching tasks being done properly). The merch and donation to suicide prevention is a wonderful thing, Mark. Yet another reason to enjoy your work. Look forward to watching more of your stuff! (this video was good, and the S2000 looked seriously sharp after the paint correction)
So happy to see Jason and the guys from Chicago Pros!! Great to see you guys here on Mark's channel. I knew that the S2000 was in great hands 👌. You guys do a phenomenal job year round 👏!! And Mark, keep doing what you're doing 👏!!
Looks beautiful afterwards. I hear that S2000s are increasing in value, so this should definitely pay off in the long run financially. We had our new Odyssey protected with PPF on the front and ceramic coated entirely; we tend to keep our vehicles 10+ years, so want to keep it looking fresher over the long term. Plus it adds peace of mind while traveling on highway and in between washes. Just my .02
I'm actively waiting on a paint correction right now. It's to fix a botched attempt by a friend. Spend the money, don't cheap out. Pay nice, and pay twice. BUT OMG I'm Super Excited to see my car.
I spent 14 hours detailing, correcting(mostly with a hair dryer since all new Lexus have a self healing topcoat) and then coating my car the day after i bought it
Why all the dislikes? You clicked on a video titled "The Painful Art of Paint Correction" and the host explained for over 12 minutes how paint correction is done. Were you not entertained?
What drives me insane is the amount of people who buy $50k SUVs…yet want this kind of work done for $150. I do this level of work for under a grand part-time, but doing so is nothing more than filling a market space that doesn’t understand what truly hard work is. Until/unless I have a brick-and-mortar establishment and a uniform, there’s no way in hell I can command the prices that this work deserves. You have to enjoy the labor, hope your past clients spread the word, and be honest with new clients about the limitations of paint correction…for better or worse. That all said, it’s a fun and fascinating hobby that can really brighten a client’s day each time they walk-up to their vehicle.
It's funny how big difference it is being done by professionals and myself (and probably others). I mean I think I'm pretty serious doing a 12h 2-stage polish with clay-cleaning before and isopropanol wiping after before coating with some random waxish stuff, but the result is probably 20% of a true professional using correct lighting and looking for the right stuff.
My FR-S had some TERRIBLE repainted panels on in when I bought it. All of these cars have shitty paint so I was just gonna deal with it, but someone hit my car while it was parked and admitted fault. The only thing that was damaged was all of the shitty panels. Sometimes life works out, man.
General note: This service is only worth it (to me anyways) for a car you are going to keep, this is not for your mid-2010's Civic/Corolla/Throw away car, unless you've got oodles of money to burn. I have an IS 350 F-sport, as a daily driver; it is not worth the $5k-$10k price to me to get this service done; I'm just going to run this car into the ground, take it on road trips, probably teach my son to drive in it if I still have it when he is old enough. My 1966 Mustang that is currently being resto-modded? yeah, once it's painted and "done", it will be worth getting this service done, I've had that car for 20 years and plan on handing it off to my son when I can no longer drive it.
Yeah I’m deep into the detailing stuff like this. I can do oil, brakes, belts, and plugs no sweat but I’d much rather break out the polisher than do some of the more difficult things.
Since they didn’t provide pricing I will for the recent work I had done in south Florida. I got xpel PPF for the front end, ceramic coating for the whole car and wheels (2hrs per wheel), ceramic window tint, roof and mirrors in black vinyl, on a new mustang. Cost was 3700. Whole car in PPF would have been 6100. Very serious chunk of change and probably the most painful money I have spent on a car.
Anyone who has the slightest interest in paint correction (or complains about the price), I encourage you to visit r/autodetailing, get yourself a beginner's kit with a Harbor Freight Dual Action polisher and give it a go. It's very methodical, time consuming, and requires an attention to detail but the results can be oh-so-satisfying
All of the quotes I've seen for PPFing (or ceramic coating) include paint correction. I get that paint correction is required before PPFing an older car, but what about a new car? I'll be taking delivery of a new vehicle later this year - can I negotiate a discount on PPFing since paint correction wouldn't be necessary?
I would love to & gladly pay the cost to have my ride paint-corrected & ceramic-coated. The only issue is I'm way too paranoid that some moron is going to drive into my car, totaling it. Even if insurance covers it, even if it's just a few dented panels and the car is salvageable with some body work, it's hard to justify the steep cost of paintwork/bodywork that you can't take with you if your car wrecks and you get another one. It's not as easy as bolt-on modifications like turbos, audio systems, or wheels.
The real Painful Art will be me trying not to kill someone when my car gets dinged up by little Todd, Jessica and Steven getting out of their mom's 2020 Ford Explorer and slamming the rear doors into the side of my car.
This is why I always have several cars, the daily gets parked wherever where as my weekend cars only go to meets or shows or canyons to minimize any small damage from people who more often than not dont give a fuck about other peoples stuff.
That's why you park at the far end of the parking lot as possible. Not only do you avoid Karen and her screaming kids using your car as a doorstop, but you also burn some calories. It's been 10 years since I last had to pay for PDR to remove door dings. I get dings so extremely infrequently because I park as far away as possible from the store entrance.
@@hamsterama I do park at the far end of the parking lot most of the time but I am the Pied Piper of soccer mom SUVs. I can park in a line with 0 cars around me and when I come back, there is at least one car parked either side of me for no reason.
@@WKaliberr That sucks! As a car enthusiast, that's very aggravating. Some people just don't have any luck. I've been very lucky with cars. My car isn't a soccer mom door ding magnet. Also, I've never been an an accident (I'm 36 years old, by the way). My sister, on the other hand, seems to be involved in an accident about every two years. I hope your luck improves in the future!