The Difference between a basic 'detail' and a 'correction'
Good morning to all you awesome Fanatics :rollsmile:
After having chatted to a lot of guys, a question that always comes up is 'What is a correction?'
To answer that, we need to investigate what detailing entails.
So before we even address that, let's look at why we even need to detail a car, specifically the exterior: Over time the paintwork on a car is exposed to the elements. Be it rain, or shine, there is always something to damage the paint and also the nasty stuff that gets embedded in the paintwork. A good example will be the stone chips that one picks up - now that is the larger stuff that physically chips the paint, now imagine the smaller stuff that gets in there! A good analogy I have heard is likening paint to skin. If you wash your skin all the time, but fail to apply lotion to replace the natural oils and moisturisers that your skin produces, it will eventually dry out. Likewise, you should 'exfoliate' your skin too, to remove the contaminants that get in there.
This is why we need to detail, to remove the stuff that contaminates our paint, like bird poo, tree sap, tar, dirt and even paint over-spray, not forgetting oxidation due to exposure.
So what does a detail entail? A good degrease wash, followed by a clay treatment, polish, seal and glaze then a wax. Now what does all this mean?
Degrease wash:
As the name suggests, this is used to remove the dirt, grease and grime that builds up on paint. It generally removes the bigger stuff prevalent on a car's paint.
Clay:
Clay looks and feels like common Prestik. It is used to remove surface contamination. Essentially clay removes the surface impurities by going over the surface and picking up those bits and pieces of dirt that stick out of the paint, but cannot really be seen - think of it as the loofa or sponge that you would wash your skin with.
Polish:
Polish is the physical action of using an 'abrasive' to induce a shine. Polish occurs in many difference 'strengths' and abrasive scales. Most of the polish that one has available in a standard retail setting usually does not have a very abrasive make up, so guys really cannot damage their paintwork by using it, however the results that you would get from such a polish would be very minimal. So the converse then applies to stronger polish - some of the strong polishes will induce more swirls and a fine polish is required after this to remove said swirls. Polish is then the largest part of a CORRECTION step, where swirls and scratches are removed by means of abrasion and the paint s then corrected. Note that great care must be take to work only on the clear coat of the paint and not wear through to the actual paint colour.
Seal / Glaze:
A seal is just that - it seals in the polish stage and acts as a protective layer. The glaze part smoothes over and fills in the surface 'ridges', giving the paint a uniform feel and look. This stage gives the paint that 'always wet' look.
Wax:
Wax is integral. This phase of the paint care process acts as the barrier between dirt and the actual paint. Basically, the wax wears away, as opposed to having the clear coat wear away. So wax needs to be replaced to prevent the paint from diminishing in terms of finish.
So in closing, the difference between just a normal detail and correction lies in the stages of polishing and the products used. A standard, over the counter solution will clean the paint, but will do hardly anything for the actual finish - it will hardly correct the scratches and the swirling, but it is good to protect what you currently have! A correction goes deeper to correct that swirling and scratches by means of hard work, a better combo of products and also the application of these products.
Hope that this was informative!
Fuzz
Good morning to all you awesome Fanatics :rollsmile:
After having chatted to a lot of guys, a question that always comes up is 'What is a correction?'
To answer that, we need to investigate what detailing entails.
So before we even address that, let's look at why we even need to detail a car, specifically the exterior: Over time the paintwork on a car is exposed to the elements. Be it rain, or shine, there is always something to damage the paint and also the nasty stuff that gets embedded in the paintwork. A good example will be the stone chips that one picks up - now that is the larger stuff that physically chips the paint, now imagine the smaller stuff that gets in there! A good analogy I have heard is likening paint to skin. If you wash your skin all the time, but fail to apply lotion to replace the natural oils and moisturisers that your skin produces, it will eventually dry out. Likewise, you should 'exfoliate' your skin too, to remove the contaminants that get in there.
This is why we need to detail, to remove the stuff that contaminates our paint, like bird poo, tree sap, tar, dirt and even paint over-spray, not forgetting oxidation due to exposure.
So what does a detail entail? A good degrease wash, followed by a clay treatment, polish, seal and glaze then a wax. Now what does all this mean?
Degrease wash:
As the name suggests, this is used to remove the dirt, grease and grime that builds up on paint. It generally removes the bigger stuff prevalent on a car's paint.
Clay:
Clay looks and feels like common Prestik. It is used to remove surface contamination. Essentially clay removes the surface impurities by going over the surface and picking up those bits and pieces of dirt that stick out of the paint, but cannot really be seen - think of it as the loofa or sponge that you would wash your skin with.
Polish:
Polish is the physical action of using an 'abrasive' to induce a shine. Polish occurs in many difference 'strengths' and abrasive scales. Most of the polish that one has available in a standard retail setting usually does not have a very abrasive make up, so guys really cannot damage their paintwork by using it, however the results that you would get from such a polish would be very minimal. So the converse then applies to stronger polish - some of the strong polishes will induce more swirls and a fine polish is required after this to remove said swirls. Polish is then the largest part of a CORRECTION step, where swirls and scratches are removed by means of abrasion and the paint s then corrected. Note that great care must be take to work only on the clear coat of the paint and not wear through to the actual paint colour.
Seal / Glaze:
A seal is just that - it seals in the polish stage and acts as a protective layer. The glaze part smoothes over and fills in the surface 'ridges', giving the paint a uniform feel and look. This stage gives the paint that 'always wet' look.
Wax:
Wax is integral. This phase of the paint care process acts as the barrier between dirt and the actual paint. Basically, the wax wears away, as opposed to having the clear coat wear away. So wax needs to be replaced to prevent the paint from diminishing in terms of finish.
So in closing, the difference between just a normal detail and correction lies in the stages of polishing and the products used. A standard, over the counter solution will clean the paint, but will do hardly anything for the actual finish - it will hardly correct the scratches and the swirling, but it is good to protect what you currently have! A correction goes deeper to correct that swirling and scratches by means of hard work, a better combo of products and also the application of these products.
Hope that this was informative!
Fuzz
