A polisher working a dark hood, wash marring and swirls still visible in the unpolished paint around the pad

Paint correction in Tampa

Swirls, towel lines and wash marring polished out by machine, with every panel measured first so the thin ones are left alone.

Takes

1–2 days

One day for a one-step, two for cut and refine.

From

$495

One-step polish, mid-size sedan.

Measured

11–12 panels

Three readings each, before any pad.

You keep

The report

Readings and every line of work.

Two hands guiding a rotary polisher with a foam pad across the taped-off roof of a white car

What it is

Removing a little clear coat, carefully, to remove the scratches in it.

A swirl is a shallow scratch. So is a towel line, and the gray haze that makes black paint look tired in the sun. Correction levels the clear coat down to the bottom of them until the panel is flat enough to reflect properly.

That is why we measure first. Clear coat is roughly 40–50 microns and does not grow back. The gauge tells us how much a panel can give before the polisher finds out the hard way.

What’s included

Wash, iron and tar removal, and clay
Paint-depth survey on every panel
A test section to pick the pad and polish
Machine correction, panel by panel
Trim taped off, edges finished by hand
Inspection under LED and a hand light

Prices

Three levels, chosen by the readings

Prices are for a mid-size sedan. SUVs and trucks are quoted from photos or on the day; you hear the number before any polishing starts.

One-step polish

1 day

from$495

Removes most light swirls and brings the gloss back. Right for a car that is washed well.

Most light marring out
Gloss and clarity restored
Ideal before a coating

Most asked for

Cut & refine

2 days

from$895

A cutting pass, then a refining pass. For black and dark cars with years of tunnel washes.

Most swirls removed
Deeper defects reduced
Every pass on the report

Correction + ceramic coating

2 days

from$1,425

Cut and refine, then a panel wipe and a ceramic coating.

Everything in cut & refine
Ceramic coating
Panel wipe and application

A panel that reads thin is finished by hand instead, and it costs you nothing extra. It goes on the report as declined.

How a panel gets decided

Readings first, then a test section, then the ceiling.

Three readings per panel are averaged and written down. Even numbers across the car mean original paint. A low one means somebody has polished or resprayed it before us.

Then half a door is tested with one pad and one polish, wiped down and checked from three angles. Clear coats differ a lot from car to car, and the test tells us what one pass achieves.

If the last 10% would take two more passes on a thin panel, it stays. It goes on your report as reduced, not removed, and you are told why on the phone before we start.

A detailer in a black t-shirt polishing a black car door with the window trim taped off

On your paint report

A thin roof gets refused, and you see it.

This is the bottom of a real report layout. The roof read 78 µm against 115–130 everywhere else, so the second cutting pass was declined and the panel finished by hand.

How the two days go

Verity Detail Studio · Tampa

Paint report

Job VDS‑2419
12 Aug 2026
Sedan · black metallic

Film build, panel by panel

Hood121 µm
L fender118 µm
R fender116 µm
L front door124 µm
R front door122 µm
L rear door127 µm
R rear door119 µm
L quarter130 µm
R quarter126 µm
Decklid115 µm
Roof78 µm

Total film build over steel, three readings averaged per panel. Amber: read low, not cut.

Work performed

Correction, cut and refine. Ten panels. Wash marring and towel lines removed. Two deeper scratches, right rear door, reduced not removed.	$580.00
DeclinedSecond cutting pass, roof. Asked for and not done: 78 µm against 115–130 everywhere else. Finished by hand instead.	$0.00
Ceramic coating. Panel wipe, then applied in small sections and leveled under a hand light.	$700.00
Correction & coating	$1,280.00

Measured and signed: Dana, Verity Detail StudioKeep this sheet. The readings are the car’s.

Not sure what the car needs?

Send a few photos from your phone in the chat. Somebody on Dana’s team looks at them and writes back a quote, usually the same day.

Start my photo quote

Questions

Paint correction questions

Will paint correction remove every scratch?

No honest shop will promise that. Wash marring and swirls come out. A scratch your fingernail catches is often through most of the clear coat, so it is reduced and written down rather than chased.

Will the swirls come back?

Not on their own. New ones come from washing, so a safe wash is what keeps the paint right. Ask us about coatings if you want to talk it through.

Is a glaze the same thing?

No. A glaze fills swirls with oils so they disappear for a few washes, then they come back. We remove them. If a car needs filling for a sale next week, we will say so and price it as that.

Also from us

Often done alongside

Ceramic coatingfrom $650Ceramic coating, applied after the paint is measured and corrected.Maintenance washfrom $85The two-bucket wash that keeps a finish right.New car prepfrom $395Transport film and dealer marks off, then protect.

Verity Detail Studio · Tampa

Swirls in the sun? Show us.

Send a photo of the worst panel in daylight, or call. We will tell you which level the paint needs, and whether it can take it.

Get a detailing quote Call (656) 236-2374

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