Paint correction prices

[Pureshine]

If you can get $900 for paint correction do it.

[Bates Detailing]

Amazing how much people say they charge! Maybe because Im in TN and the cost of living is much lower - but a paint correction for us is half of what most on here say they charge. We made $290 cash tonight for an in and out detail that took about 18 man hours..... with that said, we are legit and ALOT of that goes to daily business bills. WITH THAT SAID, Myself and Tyson are VERY happy with what we made..... not getting the prices?!?!!?

[Detailing by M]

If you think your charging to much then maybe you are. I think about this all the time but you need to also think about the "hidden cost" of doing business. Customers are paying for more then "just the work" done to their cars. Overhead is something customers don't think about.
If you are feeling guilty then give the customer a discount and tell them you over quoted.
Or not, it's really up to your feelings and reputation. Plus it's nice to be nice.

[rustytruck]

Amazing how much people say they charge! Maybe because Im in TN and the cost of living is much lower - but a paint correction for us is half of what most on here say they charge. We made $290 cash tonight for an in and out detail that took about 18 man hours..... with that said, we are legit and ALOT of that goes to daily business bills. WITH THAT SAID, Myself and Tyson are VERY happy with what we made..... not getting the prices?!?!!?

I agree with B&B. I can make someones car look mint if I spent the time on it. I always hear about these 20 hr details and I charged x amount of dollars. I have never run in to anyone who wanted me to camp out in their driveway for 3 days and then pay me $1500 for the work.

I know that keeping a car mint is harder than getting it that way. Can my customers maintain a show car finish? Absolutely not. I'm not going to waste thier money or my time giving them one. If the customer wants a $900 show car finish go ahead and give it to them. I just hope they wanted one.

[Pureshine]

I agree with B&B. I can make someones car look mint if I spent the time on it. I always hear about these 20 hr details and I charged x amount of dollars. I have never run in to anyone who wanted me to camp out in their driveway for 3 days and then pay me $1500 for the work.

I know that keeping a car mint is harder than getting it that way. Can my customers maintain a show car finish? Absolutely not. I'm not going to waste thier money or my time giving them one. If the customer wants a $900 show car finish go ahead and give it to them. I just hope they wanted one.

That's why I'm not mobile cause most of my paint correction does take me 2-3 days to complete. Yes most of my customers who want paint correction do want the best possible finish. Now saying that I would not recommend a daily driver Honda civic to get that kind of paint correction. If they insist on me doing it I will.

[skunkworx Frank]

somebody actually paid for this, and paying me too correct it.

[Mulehead]

somebody actually paid for this, and paying me too correct it.

Wow...how could someone have paid for that mess? I'd have been furious! What do you suspect went wrong here?

[Mike lambert]

If I do a full multi step correction I can get 250 to 350 . That is all the area will support. I do some of the wealthiest people in the state,and on the east coast,but they will not pay what I deserve for the work. It is what the market will bear.20 miles south and I could get that for a reg.detail

[HellaBroke]

It's all about what the person knows and is expecting to pay. Unless she knows better, she may think removing swirls entails just spraying some liquid on the paint. Yes, some people are the ignorant.

As ignorant as it sounds 8/10 people that inquire about myself correcting there paint say well the guy down the road detailed my car for $150 bucks just last month...
I have found it easier to let people waste there money first as bad as it sounds.... when someone details your car and a month later the same paint flaws are showing back up explain to them how a few different products work and how masking flaws with heavy glazes can make paint look good for awhile but its eventually going to wear/wash off. Then explain the process your going to go through with there vehicle litterally removing/blending the clearcoat with compound and or various polishes, sealing with quality products... let the. Do some homework on what your going to use... whatever abrasive products and especially if your going to use something like opticoat or exo... you might loose a few here and there but 75% of the time if they actually care they justify your pricing and come back to you... the area im in wont support 45+ an hour no matter who it is... I keep it cheap at 20 but this is also a side item for me and I will not rush anything... so this reflects in the price... those that charge 45+ an hour and work with someone else and finish a car In a day... my quickest turnarounds are in one day but most of the time receive on a friday afternoon and return sunday with a total charged amout seldom exceeds 400.... average 200-260.

You get what you pay for but there is a line drawn in todays economy...

Sent from my SGH-T889 using AG Online

[Mike Phillips]

I am currently working on a Chrysler 300 in my shop. The lady came in and bought a set of $2000.00 wheels and i explained to her how she was going to have these nice wheels on a black, metallic swirled out mess that has only seen tunnel washes.

Right here is your clue...

on a black, metallic swirled out mess that has only seen tunnel washes.


Read these two article.


The difference between a swirl and squirrel

A few tips on starting a part-time detailing business
Match your services to your customer



To me, it sounds like you not matching your services to your customer.

If they have run their car through tunnel car washes in the past, what has changed that means they're not going ton continue running their car through a tunnel wash after you remove all the swirls and scratches?

What has changed?

If nothing has changed, then you're doing the customer a disservice as they don't know the difference between a squirrel and a swirl.

With that being said..i currently charge 45.00 and hour for a multi step paint correction and key scratch repair..her bill is going to be about $900.00 (20 hours) for some reason i feel like im charging to much..should i feel this way? Help me out! What do you charge per hour?

You're not spending too much but from my experience you're taking too long to do the work.

First, is the 20 hours for inside and outside or just the multi-step paint correction?


I'm not the fastest detailer in the world and usually far from it. In fact I've never claimed to be the fastest. Yet, I think I could knock the exterior of this Chrysler 300 out in under 8 hours doing a three step and under 6 hours doing a two step.

If northing's has changed, that is if the owner is going to continue to take the car to Swirl-O-Matics, then just do a one step.

Get a copy of my Vehicle Inspection Form and walk through the form with her. There are three packages listed,

Package 1 - Very good (because I don't just do "good")
Package 2 - Better
Package 3 - Best

Note: You can rename them Bronze, Silver, Gold or whatever you like, I find this just confuses customers and to simply use simple terms like "package 1" makes it faster and more simple for the customer to understand detailing lingo.

Edit this forum to include your hourly charge so the customer sees this and have them choose the package they want. There's a place for you to fill in your recommendation and the package they choose so they can't come back and say they're unhappy because there are still swirls in the paint if they chose package 1 but your recommended package 3.

This protects you and gets both you and the customer on the same page for a win/win business deal.

Then underpromise and overdeliver, (at least a little), and you'll get their word-of-mouth advertising.

Here's the link if you want the form. I personally would not "touch" a car until you have a form like this signed and dated by the car owner to protect yourself.

It's written in MS Word so you can edit it, customize it and even delete the parts you don't want to use.

Mike Phillips VIF or Vehicle Inspection Form