How long does correction actually last?
The correction is permanent. What happens next is down to washing, and that is where most cars lose it.
Written by Tom Hartley, who has corrected more of them than he would like to count.
The correction itself does not wear off
Polishing removes the grooves. They do not come back, grow back or fade back in. If a car looks swirled a year later, those are new swirls.
That sounds pedantic. It matters, because it tells you exactly where to spend your attention afterwards.
Where the new ones come from
Washing, almost always. A brush wash, a dirty mitt, one bucket, a hard towel, wiping dust off dry. Every one of those puts in a fresh set.
We have corrected cars twice in three years and, both times, the owner was washing the car at the same garage.
What makes it last
A coating, because it makes dirt release with far less agitation. A proper wash routine, because that is what does the damage. And ideally someone else doing it on a schedule, which is the whole point of a maintenance round.
Cars on our round have almost never needed a second correction.
How many times can a car be corrected?
Two or three times in its life, on factory paint, if each one is measured and light. More than that and you start running out of lacquer.
That is why the readings matter, and why we would rather sell you a round than a second correction.
