Paint Correction is the process of removing surface defects off automotive finishes via the process of abrasion (buffing and polishing).
We are trained to remove clear coat scratches, as well as deeper scratches via the paint touchup process.Save hundreds from body shop quotes!
The latest in protecting your paint from the harsh environments of Canada. Ceramic coatings have quickly become the standard for paint protection.
The Ultimate Protection.
Self Healing, durable, and warrantied for 10 years, to a lifetime!
Is your damage too far gone for a simple buff job? Toronto Buffing has the solution for you!
If you drive in Toronto, you will likely need a stone chip filled to prevent corrosion. Toronto Buffing Inc. has you covered!
Headlights looking dull? Get them refinished and sealed by our trained experts.
Argued a dying trade. Toronto Buffing Inc. is one of the last detailing facilities to actively offer full body watersanding.
sPaint correction is the process of removing defects from an automotive finish. This is (usually) done with collective friction via machine polishers and pads, abrasion via aluminum oxide based compounds and/or fine grit sandpapers. Other tools and accessories may be used throughout the process (meters, lighting, etc).
Contrary to popular belief, the mechanism of action is done by removal of clearcoat. Preparation of an automotive surface is part of the paint correction process, but in itself is not “paint correction”. With modern vehicles, “paint” correction has little to do with the actual “pigmented paint”, but more so the clearcoat.
Paint Correction is a crucial stage during. a ceramic coating installation, and arguably more important than a ceramic coating itself. This process restores the paint, a coating protects it. If you have to choose between a low level paint correction + high end ceramic coating, or a high level paint correction + low level coating, we would suggest the second option. Remember, ceramic coating will amplify any remaining defects, and a hardened coating over these trapped defects will often result in higher labour cost for removal.
Paint correction process is not harmful, when done professionally. It is the time tried and tested process for restoring automotive clear coat. Though by nature, it removes clear coat, the percentage is very minimal, ranging from 1-5 percent of total clear coat. Ceramic coating is strongly recommended after a paint correction, as to compensate for such material removed. It is important to use a company that has a vast amount of experience, as they will know to perform this task. Toronto Buffing is up to this task, in fact we do it day in and day out.
A tech is usually dealing with a “Clearcoat Correction” rather than paint correction, unless a vehicle is basecoat only (eg. lacquer, or single stage). “Scratches” or “Swirls” are microscopic cavities in an automotive finish. The process as a whole has one goal; to remove as little material as possible, to achieve a “leveled” scratch free surface.
When done correctly, the process is perfectly safe. Taking paint measurements, thoroughly inspecting the surface, knowledge, experience, and researching the vehicles history are all assets to ensure a safe paint correction.
Hood Polishing
We at Toronto Buffing Inc. offer true scratch removal services. Some scratches may be repaired with less aggressive polishing, while certain scratches will require heavier cutting, and wetsanding. Some scratches require quality refinishing, or repainting to fix. Our repairs are permanent, and carry a lifetime warranty. The results are far superior than DIY repairs that you can purchase from your local hardware store, or online. Professional applicators, sand papers, paints, and an understanding of clearcoat are a few of the assets we use to provide you with high quality scratch repairs.
We offer touch up services for moderate scratches. Certain criteria must be met before a job like this is taken on. With this service, we sand the surface, apply touch up, wait for it to dry, then proceed to level the paint. With touch up repairs, it is impossible to achieve a 100% correction. However, with our proper techniques, we are able to achieve up to 90% perfection on these touch up repairs. We are trained in the time tried and true techniques in the auto body field with regards to paint touch ups, and are able to deliver the best possible service for the price.
Note , certain scratches are out of the scope of our services. For instances, if your scratch has a dent, or a large portion of paint missing, we may not be able to repair it with this method. Certain metallic paints simply do not match well, such as pearl whites and other 3 Stage paints. If a scratch is intricate, or if the results will not be better than a certain threshold, we reserve the right to refuse the touch up repair, and recommend repaint.
Here we have a Mercedes Benz E63 we recently polished, and coated with a Ceramic Pro Gold Package. A few weeks after the coating job, the customer had the unfortunate situation of having his vehicle hit in a parking lot. Before we started the process, we thorughly clean the surface to properly asess the damage. After inspection, the vehicle had a series of chips, clearcoat scratches, and scuffs.
First, we scuff down the deeper scratches with P1500 grit sandpaper. We do not fully sand to removal, as this surface has already been machined heavily by us from the past paint correction. We leave the lighter defects and scuffs, as they will be removed during following stages.
Next, we use a rotary polisher, and a heavy cutting compound to remove the sanding scratches we installed, and cut down a majority of the paint defects.
After rotary polishing, we follow up with two stages of fine polishing, to bring back the deep shine, and clarity. During this phase, we apply necessary touchup to areas that require.
Lastly, we reapply the Ceramic Pro coating to the entire panel. The job is now complete.
Chances are, if you own a vehicle, you have heard of the term "Ceramic Coatings". There is a lot of confusion in terms of what ceramic coatings are, and beliefs of what a ceramic coating is capable of.
Simply put, a ceramic coating can be defined as an additional protective layer of material applied to a surface. Generally, ceramic coatings are composed of one of two chemicals.
SiO2, Silicon Dioxide, or more commonly known as "Quartz". This is by far the most popular ingredient in today's ceramic coatings. A variation of this chemical, and solvents, make up many of the high end coatings in the market including Ceramic Pro 9H, Sonax CC36 Basecoat, and Cquartz UK 3.0.
TiO2, or "Titanium Dioxide"is another popular ceramic coating chemical. In our arsenal, it is only used in the top coat Ceramic Pro Light.
Both of these chemicals are very hazardous, and can cause serious health problems when mishandled.
In the car and automotive realm, when we discuss ceramic coatings, we are referring to their use on paint. Ceramic coatings increase the hardness and durability of an automotive paint surface. Ultimately, ceramic coatings are paint protection products. To which extent the surface hardness is increased by depends on several factors such as product being installed, how the product is installed, and original paint hardness.
Chemical and water resistance is a common reason clients have their vehicles ceramic coated. A ceramic coated vehicle is much easier to clean, as there is a layer preventing dirt from sticking. Many coatings feature the "self cleaning effect".
Ceramic coatings are not only for protection. Many decide to get ceramic coatings for the enhancing effects it has on paint. After a ceramic coating install, paint is glossy, and slick to the touch. The vehicle presents its sapphire gloss wash after wax, for the duration of the coating.
Any reputable detailing company will tell you that ceramic coatings are in no way bulletproof, but do offer the best possible paint protection on the market, next to paint protection film.
We often get inquiries regarding ceramic coatings, their warranty period, as well as their longevity. We are strong believers that educating our clients is the first step in deciding which service suits them best. There is a lot of misinformation when it comes to coatings, their longevity, layers, etc. In this section, we will shed light on these issues.
The first misconception is that all ceramic coatings carry the same strength, with just different warranty periods. This is incorrect. A 1 year coating has no where near the same hardness, scratch resistance, and overall durability when compared to a Multi-Layer Ceramic Pro coating.
We do not offer 1 year coatings for this reason; they are a waste of our clients money, and someone seeking a 1 year coating may as well maintain their paint with a spray sealant, because that is essentially what a 1 year coating is. Zero protection, only a hydrophobic layer.
Another common inquiry we get is regarding layers. A proper ceramic coating will be comprised of a base coat, and a topcoat. The base coat is what gives you the strength benefits, such as marring resistance, and acts as the foundation of the sacrificial layer. The basecoat in a ceramic coating is not hydrophobic. The topcoat, often the second layer, is what gives a coating system hydrophobic behaviour, extreme shine, and gloss.
Most coatings in fact, can only be installed with one single basecoat, and one single topcoat. Ceramic Pro is the exception, as you can layer multiple coats of base coat, to genuinely increase the coating thickness. Competitor coatings simply reject additional layers (installers will apply it, but it does not bond to the previous layer). Keep this in mind, that you could theoretically apply these competitive coatings base several times, and not be doing anything other than ensuring coverage.
More layers does not mean more protection, with Ceramic Pro as the exception. Ceramic Pro is the only patented, genuinely layerable coating on the market.
The last point we will make is not all coatings are created equal. Not all 5 year coatings are the same strength. There are many 5 year coatings on the market that may last 5 years, but with poor resistance to defects, and rapidly diminishing gloss. There are also coatings on the market that boast a 5 year warranty, but last less than a year. We have thoroughly tested all available coatings on the market, and there is nothing that compares to a properly installed Ceramic Pro coating. A Ceramic Pro Silver Package installed by Toronto Buffing increases the hardness of the paint, making it more difficult to swirl, while providing stable gloss for the set warranty period.
Many competing shops push another popular brand of coating, simply because the cost to the installer is much less. Ceramic Pro coatings have a high material cost, almost triple the cost of this popular 3 letter coating brand. The ingredients in Ceramic Pro's basecoat and topcoat are extremely potent, and toxic. The carrier agents (solvents) used to bind the coating to paint are very strong. Once it is cured, it can only be removed with extreme abbraision. This is what you want when it comes to a coating, Hard to remove, means hard to defect. The competing coatings are removed or severely compromised in most cases with a simple claybar, or hand wax. This is due to cheaper carrier agents, and a less than ideal bond on a molecular level.
The other reason competition push these lesser coatings, is because of their ease of installation. These products can be installed with little to no experience. But as is the case with many things in life, the easy way is not always the best way. Ceramic Pro is notoriously difficult to install, due to the strong nature of the product. It immediately binds to the surface, requiring skill, precision, and dudiligence when leveling. Installing a Ceramic Pro coating is a quite laborious, where as competing coatings are not.
We rather install a coating that makes us less money, but performs exceptionally well. We have watched our Ceramic Pro Silver Package perform for it's 5 year period time and time again. We have watched (and have had to remove) these competing coatings many times over the years.
We always urge clients to not jump the gun, and not be enticed by low price, and warranty periods. Focus on the product, its history, and the installers track record.
PPF stands for "Paint Protection Film". It is a clear, thermoplastic urethane film that is applied to the painted surfaces of a vehicle to protect it from scratches, chips, and other types of damage. PPF can be applied to the entire vehicle or specific areas, such as the front bumper, hood, or fenders, which are more prone to damage from road debris, gravel, and other hazards. The film is transparent, so it does not affect the appearance of the vehicle, and it is self-healing, meaning that small scratches and scuffs will disappear over time as the film's surface re-forms. PPF is a popular option for those who want to keep their vehicle looking new and prevent damage to its paint job.
Unfortunately, it is common place in the current film market for competitor facilities to use less than ideal paint protection film. The image above is an example of this. We installed Xpel Paint Protection Film on this vehicle over 4 years ago which is still in wonderful shape(bottom). The vehicle then had another piece of paint protection film installed on a separate panel, less than 1 year ago (top). Even after such a short time, this material is visibly yellow, cloudy, and over all low quality.
A 60x50(feet) roll of Xpel or Suntek will cost an installer roughly $2000. The pictured offshore film will cost an installer anywhere from $800-$1000. The price is less than half. It is common place for many shops to attempt to cut their cost down. This would be wonderful, if there were zero compromise. However, this offshore film that many shops are using is not colour stable, uses low quality plastics, adhesives, and offer little to no real quality control. They are in fact incredibly thin (7mil rather than 8mil). In our opinion, it is an injustice to install such low quality materials on a clients vehicle. Many clients are not informed of the downsides of such materials, and installers take advantage of this lack of knowledge.
It is our job as the professionals to make the appropriate suggestions to benefit the client, not only ourselves. Clients looking to invest in paint protection film are interested in the long term benefits. No-name brand films may save you money in the short term, but will have to be replaced ten times sooner than proven, quality films..
We only use quality films such as Suntek, Xpel, and Stek. These are companies that have been around for a very long time. These films have actually been visibly observed to last their stated 10 year warranty. Written, no hassle warranty is guaranteed from these multi-million dollar film manufactures.
Remember, not all PPF is created equal, as not all installers are created equal.
We at Toronto Buffing have a team of factory trained PPF installers. No job is too large, or complex for our professionals. We have licensed mechanics on call for any disassembly needed. Our installations cover an in house, satisfaction guarantee, in addition to the 10 year manufacture warranty from the film company. We minimize the use of precuts at our facility.
Have a challenging ppf job? Do you have high standards? Well, Toronto Buffing has you covered! We excel where others lack. Above is a notoriously difficult installation, as both fenders, and the bumper are one. After having his front end completed 2 times at other shops (to an unsatisfactory level), he decided to have us complete the installation. We managed to install the film on this panel with no seams, and in one piece.
Auto body repair refers to the process of repairing and restoring a damaged vehicle's exterior, including the body, frame, paint, and other components. This can include repairing or replacing damaged parts, repainting the vehicle, and restoring it to its pre-accident condition. Auto body repair can be necessary after a collision, hail damage, rust, stone chips, or other types of damage. The process involves using specialized tools and equipment, and requires experience in welding, painting, and other skills related to automotive repair.
Basic Repainting Process:
Did you know all autobody repairs at Toronto Buffing carry a limited lifetime warranty?