Paint Correction & Car Polishing
Has your paint lost its shine? We bring it back.
Paint correction in Montreal, Laval and the North Shore, and a gloss polish for dull paint, done at our Terrebonne studio. We wash, decontaminate and inspect your car under the studio lights, then confirm the level and the price with you before we polish.
- Wash and decontamination included
- Level and price confirmed before we polish
Prices for a compact car or sedan. The final price depends on the vehicle size and the paint’s condition. GST and QST extra.
We test one section of your paint first to choose the right method, then we do the whole car.
Year, make, model and a photo of the paint in the sun. Same-day reply, no commitment.
The same BMW M4, before and after polishing
5 stars on Google110+ reviews
Inspected under studio lightsWe show you what we find
Limits explained up frontWe tell you what won’t come out
Climate-controlled studioTerrebonne, by appointment
The right level
Swirls, scratches or dull paint: which level do you need?
Look at your paint in the sun, or with your phone’s flashlight. What you see points to the level; the inspection at the studio confirms it before we start.
Dull paint
It has lost its shine: reflections look hazy and the colour looks faded, with no distinct marks.
What it needs
Gloss polish
Paint feels rough
Even clean, it feels gritty under your hand: paint or spray from a nearby job, or industrial fallout. Decontamination and clay take it off, then the polish clears the light marks the clay can leave.
What it needs
Gloss polish
Swirls and wash marks
Fine circles, like a spiderweb, around the sun or a light. Often left by brush car washes, or holograms left by a previous polish.
What it needs
Paint correction
Fine surface scratches
Fine lines that stay in the clear coat: your fingernail doesn’t catch on them.
What it needs
Paint correction
Deep scratch
Your fingernail catches: it probably goes through the clear coat. Polishing won’t remove it; sometimes it can make it less visible.
What it needs
An assessment
Not sure? Text us a photo of your paint in the sun. We’ll tell you which level looks right.
How it works
We inspect first, then we polish
Your car stays in the studio from start to finish. The price is confirmed before we polish, and it doesn’t change without your OK.
Why at the studio and not at your place?
Because defects really show under controlled light, not in the changing sunlight of a driveway. And the paint stays away from dust while we polish it.
01 Preparation
- Hand wash, chemical and mechanical decontamination
- So no dirt gets ground into the paint while we polish
- Inspection under the studio lights, panel by panel; for a correction, paint thickness measured
- A 20% deposit confirms your date. It’s applied to the balance.
02 Test
- We polish a test section
- It shows which method gives the best result on your paint
- If the price needs to change, we call you first
03 Polish
- The level we agreed on, nothing more
- Machine polishing, panel by panel
- The result checked under the light at each step
04 Protection
- Protection to finish: built into the gloss polish, a sealant after a correction
- Final check under the light
- We show you the result at pickup
What polishing can't do
- Remove a scratch that goes through the clear coat: if your fingernail catches, it will still show, even softened.
- Fix rock chips: they need paint, not polishing.
- Always match the finish on a repainted panel: refinished paint reacts differently to polishing. We find it at the inspection by measuring the paint thickness.
- Stop new marks from forming: rough washing or a brush car wash will make more. We show you how to avoid them.
Results
Before and after, at the studio
Three polishing jobs at the studio
Black BMW Z4 coupé
Came in for a gloss polish. At inspection, the paint needed a correction.
Level done: paint correction, 2 steps
Blue BMW M340i
Came in for a gloss polish. At inspection, the paint needed a correction.
Level done: paint correction, 2 steps
Black GMC Denali SUV
Came in for a gloss polish. At inspection, that level was enough.
Level done: gloss polish, 1 step
What clients say about our polishing work
★★★★★
“Attentive service and a very good result. My car had several embedded red maple sap stains, but after the wash, decontamination and polish, the finish came back like new! I highly recommend it!”
Guillaume C. · Google review · Polishing · Translated from French
★★★★★
“Meticulous, careful work polishing my black Audi, which had many small scratches. It’s now like new again. I recommend Ali without any hesitation. He’s professional, so kind and attentive to our needs.”
Christian B. · Google review · Polishing · Translated from French
★★★★★
“Great work and service from Ali! Over the years, our car had built up a lot of paint defects and scratches. After a decontamination, paint correction and wax, the car is like new. Ali is polite, honest and friendly. We’ll definitely use his services again for our second car. Thanks again.”
Jeremie B. · Google review · Paint correction · Translated from French
★★★★★
“My dog (a German shepherd) panicked during a violent storm and caused a lot of damage on my brand-new vehicle. […] My vehicle was restored like new, as if it had never been damaged. Flawless result, fast, honest and meticulous service.”
Mathieu G. · Google review · Polishing · Translated from French
★★★★★
“I called Psycho Detailing because I had a scratch on my new vehicle. […] Very professional service from start to finish […] Thank you Ali for all the excellent work and your dedication to restoring my vehicle!”
Darius O. · Google review · Polishing · Translated from French
★★★★★
“Great service, very knowledgeable, fast and convenient. I had the paint correction, ceramic coating, and interior cleaning done. I will definitely call them again.”
Eric L. · Google review · Paint correction
After the polish
Keep the shine longer
The protection we apply at the end helps, but washing is what mostly decides whether new swirls appear.
When you wash
- Wash by hand, with two buckets and a clean mitt
- Avoid brush car washes
For longer protection: GYEON ceramic coating
To protect the result long term, we can apply a GYEON ceramic coating during the same visit. A gloss polish is already included in every ceramic coating, so the paint is polished only once.
Choose it when you book or at the inspection, before the polish: the car then stays overnight at the studio. With paint correction, you get one quote for both.
In short
Psycho Detailing does car polishing and paint correction at its Terrebonne studio, for clients from Montreal, Laval and the North Shore. A gloss polish (a one-step 3-in-1 machine polish that polishes and protects, same day) starts at $399: it brings back the gloss of dull paint and softens light swirls, without promising to remove scratches. Paint correction (two steps or more, same day in most cases) starts at $749: it removes swirls and wash marks, except the deepest, and most fine scratches. Every car is washed, decontaminated and inspected under the studio lights, and the level and price are confirmed with you before we polish; before a correction, the paint thickness is measured panel by panel. A scratch that goes through the clear coat can’t be polished out.
Paint correction and car polishing: frequently asked questions
The questions our clients ask us most.
At Psycho Detailing, a gloss polish starts at $399 and paint correction at $749 for a compact car or sedan, before taxes. An SUV or a pickup costs more, and so does heavily damaged paint that needs a 3-step correction. The level and the final price are confirmed after the inspection at the studio, before we polish.
If your paint is dull but has no distinct marks, a gloss polish is often enough: it brings back the shine in one step and softens light swirls. If you want the swirl marks or wash marks you see in the sun gone, you need paint correction: a first, more abrasive step (often called compounding) removes most of the defects, then a second one refines the finish. In detailer terms, the gloss polish is a 1-step polish (sometimes called paint enhancement); paint correction is a 2-step, or a 3-step for heavily damaged paint. We confirm the level after the inspection.
Yes, most of them. Paint correction removes most fine scratches that stay in the clear coat. The limit: if your fingernail catches, the scratch probably goes through the clear coat and can’t be polished out; we tell you at the inspection. A gloss polish doesn’t promise to remove scratches.
Not completely if it goes through the clear coat. A scratch that catches your fingernail has often reached the colour coat: polishing can sometimes make it less visible, but it stays. We show you what we can do at the inspection, before we start.
No, not when it’s done right. A gloss polish removes a tiny fraction of the clear coat, just enough to bring back the gloss: your clear coat keeps almost all its thickness. Correction removes a little more to level the defects. Before a correction, we measure the paint thickness panel by panel: it reveals a repainted panel and tells us how much we can polish. We always start with the gentlest step that gets the result, and we don’t promise to remove a scratch that goes through the clear coat.
Often, yes. When the paint feels rough because of paint or spray from a nearby job, or industrial fallout, decontamination and clay take it off; a gloss polish then clears the light marks the clay can leave. A heavy layer takes more work: its price is confirmed at the inspection, before we start. You get a detailed invoice, useful if you file a claim.
Often, yes: when the yellowing comes from embedded contaminants or light oxidation, decontamination and a gloss polish bring the white back. If the clear coat itself has aged in the sun, or the paint was redone, polishing isn’t always enough. We confirm it at the inspection, before we polish.
Often, yes. A new car can arrive with transport marks, sticker or film residue, and fine marks from pre-delivery washes. We see them under the studio lights. A gloss polish is usually enough; if you’re considering a ceramic coating, do it then: the polish is already included.
Yes, in most cases. Those marks, called holograms or buffer trails, come from a polish that wasn’t finished properly. A finishing step removes them. We inspect the paint first: if a previous polish thinned the clear coat too much, we tell you before we start.
The same day in most cases, wash and decontamination included. Heavily damaged paint or an SUV can take longer; we confirm it at the inspection.
What correction removes doesn’t come back on its own: it’s washing that creates new marks. Washed by hand, without brush car washes, the paint keeps its finish much longer. The protection applied at the end wears off with time and washing; a ceramic coating keeps the shine longer.
It’s not required: every polish ends with protection. To protect the result longer, a ceramic coating can go on during the same visit, on freshly corrected paint, and the prep is done only once. Tell us when you book or at the inspection, before the polish, since the car then has to stay overnight at the studio. You get one quote for both, after the inspection.
No. Polishing and paint correction are done only at our Terrebonne studio, under controlled light: that’s where defects really show, and the paint stays away from dust while we polish it.
Waxing adds a layer of wax that brings shine and a little protection, without removing anything. Polishing works on the paint itself: it removes a very thin layer of clear coat to bring back the gloss or take out defects. Our gloss polish does both in one step: it polishes and leaves a layer of protection.
Free assessment
Ready to get your paint's shine back?
Tell us what you drive and what you see on your paint. We reply the same day with the level that seems right and its starting price; the inspection at the studio confirms everything before we polish.
- Same-day reply
- Nothing is booked until you confirm
- Price confirmed before we polish
What we need
- Year, make and model
- The paint colour
- What you see: dull paint, swirls, scratches
- A photo in the sun or with a flashlight, if you can