Posh Wash
Paint Correction in Cairns
Cut and polish, swirl mark removal, scratch repair, and oxidation removal. We bring your paint back to better than showroom condition — at your home or workplace.
The Difference Between Clean
and Actually Perfect
Your car might look fine from a distance. But get close, especially in direct sunlight, and you'll probably notice swirl marks, fine scratches, haze, or dull spots scattered across the paint. That's normal. Every car gets them over time from washing, daily driving, and environmental exposure.
Paint correction — also known as cut and polish or machine polishing — is the process of removing those imperfections from your paint's clear coat. Using a machine polisher with specialised abrasive compounds, we carefully remove a microscopic layer of damaged clear coat to reveal the fresh, undamaged paint beneath.
The result? Your paint goes from "looks clean" to "looks brand new." Deep, mirror-like gloss. No more swirl marks catching the light. No more hazy, dull patches. Just perfectly clear, sharp paint that looks better than it did when it left the factory.
This isn't a quick buff with a hand polish. Paint correction is a meticulous, time-intensive process that requires professional tools, products, and experience. It's the single most transformative thing you can do for your car's appearance.
Why Cairns' Sun Makes
Paint Damage Worse
If you've moved to Cairns from down south, you've probably noticed your car's paint deteriorating faster than it used to. That's not your imagination — Cairns' tropical climate genuinely accelerates paint damage in ways that cooler climates don't.
UV Accelerates Everything
Cairns' extreme UV doesn't just fade paint — it breaks down the clear coat itself. As the clear coat weakens, existing scratches and swirl marks become more visible and new damage happens more easily. A scratch that might be invisible in Melbourne is clearly visible in Cairns because the surrounding clear coat has degraded.
Heat Bakes In Contaminants
Bird droppings, tree sap, and bug splatter that might take days to etch paint in cooler climates can cause permanent damage within hours in Cairns' heat. The combination of UV and high surface temperatures literally cooks contaminants into your clear coat, making them much harder to remove.
Wet Season Water Spotting
Cairns' wet season rain contains minerals that leave deposits on paint when it dries. The constant cycle of rain, heat, and evaporation creates water spot etching that accumulates over the season. By the time the dry season comes, many cars are covered in mineral-etched spots that only paint correction can remove.
Full Wash & Decontamination
We start with a thorough hand wash followed by a clay bar treatment to remove all embedded contaminants from the paint surface. Machine polishing on dirty or contaminated paint would grind particles into the surface and cause more damage.
Paint Thickness Measurement
We use a digital paint thickness gauge to measure the clear coat depth on every panel. This tells us how much material we have to work with and ensures we correct safely without removing too much clear coat.
Defect Assessment
Using inspection lighting, we identify and catalogue every defect — swirl marks, scratches, oxidation, water spots. We'll show you what we're working with and explain the expected outcome before we start polishing.
Machine Polishing
Panel by panel, we use a dual-action or rotary polisher with the appropriate compound and pad combination for your paint type and defect severity. Each panel is polished, inspected, and refined until the target correction level is achieved.
Final Wipedown & Protection
We wipe down all panels with an IPA solution to reveal the true finish, then apply your chosen protection — whether that's a sealant, wax, or ceramic coating. We always recommend protecting freshly corrected paint to keep it looking perfect for as long as possible.
Paint Correction Pricing in Cairns
Pricing depends on your vehicle's size and the severity of the paint defects. Here's a general guide:
Single-Stage Correction
From around $300 for a sedan. One-step machine polish to remove light swirl marks and refresh the paint's gloss. Ideal for newer cars or maintenance polishing between deeper corrections.
Two-Stage Correction
From around $500-$800. Heavy cut followed by refining polish. Removes most scratches, swirl marks, and oxidation. Our most popular option for cars that haven't been properly detailed before.
Multi-Stage Correction
From $800+. Three or more polishing stages for severe paint damage or show-car results. Includes full paint measurement, multiple compound stages, and a final jewelling polish for absolute perfection.
We recommend pairing paint correction with ceramic coating to protect the freshly corrected finish.
Bundle pricing available — ask us for a combined quote.
Ready to See Your Paint at Its Best?
Get a free paint assessment and quote. We'll come to you, inspect your paint under professional lighting, and show you exactly what correction can achieve.
Pair Paint Correction With
Long-Lasting Protection
Ceramic Coating
Lock in your freshly corrected paint with ceramic coating. Years of protection against Cairns' UV, salt, and rain.
Learn morePaint Protection
Compare all protection options after correction — wax, sealant, ceramic, and PPF. Find the right fit for your car and budget.
Learn moreExterior Detailing
Regular exterior detailing maintains your corrected paint and keeps it looking fresh between corrections.
Learn morePaint Correction Questions
Straight answers about paint correction in Cairns — no jargon.
Single-stage correction starts from around $300 for a sedan. Multi-stage correction ranges from $500 to $1,000+ depending on vehicle size and the severity of paint defects. We assess your paint in person and provide an upfront quote — no surprises.
They're the same thing. "Cut and polish" is the common Aussie term for what the detailing industry calls "paint correction." Both involve using a machine polisher with compounds to remove scratches, swirl marks, and other defects from your paint's clear coat.
Paint correction removes scratches that are within the clear coat layer — which is most light to moderate scratches. A quick test: if you can't feel it with your fingernail, we can almost certainly remove it. Deeper scratches that go through to the base colour or primer need touch-up paint or professional respray. We'll always be upfront about what we can and can't fix.
Yes, significantly. Cairns' extreme UV breaks down clear coat faster, makes existing defects more visible, and accelerates oxidation. Cars here typically need paint correction sooner and more frequently than cars in cooler climates. We always recommend following correction with ceramic coating or a quality sealant to protect the freshly corrected paint from further UV damage.
The correction itself is permanent — removed scratches don't come back. But new scratches and swirl marks will develop over time from normal use. How quickly depends on how you wash your car, whether it's garaged, and what protection is applied. With ceramic coating applied after correction, you can keep that corrected finish looking great for years.
Yes, when done by a professional. We use paint thickness gauges before starting to ensure there's adequate clear coat to work with. We use controlled machine polishing techniques and remove only the minimum amount of clear coat necessary. Your paint is left healthier and better protected than before — not thinner or weaker.