Machine cut and polish to remove swirl marks, light scratches and oxidation. We assess your paint honestly and quote on what it actually needs — drop it to our Trinity Beach shop or we come to you.
Paint correction — also called a cut and polish or machine polish — is the process of using a machine polisher with abrasive compounds to level your car's clear coat. That microscopic levelling removes the swirl marks, fine scratches, haze and dull spots that build up over time from washing, daily driving and the environment.
The clear coat is a transparent protective layer over your colour coat. Swirl marks and light scratches sit in that layer, not in the paint itself. When we machine polish, we remove a tiny amount of damaged clear coat to reveal the fresh, undamaged surface underneath. The result is a deeper, cleaner gloss — paint that looks sharp in direct sunlight instead of hazy.
Here's the thing I'd rather tell you up front: paint correction removes imperfections that are within the clear coat. The quick test is the fingernail check. Run your finger across a scratch — if you can't feel it catch, it almost certainly sits in the clear coat and we can get it out. If you can feel the scratch with your nail, it's gone through into the paint beneath, and a machine polish will reduce how visible it is but won't fully remove it. We'll always show you what we're looking at and be straight with you about the expected result.
One other thing worth knowing: paint correction removes a very small amount of clear coat each time. It's fine to do — that's what the clear coat is there for — but it's not something to do repeatedly without a good reason. We'll measure your clear coat thickness before we start so we know exactly what we have to work with.
If you've moved to Cairns from a cooler climate, you've probably noticed your car's paint deteriorating faster than it used to. That's not your imagination — the combination of extreme UV, coastal salt air and wet season conditions genuinely accelerates the kind of paint damage that correction fixes.
Cairns gets some of the highest UV levels in Australia. Left unprotected, the clear coat weakens and oxidises — the paint goes chalky, dull and flat rather than deep and glossy. Correction cuts back that oxidised layer and brings the colour and gloss back.
Near the coast, microscopic salt particles settle on your car every day. Over time that dulls the finish and makes swirl marks more visible. A proper decontamination and machine polish removes all of that and gives you a clean, protected surface to work from.
The constant cycle of rain, heat and evaporation through our wet season leaves mineral deposits baked onto the paint. By the time the dry season arrives, a lot of cars up here are covered in water spot etching that a normal wash won't touch — but correction will.
A full hand wash and clay bar treatment to remove all the bonded grime, tar and mineral deposits the paint has collected. Machine polishing on a contaminated surface would grind particles into the clear coat — so we get the paint completely clean first.
We use a digital gauge to measure the clear coat on every panel. This tells us how much material we're working with and keeps the process safe — we remove only what we need to.
Under proper inspection lighting we identify every defect — swirls, scratches, oxidation, water spotting. We'll show you what we're looking at and tell you honestly what the correction can achieve before we start.
Panel by panel, using the right compound and pad for your paint type and the severity of the defects. Each section is polished, checked under light and refined until the finish is right.
An IPA wipe on every panel reveals the true finish. From here we apply your chosen protection — sealant, wax or ceramic coating. Freshly corrected paint is at its best right now, and it's worth protecting.
Paint correction is quoted on your specific car and its condition — size and how the paint's travelling both change the job considerably. Here's where it sits:
How much a correction costs depends entirely on your paint — light swirls on a well-kept sedan is a different job to heavy oxidation on a 4WD that's never been polished. We assess what's there and quote honestly before anything starts. Some cars need a single stage, others need more.
A machine cut and polish is built into our Ultimate Detail package. If your paint needs a refresh but you want the full service done in one go, that's where it sits — from $599.
When we do a used-car ceramic coating, correction is included — we fix the paint first, then coat it, so you're locking in a clean result rather than sealing in the damage. From $1,325.
Prices are GST-inclusive. We'll give you an exact figure on a quick call once we know a bit about the car — no guessing, no surprises. A $100 deposit holds your spot.
What customers say after a Posh Wash detail.
“Recently had our car detailed by Grace — friendly, professional, and great communication from start to finish. We booked the Signature Detail package and every surface was spotless. The car looks and feels like new again. Highly recommended.”
“Had two vehicles fully detailed inside and out. Both cars came up better than expected. The whole process from booking to completion was seamless. Grace was a pleasure to deal with.”
“Happiest I could be after Grace’s amazing service. Professionalism from booking through to the finished cars was outstanding — attention to detail was exceptional. We look forward to booking again.”
“I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my car. Grace does a beautiful job — no nasty chemicals that make me feel sick. Lovely energy. Posh Wash is 5 stars from me.”
Tell us a bit about your car and we'll say honestly what we can fix, what we can't, and what it'll cost. We can pencil you in with no deposit to hold a spot — no pressure at all.
Once the paint's corrected, a ceramic coat locks in that finish with years of UV, salt and rain protection.
Learn moreNot sure what level of protection is right after correction? We'll run through your options and recommend what fits the car and your budget.
Learn moreA regular exterior detail keeps your corrected paint in good shape between machine polishes.
Learn moreStraight answers about paint correction in Cairns — no jargon.
It depends on the paint condition and the size of the car — that's the honest answer. A light single-stage polish on a small car in decent shape is a different job to a multi-stage correction on a large 4WD with heavy oxidation. We quote on the actual car after we've had a look, rather than giving a flat price that might not match what yours needs. A $100 deposit holds your spot once we've quoted.
Same thing. Cut and polish is the common Aussie term for what the detailing industry calls paint correction — both mean using a machine polisher with abrasive compounds to remove imperfections from your clear coat. We use both terms because people search for both.
It depends on how deep they go. The quick test: run your fingernail over the scratch. If you can't feel it catch, it almost certainly sits within the clear coat and we can get it out. If you can feel it, it's broken through into the paint or primer beneath — a machine polish will reduce how visible it is but won't fully remove it. We'll show you exactly what we're looking at and be straight about the expected result before we start.
Yes, a very small amount — that's how it works. The clear coat is there to be worked with, and a professional correction removes the minimum necessary. We measure the clear coat thickness before we start to make sure there's adequate material to work with safely. It's not something to do every few months for no reason, but done properly when the paint needs it, it's completely fine.
Noticeably, yes. The extreme UV up here breaks down clear coat faster, which makes existing defects more visible and means new damage develops more quickly. Salt air dulls the finish, and wet season water spotting etches into paint that might be fine to leave in a cooler, drier climate. Cars in Cairns often need correction sooner than they would elsewhere — and we always recommend protecting the paint properly afterwards so you get the most out of the work.
It's worth thinking about. Your paint is at its best right after correction, so it's a good time to protect it. A ceramic coat will hold that corrected finish for years and protect against the UV, salt and rain up here. That said, it's not mandatory — if the budget or timing doesn't work, a quality sealant is a solid step up from leaving it bare. We'll tell you what makes sense for your car.
Drop into our shopfront at 29 Vasey Esplanade, Trinity Beach, or stay put and our mobile vans come to your home or work right across Cairns and the Northern Beaches.
