Paint Correction & Cut and Polish Brisbane
A cut and polish, or paint correction, removes swirl marks, oxidation, light scratches and dullness from your car’s paint. Scrubs inspects the paint first, chooses the safest correction level, and confirms the right package before work begins.
Our Brisbane paint correction specialists measure, test and polish carefully so you get better gloss without removing more clear coat than needed.
Paint correction is carried out at our Sumner detailing studio for Brisbane drivers who want safer machine polishing, clear package guidance and realistic advice before committing to ceramic coating, PPF or resale preparation.
Cut & Polish Packages and Prices
Compare the rough price ranges, then use the quote form below. You don’t need to choose the package perfectly — Scrubs will recommend the safest option before anything is booked.
Best for newer or well-kept cars that mainly need a gloss boost.
- Light swirls / wash marks
- Gentle polish for fresher paint
- Ideal when heavy correction is not needed
Best for most cars with swirls, oxidation, dullness or light scratches.
- Best balance of result and value
- True paint correction starts here
- Often the right middle option
Best for dark paint, deeper swirls, faded paint or best-result corrections.
- Heavier paint correction
- More time for defect removal
- Best for serious gloss restoration
Final pricing depends on paint condition, vehicle size and the result you want. We confirm the right option before work begins.
Want Scrubs to recommend the right package?
Start with the generic Cut & Polish Quote form below. Tell us about your paint, your car and the result you want — we’ll recommend Single, Dual or Triple Stage before anything is booked.
Get my cut & polish recommendationGet a Cut & Polish Quote
Tell us about your car and we’ll recommend the right package — no commitment, no pressure.
We may text you for photos to give the most accurate recommendation. Your info is only used for this quote — never shared or spammed.
What is a Cut and Polish?
A Cut and Polish refers to machine polishing automotive paint. It is also referred to as Paint Correction as it permanently corrects and resorts gloss to car paint. The process of resurfacing the top layer of the paint cuts away the paint defects such as swirls marks, light scratches and dull and chalky paint.
It is called a cut and polish due to the two or more stages of polishing, the first more abrasive polishing stages are known as the Cutting stages due to more abrasive compounds needed to resurface the paint. The final stage is with finer grade polish compounds where gloss is restored to a mirror finish.
Paint correction or Cut and polishing is a permanent solution to resurface the top layer of paint. A Professional cut and polish is long term, and the gloss won’t wash away like filler polishes found in automotive stores. Good car cleaning techniques will keep the newly polishing paint looking great for years.
It’s all in the prep
A proper cut and polish is not just “buffing”. We clean, inspect, measure, test and protect the paint so the result is safer, glossier and easier to maintain.
Wash
Thorough wash to remove dirt, bug residue, iron fallout and old waxes or sealants.
Clay
Clay treatment removes bonded contamination so polishing works cleanly and safely.
Inspect & measure
We inspect under strong lighting and measure paint thickness before deciding correction level.
Tape up
Sensitive trims, edges and areas are protected before machine polishing starts.
Test cut
We test the worst area first to find the safest method that achieves the result.
Polish to gloss
Refining stages restore depth and clarity so the finish looks clean, glossy and even.
Clean down
Polish residue is rinsed/cleaned away so protection bonds to a clean surface.
Protect
Depending on the job, we finish with sealant, ceramic spray or ceramic coating options.
What polishing can fix?
Swirl Marks
Swirl marks are microscopic scratches in the paint surface that show up like cobwebs in bright light. These are caused by washing or drying your car incorrectly, where dirt particles in the or wash mitt or drying towel leave microscopic scratches in the clear coat. These swirls marks can vary in severity but we can achieve great results correcting these
Light Swirls in new or near new cars can be corrected with single stage paint correction.
The dual stage offers the beginning a true paint correction and is where you start to see real results
Triple stage for heavy swirls and darker paint types see the best results, similar the the image shown.
Entry Marks
Finger nails, rings and car keys scratch the paint around the door handle and leave unsightly marks.
Entry marks will be corrected in both our Dual stage and triple stage packages.
You can also opt for spot polishing on a per panel basis in our half day detailing package.
Lack of Colour Depth
Lack of Colour depth is where the colour has faded dull appearance but isn’t classed as oxidised, typical on one stage paints that don’t have a clear coat.
Depending on paint types, and the condition both the dual and triple stage paint correction packages would offer a great finish.
Oxidised or Chalky Paint
Oxidised paint leaves the paint looking chalky and dull. This is due to the paint breaking down from exposure to the sun, water and oxygen. This is most common on single stage paints in white, red and black cars. As long as there is enough paint thickness on the car we can correct these issues
With one stage paints we recommend the dual stage as it offers the best value. Triple stage correction is only necessary in some cases.
Trail Marks
Trail marks are caused by plants and branches rubbing against the sides of your vehicle to leave visible scuff marks. These scratches can range from shallow to quite deep. Also called pinstripes, we have had great success over the years correcting these types of paint defects
Its a minimum of triple stage polishing of the sides of the 4×4. We can create custom package to single or dual stage the rest of car. Sometimes even combining wet sanding the deeper scratches with north south techniques. Allow us to round the edges and achieve great results. Our PPF options allow us to protect the paint from this happening in future.
Ghosting
Ghosting refers to the outline or visible stencil left on the paint after stickers/decals are removed. It is the contrast between the fresh paint that was protected under the vinyl sticker and the exposed paint that has faded and appears dull in comparison.
When stickers or decals are removed, there is often an outline or visible stencil left on the paint. This is the contrast between the fresh paint under the sticker and the exposed paint around it, which appears faded and dull in comparison. Our car sticker decal removal packages include this removal as standard. It depends a lot on each vehicle but we usually dual stage polish the more prominent areas and use our experience to achieve the best result for the customers budget and requirements.
Paint Transfer
When a car panel comes into contact with another painted object with force, a layer of paint is left behind onto the vehicle. This is commonly yellow paint marks from bollards or garage doors. The transfer can be polished off successfully, however there are often deeper scratches left behind. Our polishing will reduce the appearance of these scratches.
Please get in contact with us so we can advise what is possible in your case.
Bird Droppings
These are very acidic and will start to eat into your paint almost immediately, with heat and dry weather amplifying the impact. It’s important to remove these as soon as possible. When you only have light etching from a bird dropping that has been removed quickly enough, machine polishing can correct this. If the etching isn’t too deep we can correct these types of bird dropping in any of our paint correction packages. If we can’t get it out completely we can generally make it much less visible.
Depending on the depth of the bird dropping etching will depend if removal is possible, we really need to inspect.
What Polishing Can't Fix
Paint Missing
If there is paint missing and the scratches show the undercoat or even the base metal then cut polishing wont help. You need touch up painting or proper respraying.
We offer paint touch ups, and colour match brush touch ups. Get in contact to see if we can help
Egg Damage
Throwing eggs may seem harmless but cause irreversible damage to car paintwork. The small hard shell fragments cut into the paint at the point of impact and can only be fixed properly from repainting. Brush touching can make it less visible but not much.
We recommend trip to panel shops for re-painting.
Key Marks
It makes my blood boil when I see senseless vandalism. If your car is keyed unfortunately respraying those panels is your only solution. Brush touching has been attempted by the best detailers and doesn’t hold up.
Get quotes from your local panels shops, the affected panel needs filling and respraying.
Aged Bird Droppings
Bird droppings that have been left too long can eat all the way through the clear coat. If the mark is crazed, or cracking as shown in the picture above this is unfortunately clear coat failure and can only be fully repaired by repainting. The clear coat has been penetrated and no amount of polishing will remove all traces of the defect.
If its only minor your option is to live with it, or get the panel painted.
Water Spots
There are actually three types of water spots but we will only focus on two of the most popular. The first is mineral deposits that sit on top of your paint and is usually a combination of minerals which we can remove. These minerals are soluble in your town water and when the water evaporates from the surface the minerals are left behind causing unsightly water spotting. The other type of water spotting is where the same minerals have been left on the paint for some time and has started to eat into the paint. This causes deep etching and is not viable to polish all out as too much clear coat would to be polished off.
Our mineral removal will fix water spots that are fresh and still on surface.
Deep water spot etching can be reduced with our triple stage but depending on factors may never be fully removed.
Deep Scratches
Random deeper scratches are very common and depending on the depth will determine if they can be polished out. The general rule of thumb gives you an instant idea if the scratch is correctable. Run your thumb nail over the scratch and if a indentation is felt then generally the scratch is too deep to successfully remove completely by may be reduced . Normal wear and tear will see your car pick up a few deeper scratches over time. Where deeper scratches have not penetrated all the way through the clear coat you have more options.
A popular choice is to get the car cut and polished with a dual or triple to reduce the appearance of the marks first and then determine if you can live with the result.
Alternately you are chasing 100% perfection then respraying is your option.
Note that respraying just one panel is $500-1000. Dual or even triple stage paint correction package may give you a great outcome and permanently reduce appearance of those scratches without the expense of repainting your car.
Clearcoat Failure
Clear coat failure is caused by long term exposure to the elements. This comes in the form of bubbling, blistering and peeling. Nothing can be done to fix this apart from repainting. See your local bodyshop for a quote.
Nothing can be done to fix this apart from repainting. See your local bodyshop for a quote.
Cut & Polish Brisbane FAQs
Quick answers for Brisbane drivers comparing single stage polishing, dual stage cut and polish, triple stage paint correction and ceramic coating after correction.
How much does a cut and polish cost in Brisbane?
At Scrubs, cut and polish packages generally start from $300–$590 for a Single Stage Polish, $440–$840 for a Dual Stage Cut & Polish, and $640–$1,080 for a Triple Stage Cut & Polish. Final pricing depends on vehicle size, paint condition and the result you want, so we confirm the right package before work begins.
What is the difference between single stage, dual stage and triple stage paint correction?
Single stage polishing is best for newer or well-kept cars that mainly need extra gloss. Dual stage paint correction is usually the best balance for swirl marks, oxidation and light scratches. Triple stage correction gives more time for heavier defects, darker paint and best-result gloss restoration.
Can a cut and polish remove swirl marks and light scratches?
Yes, machine polishing can permanently reduce or remove many swirl marks, wash marks, oxidation and lighter scratches in the clear coat. Deeper scratches that catch a fingernail, missing paint or clear coat failure usually cannot be fully fixed with polishing alone.
Can paint correction fix deep scratches or clear coat failure?
Paint correction can often reduce the appearance of some deeper scratches, but it cannot replace missing paint or repair failed clear coat. If a scratch is through the clear coat, primer or base colour, touch-up paint or panel repair may be needed.
How long does a cut and polish take?
Most Scrubs cut and polish jobs take between 3 and 12 hours depending on the package. A Single Stage Polish is usually around 3–6 hours, Dual Stage is usually 5–8 hours, and Triple Stage may take 8–12 hours or 1–2 days on some vehicles.
Should I get ceramic coating after paint correction?
Ceramic coating is a good option after paint correction if you want easier washing, stronger gloss retention and longer-lasting protection than a basic sealant. Scrubs can advise whether ceramic coating, PPF or a simpler protection option suits your car and budget.
Do you need to inspect the car first?
Photos are a helpful starting point, but paint correction is best confirmed after inspecting the paint condition, defect depth and paint thickness. Scrubs will recommend the safest package before anything is booked.
Over 800 5-star reviews and counting
Don’t just take our word for it – here’s what some of our paint correction customers have to say. We’re proud to be one of Brisbane’s trusted car detailing and paint correction specialists, with over 800 5-star reviews and counting.