Why Paint Correction Is Where the Detailer Margin Actually Lives
Routine washing is a competitive, price-sensitive market. The customer who is paying $80-$220 for a wash and tidy has dozens of options within 10 km. The job runs an hour or two, the customer drives away, the operator banks small margin, and the relationship doesn't deepen. To grow a detailing business you can't out-discount the competition — you have to move the customer up the value ladder.
Paint correction is the move. A two-stage paint correction with a ceramic coat on a daily-driver passenger car is typically $400-$900 of additional revenue on top of the wash, at meaningfully higher margin than the wash itself. The labour is more skilled but the customer is paying for the result, not the time.
