How to Quote Ceramic Coating and Paint Correction

Inspect the paint before you price it

A correction and coating quote is only as good as the inspection behind it. Two cars of the same model can need very different amounts of work depending on how they've been washed, stored and repaired. Give phone and web inquiries a starting range by vehicle size, and set the real price after you've seen the paint.

Clean it, then look under two kinds of light

Dirt, wax and glaze-type products hide defects, so wash the car before you judge it. Then check every panel under both kinds of light:

• Focused light, such as direct sun or a handheld inspection light, shows swirls, fine scratches and holograms left by earlier machine polishing.
• Broad, diffuse light shows haze, texture and color differences between panels, which can point to past paintwork.

Move the light, change your angle and photograph what you find so the customer sees what you saw.

Record paint depth readings on every panel

A paint depth gauge tells you how much room you have to work. Take several readings per panel and write them on a simple panel map (hood, roof, trunk or hatch, doors, fenders, quarter panels and bumpers), then look for patterns:

• A panel that reads well above its neighbors has often been refinished. Expect it to polish differently, and look for sanding marks or texture.
• A panel that reads well below the rest may have been polished hard before. Plan the least aggressive step that gives an acceptable result there, and say so on the quote.
• Edges and sharp body lines are where a pad cuts through first. Tape them and keep aggressive steps off them.

A typical handheld gauge reads the total thickness of everything over the metal, primer and color included, so it can't tell you exactly how much clear coat is left. If your gauge can't read a panel, such as a plastic bumper cover, mark it unmeasured instead of guessing. The map is your record of the paint before you touched it, so keep it with the quote.

Sort the defects into what polishing can and can't fix

Polishing levels the clear coat around a defect. It can't put back paint that's missing or repair clear coat that's failing. Sort what you find before you write the quote:

Polish a test spot

A test spot turns a guess into a quote. On a typical flat area away from edges, start with your least aggressive pad and polish combination and step up only until the result is acceptable. It tells you which correction level gets the result the customer wants, how long a panel takes and how this paint behaves under the pad. Tape a line through the spot and show the customer both halves; that sets expectations better than any description.

Ask the questions that change the price

• What's on the paint now? An older coating or sealant may need to come off before a new coating will bond.
• Any paintwork or repairs? Compare the answer with your readings.
• How is it washed, and where does it park? Brush washes and outdoor parking affect which coating and maintenance plan make sense.
• What result do they expect? "Much better" and "as close to perfect as the paint allows" are different jobs at different prices.
• For mobile jobs, where will the work happen? If the coating's instructions call for dry, covered conditions, you need a garage for the whole job, not a driveway.

Correction levels and the time each takes

Paint correction is sold by level, because each added step removes more defects, takes more time and uses up more clear coat, which doesn't grow back. Define your levels once and use the same names on every quote:

• One-step polish. One pad and polish combination that removes light defects and brings up gloss. Make it the minimum before coating paint with visible defects, because the coating goes over whatever the paint looks like that day.
• Two-step correction. A cutting step for heavier defects, then a finishing step to remove the haze it leaves. Use it when the test spot shows a one-step leaves too much behind.
• Multi-step correction and wet sanding. Sanding before compounding, for deep scratches or texture. It removes the most clear coat and carries the most risk, so quote it panel by panel, only where your readings support it.

Watch the term "single-stage." Some detailers use it for a one-step polish, but single-stage paint has the color and gloss in one layer with no separate clear coat, and it's often found on older vehicles. Polishing it takes color off onto the pad. Write "one-step polish" on quotes and note single-stage paint when you find it.

Price each level from your own time records, logging hours by level and vehicle size on every job. Turning hours into a price, including the labor rate behind it, is covered in how to price auto detailing.

Example: These figures are invented to show the math. Say your logs for midsize SUVs show 3 hours for washing, decontamination, clay and taping, 6 hours for a one-step polish, 12 hours for a two-step correction and 2 hours to coat the paint. At $100 an hour, a one-step and coating is 11 hours ($1,100) and a two-step and coating is 17 hours ($1,700). Add $150 of supplies at your price and the packages come to $1,250 and $1,850.

What the coating quote must spell out

A ceramic coating quote that only says "ceramic coating, $1,500" invites a dispute. Spell out the work so the customer can compare quotes and you can point to it later.

The prep and surfaces included

1. Wash, including wheels and tires.
2. Chemical decontamination with an iron remover, plus tar or adhesive remover where needed.
3. Clay or a synthetic clay tool on all painted surfaces.
4. Paint depth readings and the panel map.
5. Correction at the named level, with any panels treated differently listed by name.
6. A panel prep wipe to remove polishing oils so the coating can bond.
7. The coating: product name, number of layers and how it will cure.
8. A final inspection under the inspection light.

Price optional surfaces as separate lines: wheel faces or barrels (and whether the wheels come off), glass, exterior trim, brake calipers and interior surfaces. If you work mobile, plan where the wash water goes; how to start an auto detailing business covers wash water rules.

Durability and warranty claims, in the manufacturer's words

The durability line is the claim a coating customer will hold you to, so take it from the manufacturer's documentation for the exact product you're applying:

• Quote the rating for that product, layer count and application, not the longest number in the product line.
• Copy the conditions attached to it: how the car must be washed, which products to use, and whether inspections or maintenance visits are required.
• Leave out absolute words the documentation doesn't support, such as "permanent," "scratch-proof" or "chip-proof." "Lifetime" means only what the warranty document defines.
• If the marketing quotes a hardness rating, find out what test it comes from before you repeat it. A hardness number is not a promise that the paint won't scratch or chip.

Treat every claim on your quote, website and social posts as one you may be asked to prove. The FTC's guidance for small businesses says advertising must be truthful and not deceptive, and that advertisers need evidence to back up their claims before the ad runs ¹. Keep the manufacturer's document behind each claim on file, and if you can't back a claim up, leave it out.

Then say who stands behind what. A manufacturer's warranty covers the product on its own terms, which may require an accredited installer, registration or periodic inspections; if so, say who registers it and when. Your workmanship warranty covers your application: high spots, missed areas or a panel that wasn't prepped right. State how long you'll fix those at no charge, and have a lawyer read your warranty wording once.

Aftercare and maintenance visits

Put aftercare on the quote, not just on a card at pickup, so the customer agrees to it before paying:

• Cure period: from the manufacturer's instructions, how long before the car can get wet or be washed.
• Washing: the methods and products the instructions recommend, and whether automatic washes are allowed.
• Quick removal: bird droppings, tree sap and bug splatter can still mark the finish if they're left to bake on.
• Maintenance visits: what each one includes, what it costs and whether the warranty requires it or you only recommend it.

Sell the visits as a plan with a price so the coating customer becomes a recurring one; membership pricing is in the same pricing guide.

Give three options, not one number

A single price leaves the customer two choices: yes or no. Three options built from real differences (correction level, coating product, surfaces covered) let them choose how much correction and protection they want. Keep the inspection, prep and exclusions identical across all three.

Example: Same invented figures, plus 3 hours and $100 of extra product to coat the wheel faces and glass:

	Option A	Option B	Option C
Correction	One-step polish	Two-step correction	Two-step correction
Coated surfaces	Paint	Paint	Paint, wheel faces, glass
Labor hours	11	17	20
Price	$1,250	$1,850	$2,250

Put the expected result next to each option in words that match the test spot, such as "light swirls removed, deeper scratches reduced," not "flawless."

Schedule multi-day jobs and take a deposit

Correction and coating work ties up a bay, a detailer and the customer's car for days, so write the quote like a booking:

• Drop-off and pickup dates, including any cure time the product needs before the car leaves.
• Where the work happens. For mobile jobs, name the garage or covered space and confirm it's free every day of the job.
• A deposit that holds the slot and covers the product you'll open for this car. Deposit size is covered in how much deposit to ask for; deposit, card-on-file and late-cancellation terms for detailers are in how to invoice auto detailing jobs. Print your rescheduling and refund terms on the quote.
• A condition check at drop-off. Walk the car with the customer, photograph every panel, note chips, curb rash and trim damage, and get a signature or a text reply on the report.
• Coverage while the car is with you. If it stays overnight, confirm your insurance covers customer vehicles in your care; the startup guide explains what to ask about.

Example: The invented two-step package above is 17 hours of labor. At about 7 productive hours a day, that's three days in the bay. If the coating's instructions call for the car to stay dry and indoors overnight after application, pickup is the morning of day four, so block four days and quote both dates.

If something new turns up mid-job, such as a panel reading thinner than expected or clear coat starting to lift, stop, photograph it and get the customer's written approval before you change the scope or the price; see how to handle change orders. For shops that quote by text, Redline, which is chat-first field service software, includes deposits.

Selling at a customer's home, workplace or car show

If you sell coating packages in a customer's driveway, in their office parking lot or at a car show, check the FTC Cooling-Off Rule before you book the work. It gives buyers the right to cancel certain sales made at their home, workplace or dormitory, or at a seller's temporary location: sales of $25 or more at the buyer's home and $130 or more at temporary locations such as a convention center, fairground or hotel room ². The buyer can cancel for a full refund until midnight of the third business day after the sale. Saturday counts as a business day; Sundays and federal holidays don't ².

An invitation doesn't automatically take you outside the rule. Its definition of a door-to-door sale includes sales made "in response to or following an invitation by the buyer," when the buyer agrees to buy somewhere other than the seller's place of business ³. A sale the customer agrees to at your shop falls outside that definition. One exclusion matters to mobile detailers: a visit the buyer initiated and specifically requested so you could repair or maintain their personal property at their home isn't a door-to-door sale, but if you sell additional services during that visit, those additional sales don't fall within the exclusion ³. A coating sold in the driveway during a booked maintenance wash is that kind of add-on sale. The rule has other exclusions too, so have a lawyer check your contract and cancellation notice against the federal rule and your state's rules.

Example: A customer buys a $1,500 coating package at your booth at a Saturday car show held at the county fairground, a temporary location, so plan as if the rule applies. Sunday doesn't count, so Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are business days one to three, and the customer can cancel until midnight Wednesday unless one of those days is a federal holiday. Book the car for Thursday or later.

Write the exclusions down

Exclusions protect you only if the customer saw them before paying. List them on the quote in plain words:

• Rock chips and scratches through the clear coat. Polishing won't remove them; touch-up paint or a body shop is the fix. Paint protection film, quoted separately, is the product for chip protection.
• Clear coat failure. Peeling, flaking or cloudy clear needs refinishing, which isn't part of this job.
• Defects you'll reduce but can't promise to remove: deeper scratches, etching, and sanding marks or texture on refinished panels.
• Panels you'll treat lightly because their readings are low, named panel by panel.
• Existing damage recorded at drop-off.
• Anything not listed as included, such as wheels, glass or trim on a paint-only package.

Before you send the quote

• Car washed and inspected under focused and diffuse light, with photos.
• Paint depth readings on a panel map, with low, high and unmeasured panels noted.
• Test spot done, timed and shown to the customer.
• Correction level named in your standard terms, single-stage paint noted if found.
• Every prep step and coated surface listed, with the product name and layers.
• Durability and warranty terms from the manufacturer's documentation, plus your workmanship warranty, aftercare and maintenance terms.
• Dates, work location, deposit and rescheduling terms stated, with a cancellation notice for sales at a home, workplace or temporary location.
• Exclusions listed and the expected result described in plain words.