gsnav

Hey Guys,

I was wondering how many of you are so picky that you guys ended up trying to fix the orange peel on your paint? I know i am and i'm going to dive into the world of detailing by being really ****,haha. So any comments on orange peel fix would be great!

For those who don't know, orange peel is the orange peel like affect you get when you look at the reflection of the car, i believe most cars end up having the orange peel except the high end cars, like bentley because i think they dry all their panels laid down.

Guitarman

I have written a few articles that contain some info on the subject, I know it well. It is a complicated issue, and very technical. I will try and keep it understandable for the layman;

The cause is high solid-low solvent paint, due to VOC regulations and the EPA etc.Today's paints are so low in solvent content that they don't flow out when curing, and that orange peel texture effect is the result. Many years ago, these regulations were not around and car manufacturers were able to use a high-solvent paint that flowed out when it dried/cured, to a nearly flat patina. The next time you see an antique or classic 1950's 1960's Cadillac or such, with original paint (yes-hard to find these days, but I've seen a couple) you will be amazed how flat and orange peel free it is.But that was then, this is now.

What to do? Well, unless you're getting your car repainted, there isn't much you can do really, unless you are willing to shorten the life of your OEM paint. Sure, you can wetsand it with a block, and remove the orange peel, BUT...you'll also be removing most or all of the UV inhibitors in the paint. If your car spends anytime outside and in the sun, this will lead to an early demise and clearcoat failure. Count on it. If you've ever seen a car turning white in spots, that is clearcoat failure.

Now, if you are getting a repaint, it's a bit better scenario, you can tell them you want zero orange peel. You'll pay a bit more depending on how they want to obtain it. Seriously skilled painters can do it with their talent and good equipment, others can achieve it by blocking and wetsanding (or using drysanding discs), but they will have to spray a couple extra coats of paint on the car since they will be sanding quite a bit away. You need UV inhibitors if you want longevity from your finish. I did this on my show car, and it is orange peel free, but I sprayed 5 coats of clear, and sanded about 2 off. The car is also garaged and rarely sits out in the sun for more than an hour or so at a time. It's been that way since I painted it in 1997, and there's no sign of resin damage. If it were oem paint that i did that to, well...I can pretty much guarantee I wouldn't be so lucky, and I'd probably would have had to repaint some or all of it by now. Can't change the laws of physics, though you can try and stack the deck in your favor. Here's the tech of it;

Your paint is ~2 mils thick, whether it's a clearcoat or single stage paint. That is 50 microns in width. How does this relate in terms the avergae person can understand? Well, 50 microns is about the width of a baby's hair! THAT IS THE THICKNESS OF YOUR OEM PAINT....The UV inhibitors reside up near the surface .5 mil. ( The upper 1/3 d) When you wetsand, it's VERY easy to remove .3 to .5 of a mil (1 mil= 1 thousandth of an inch). Then your UV is gone, and sunlight will destroy the resin system pretty fast. Your variables on the amount of time it will take involve just how much sunlight the car sees.

So, you CAN remove orange peel, but there's a price to pay if you try doing it on oem paint. I would prefer to see people have their cars resprayed with clear and then blocked flat. Much more longevity involved that way.

It's of course your paint, and your car, but that's the technical side of the issue FWIW. Best of luck.