wmulli

This is driving me crazy (I know, just a short ride for me ). Has anyone else noticed it? When I look straight into my paint, the reflections are fine, but when I look "across" the hood (get down low and look at reflections of leaves or trees), the edges of the reflections look wrinkled, as if the paint had dimples in it! At first I figured the clear coat just needed leveling, but after working in one spot all afternoon (by hand as well as with my Porter-Cable), I've concluded that's it's not a problem with the clear coat, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to fix it! I was curious as to whether anybody else has noticed this, or did I just get a bum paintjob?

mooretorque

It's called "orange peel" and it's been a problem with automotive paint for a long time (longer than the use of water-based paints, so it's not related to that). It seems as if Japanese mfgrs have more of a problem with it but it's by no means unique to them. So, in one sense, it's "normal".

And it's a major pain to do anything about based on past posts about getting rid of orange peel (strip off clear coat, wet sand till smooth, etc etc). I'll just live with it.............

Guitarman

Orange peel on factory paint is due to "high-solid low-solvent" paint, where the resins are in the majority of the material, and solvents are much less in content than back in the 50's 60's and 70's. What happens is the where the old paints had a high solvent content to "flow out" and level the topcoats to a flatter, more even finish as they dried, today's paints don't do this because of the lack of solvents. In essence they're too thick. When they don't flow out, you see orange peel texture in it, especially on black and dark colored clearcoats. If you ever go to a car show and get to see a classic car with ORIGINAL paint, (say a 1965 Caddy etc.) you'll be amazed at the absence of orange peel. Today's paints are much better in many ways, but in respect to orange peel, they aren't.

VOC laws and enviornmental concerns are the reason for the change. Most oem basecoats are water based also (high heat evaporates the moisture), while the clears are still solvent based, FWIW.

If this is what you're seeing, all you can do is live with it or block it by wet sanding. I would tell you to live with it because, it's only as thin as a baby's hair to begin with, and the more paint you remove the quicker it's demise and longevity. Show cars can get away with it because they plan for it by spraying more paint, and they also typically garage the car and limit it's sun and UV exposure.

Most of the UV inhibitors migrate to the upper .5 MIL of the topcoat (whether clearcoat or single stage) when curing and when you sand it you remove a fair amount, or all of it. When the UV is gone, it's just a matter of time.

If you've ever seen white splotches of paint on older cars, that's clearcoat failure.

Cheers.

cheapsk8

Depending on how old the car is, I would try taking it to your local dealership to see if they will re-paint it under warranty. The other possibility is that if you purchased the car used, it may have had some paint work done.
-c

wmulli

It's a '96, so no chance of getting it done under warranty

If it were unique, or at least unusual, I might have tried shaming the dealer into fixing it, but since it seems to be a "standard" issue, I guess it's just going to have to wait 'til I put a body kit on and have it repainted. At least I'll know to check the paint and make sure it's smooth before I let them clearcoat it

Thanks for all the replies!