How many of you have orange peel?

I think a better question would be who does not have orange peel. Unfortunately as BlackRegal has pointed out most cars come with this condition.
 
Alright I feel better, I guess:( . So when you get a reall good paint job do they normally wet sand before applying clear, how do they get glass perfect surfaces? Also does orange peel show more as the paint gets older? Thanks. Its not too bad on the Stang only when you get in certain lights on certain parts!:sosad
 
Mine's a little smoother and wavier than the average orange peel.



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Lucky me :p
 
Over time, as you polish your paint, you will tend to wear down the tops of the orange peels humps (think of polishing as a bulldozer building a road and the OP as hills and valleys.....). The OP on my Lightning is showing definite improvement after just 3 complete polsihings. Hood is slightly better, but then meaybe it had les OP to start with???
 
If you look real close my honda has some....but my 17k Si has way less than my fathers 60k + benz. Thats when it would bother me, other than that, I just live with it. You can barely see it and to most people it will look perfect.
 
I had it on my Z pre-wreck, more noticable on the door sections than anywhere else, and you could only tell in certain lights. I just visited her in zhospital (bodyshop to laymen) friday and the head mechanic said he is putting an extra coat of clear on her for good measure, and promised no OP at all--PLUS he said he will give her a glass finish-- I'll let yall know the outcome (they have to paint all panels except the roof panel--it was pretty ugly). I never noticed OP at all--until I got a car worth caring about!
 
I even have it on my limited production, mostly hand assembled, but assembly line painted, 91 Buick Reatta. But not on my '02 Lexus or my '77 Excalibur. And not on my '85 VW Quantum Synchro.
 
All my vehicles have it, even the A8 and S8. The Jag is the best in this regard, as I've gradually polished off most of the ss lacquer :o



Polishing WILL improve it, to some degree (better on some paints than on others), but I wouldn't expect a miracle.
 
Can I wet-sand off the orange peel, and then have more clearcoat applied? A friend of mine (with limited detail knowledge) had 10 layers of clearcoat when her painted his car. It looks REALLY good, but I am not sure if that is the clear, or just the paintjob.
 
Only my Candy Apple Red Prowler has no OP at all. Once you get all the small swirl marks and spider webs out there really is a difference.
 
My Fords ( 92 Explorer and 03 Cobra) both have lots of orange peel. Just a feature of the "water color" that the EPA requires the factories to use these days.

One of my customers had his Ferrari (Berlinetta Boxer) repainted during a frame off repair after a racing accident. It was a three month process. Paint was from Sikkens. First body was taken down to bare metal. Next six coats of alternating shades of some kind of primer sealer. Block sanded perfectly smooth. Next many coats of color ( a custom red-orange, sound gross but looks incredible) baked and block sanded. Next two coats of clear. Next, the stripes and racing numbers. Next six more coats of clear. Then the color sanding, polishing, and final assembly. Final cost: about FOURTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!

I'll never complain about my Ford paint again.



P.S. That price didn't include the cost of the mechanical work he had done.
 
Moderate orange peel is easy to see on my Porsche. I only notice it under florescent light at night at the gas station. Otherwise a great paint job, though.



My wife's MINI has it as well.
 
I've seen fairly obvious orange peel on some $40K plus cars and near perfect finishes on some $20K cars. Seems to be more prevalent over the last few years. I find it to be very inconsistent, even between the same model in the same model year.
 
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