Wetsanding to match factory orange peel?

[clnfrk]

I had the rear passenger door and bedside painted some time ago on my 2006 Toyota Tundra and the texture is just slightly off compared to the oem paint (slightly more orange peel on repainted areas). A few weeks after it was painted, I wetsanded the rear door below the body line, but above the side molding with Meg's 2000 unigrit sandpaper. I had sanded until the finish had a uniform dull appearance to it being carefull to remove only the amount necessary to achieve this.



After buffing out the sanding marks, the finished area actually has less orange peel now than the factory paint. Not very noticeable at all, but it is flatter nonetheless. I think it looks better without as much orange peel, but am more interested in having the remaining areas that I have yet to sand match the factory as close as possible. With that said, I just recently picked up some Meg's 3000 unigrit paper to finish what i started albeit using a finer grit to avoid flattening out the finish too much.





Now, my question is... what is the best way to determine when to stop sanding when trying to match the factory finish?

 

[Accumulator]

Now, my question is... what is the best way to determine when to stop sanding when trying to match the factory finish?

Generally, the painter should leave it basically the same as the factory texture. A *little* more/worse orangepeel can sometimes (OK, make that "often" if you're better at it than I am) be worked down to match, but basically matching the texture is the painter's responsibility and it oughta be at least close to a perfect match or he oughta redo it so it is.



Sounds like you overdid it with regard to matching the texture, like you did more of a "level it" job than a "match it" one.

 

[clnfrk]

Generally, the painter should leave it basically the same as the factory texture. A *little* more/worse orangepeel can sometimes (OK, make that "often" if you're better at it than I am) be worked down to match, but basically matching the texture is the painter's responsibility and it oughta be at least close to a perfect match or he oughta redo it so it is.



Sounds like you overdid it with regard to matching the texture, like you did more of a "level it" job than a "match it" one.

I used to deliver parts to this particular body shop, so the owner gave me a good price on the job...$700 vs $2500-3000 that other shops quoted me. That is why I don't want to make a big fuss about it. That and the fact that the repair was done rather well other than the almost imperceptible difference in texture and a fairly sizable paint run at the bottom of the bed closest to the cab. I will probably just proceed with the 3000 grit and scuff the finish up a bit until it's uniformly dull, but with a slight bit of orange peel still evident through the sanding marks.

 

[Legacy]

I had the rear passenger door and bedside painted some time ago on my 2006 Toyota Tundra and the texture is just slightly off compared to the oem paint (slightly more orange peel on repainted areas). A few weeks after it was painted, I wetsanded the rear door below the body line, but above the side molding with Meg's 2000 unigrit sandpaper. I had sanded until the finish had a uniform dull appearance to it being carefull to remove only the amount necessary to achieve this.

After buffing out the sanding marks, the finished area actually has less orange peel now than the factory paint. Not very noticeable at all, but it is flatter nonetheless. I think it looks better without as much orange peel, but am more interested in having the remaining areas that I have yet to sand match the factory as close as possible. With that said, I just recently picked up some Meg's 3000 unigrit paper to finish what i started albeit using a finer grit to avoid flattening out the finish too much.





Now, my question is... what is the best way to determine when to stop sanding when trying to match the factory finish?

Tough thing to do. You could wet sand the entire passenger side to even it out (lot of work). Or you could be humble and take it back to the shop and tell him that you screwed up and see if he can re-spray. He might feel sorry for you.