Orange Peel Paint

[Flagrum_3]

Hey All,

I seemed to notice lately that most new car paint finishes have that orange peel look to them and I definitely noticed that on the 3s I\'ve seen.

Post Question; Has anyone heard how you might get rid of it?


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[TheProfessor]

I have absolutely no idea what you mean by \"orange peel\" paint.

[Flagrum_3]

Originally posted by PSIVIC


I have absolutely no idea what you mean by \"orange peel\" paint.

Okay I always have a hard time explaining this (without being able to show it) but I\'ll try.....If you look at most vehicles from lets say a meter away and from an angle to pick up light reflecting off the finish you\'ll see little bumps in the finish and the best discription of these bumps is it looks like the peel of an orange.I have heard different theories on what causes these bumps and one is that it is not actually the paint but the clearcoat, whereas others say its the method the manufacturers use to put the paint on the vehicles today.My mother\'s neighbor is a detailer and tells me you need to wet sand the vehicle to get rid of the peel, but I\'m questioning this because it seems a little harsh although he swears he\'s done it on his vintage vehicles.

hope I explained it okay....


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[TheProfessor]

Well, I think your explanation is okay, but I don\'t think I\'ve ever seen this happen in any of my cars before, so it\'s tough for me to picture.

[wtom]

***rum is describing this phenomenon;

Look at the bright reflected areas of the paint
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/mazda3orangepeel.jpg

[Flagrum_3]

Thanks WTOM, I\'ve been searching for a pic like that to show PSIVIC, but alass during my searches I found the answer to my question. The only way to rid a vehicle of \"orange peel\" is to wet sand the vehicle which is very scary and apparently all manufaturers including Mercedes, Farrari etc; etc; are trying desperately to solve this problem in newer paints.


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[PlatMS6]

believe it or not ive seen that on like a 1yr old at most m3, the car was black and it was on the trunk lid around the plate holder indent ....it sticks out like a sore thumb especially when the car is all clean and shiney and this is most evident on black...and yes teh only way u can rid of it is by wet sanding the area, and it isnt that bad if its done by a professional

[///M]

Originally posted by PSIVIC


Well, I think your explanation is okay, but I don\'t think I\'ve ever seen this happen in any of my cars before, so it\'s tough for me to picture.

That\'s because you have white cars. :p

It\'s more noticeable on darker colours.

[TheProfessor]

Well that pic obviously cleared things up for me. Wet sanding does sound scary BTW.

[Flagrum_3]

Originally posted by 2004mz3


believe it or not ive seen that on like a 1yr old at most m3, the car was black and it was on the trunk lid around the plate holder indent ....it sticks out like a sore thumb especially when the car is all clean and shiney and this is most evident on black...and yes teh only way u can rid of it is by wet sanding the area, and it isnt that bad if its done by a professional


I see it on every car, every colour but thats just because I was looking for it.My present ride is white and its noticeable when its clean!
My mums neighbour said he would help me do it and he\'s a pro and I\'ve seen his work on his vehicles....what a difference.(Show car finish)
But How much will it cost, If you just take it in somewhere?? It takes alot of work.


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[Joel]

WAAAAIT dont wetsand your car for that

This is a totally normal thing even though this is not nice looking. It happened when they switch the car paint from oil base to water base. I will try to explain, but I might run out of word (I\'m french ;) ). In the old time, the paint had the time to dry before it were dripping of, making a nice slick finish. Now with those water base paint, the paint actually start dripping before it dry. Making those wave you see in the paint. Its true the car maker are trying to find a solution, but it have been unsuccesfull for now cause the technic they found are too expensive.

You can maybe reduce this orange peel by doing a wetsand, but you are going to sacrifice the clear. And the other thing is if the OP is in the color, the wetsand wont affect it (unless you go through the clear and sand the paint, wich is a big NO). In other word you gonna have to live with it :D

Hope this clarify the thing

[Joel]

BTW its the best orange peel picture I\'ve seen so far. Good work.