Orange peel + new black vehicle = Disappoint results

rick125 · 12-26-05, 10:07

I just got my brand new Nissan in black a couple days ago. As an autopian I felt I not only wanted to detail this brand new black vehicle but that it was in my autopian blood to have to make it look show car great. However, I had already noticed the orange peel texture of the paint. At first I was a disappointed but at the same time I already knew this was the new industry standard as far as paint jobs go nowadays. I thought, I see so many beautiful new cars with beautiful looking details posted on Autopia, mine will be similar. The car would be garaged until completed.

My process for this this project:
1. Poorboys spray and wipe waterless wash via MF
2. Clay with poorboys s&w as clay lubricant
3. Poorboys spray and wipe waterless wash via MF
4. Menzerna po85rd polish via CMA white polishing pad with PC
5. Jeff's Werkstatt Prime by hand using microfiber hand applicator
6. Jeff's Werkstatt Acrylic Jett via CMA grey glazing pad with PC
7. 2nd layer of Jeff's Werkstatt Acrylic Jett by hand application
8. 3rd layer of Jeff's Werkstatt Acryclic Jett by hand apllication
9. ClearKote Red Moose Machine Glaze via CMA glazing pad with PC
10. Poorboys Ex-P by hand
11. 2nd layer of Poorboys Ex-P by hand

Next steps will finally by my carnauba wax layers of Natty's Blue and Natty's Blue spitshined. Would it be a good idea to top that with OCW??

But back on track, I drove my car out after the first coat of Ex-P for a dinner. The results for VERY disappointing. Yes the car was glossy, and the paint felt soft, slick and smooth but the reflections were awful. It didn't have the depth or wetness I was looking for. It just looks like a shiny black vehicle but I would not consider it up to autopian standards. I mainly blame this on the orange peel texture of the paint job.

I will post up pictures after I am done with my detailing project.

Scottwax · 12-26-05, 11:05

You should have stopped at the 3rd layer of AJ. RMG isn't a potent paint cleaner but it probably affected the look of AJ negatively by removing some of it. I don't think EX-P is the problem but using RMG over a sealant.

Go back to Prime and AJ and top with Natty's Blue or Werkstatt's Carnauba Jett. I think that will make you a lot happier.

rick125 · 12-26-05, 03:05

Scottwax, you noob, i pwn noobs

No, just kidding. Thank you Scottwax, the highly respected veteran, and the icon of detailing I respect the most, for replying to my thread.

I don't think RMG is the problem. After rereading my thread I see where there may be some misconception, this vehicle is plenty reflective, the problem is that the orange peel texure of the paint greatly distorts the refective images in the paint. Is there something that can done about this with thinning the clearcoat too much??

Also, I'm sorry if I'm not well informed enough but to the best of my knowledge ClearKote RMG does not contain abrasives or cleaners, I thought it was a pure glaze. Also, I thought that acrylic based sealants are so tough that only the strongest cleaners would be able to damage them. An example of this can be seen in the "Pefect Shine" technique in the Autopia articles where Klasse AIO is used as an acrylic resin coating base because it dries hard and is not likely to be removed by petroleum distillates.

How would OCW look over Natty's Blue x2? Would applying OCW as the LSP prolong the life of the layers under it?

Zerrus · 12-26-05, 03:23

From my understanding, you're stuck with the Orange peel for the life of that paint. The paint is your real problem, and unless you want to respray and spend a lot of time color/wet sanding it then reclear coating the car, it's something you're going to have to get use to.

If you want the wet look, I have yet to see anything wetter than Natty's.

Accumulator · 12-26-05, 03:26

Rick125- IMO you ought not drive yourself nuts over the OP. Wetsanding it out would be risky for both the short and long term health of your paint. Yeah, I know, people here do it, but that's still my honest opinion. My S8 and A8 Audis have terrible OP, I just live with it. You can make a car with nasty OP look very, *very* good. You can ruin a paintjob with just a little wetsanding.

Oh, and I wouldn't put too much stock in the supposed durability of products like AIO

And sometimes an approach with multiple applications of products and several different LSP (or near-LSP) type products doesn't work out as well as a more simple approach.

"Shiny, but no depth or wetness" sounds like the look of synthetic LSPs as opposed to the look you'd get with carnaubas. See how it looks with the NB, but again, you have a lot of stuff between the paint and your eye. I can't help but wonder how it'd look if you went from the PO85RD to the RMB to the Natty's Blue. It wouldn't be the kind of durable protection you have on there now, but IMO it'd be a very different look.

Sorry if the above was of no practical use to you, which I suspect is possible

Mad iX · 12-26-05, 03:36

You could try hitting it with a levelling compound. It should reduce the OP effect, although not as much as wetsand but it wouldn't remove as much paint either. Probably the best compromise since you do seem quite unhappy about the level of OP.

Neothin · 12-26-05, 04:47

As accumulator said, correcting orange peel can be outright dangerous if you don't know what you doing when wetsanding. I would just live with it. My tC also has horrendous orange peel, but if your at least 2-3 feet away, you really see no distortion in the reflection. That, I can live with.

audipower · 12-26-05, 04:58

From experience there's nothing you can do about it. You don't know how deep it goes. It could be the 1st coat of clearcoat or the last. Especially if it's factory paint job. Only way you can get it out is sanding, BUT it's impossible to know where the peel is. I had a guy who had that problem on his '37 Ford. He had a total of 8 coats of clear coat. That's nearly impossible to stop orange peel unless you want to pay somebody $20,000 for a paint job. One came out the other didn't. the one that came out I estimate 2 or 3 coats of clear coats removed.

rick125 · 12-26-05, 05:10

Yea, it's pretty sad. Thanks for the responses you guys! I've been lurking here forever and quite a few of you are in my opinion, icons of Autopia. I've just put on my layer of Natty's Blue and will both off after this reply.

My biggest problem with the orange peel is that the vehicle would look a gazillion jillion times better if it had mirror like reflectivity. The vehicle is a Black 2006 Nissan Titan and the panels are very flat. In my head I was expecting a giant mirror like truck but that simply isn't the case. It's more like a shiny black orange out loose on the street. lol.

Thanks everybody. I'm truly an autopian, I wont be satisfied until I buff through my paint.

audipower · 12-26-05, 05:55

I would call Nissan customer service about it. Some car makes will cover paint defects. I know Audi does. Maybe you can tell them the paint is detaching it self from the metal. Or take it to the dealership you bought it from. That's what I would do.

Scottwax · 12-26-05, 08:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick125

I don't think RMG is the problem. After rereading my thread I see where there may be some misconception, this vehicle is plenty reflective, the problem is that the orange peel texure of the paint greatly distorts the refective images in the paint.

Yeah, the way you worded it, the problem seemed to be after you used RMG and EX-P. No mention of the orange peel distorting the reflection.

Quote:

Also, I'm sorry if I'm not well informed enough but to the best of my knowledge ClearKote RMG does not contain abrasives or cleaners, I thought it was a pure glaze. Also, I thought that acrylic based sealants are so tough that only the strongest cleaners would be able to damage them.

RMG does have some chemical cleaning properties. Depending on application, it is possible for a glaze with light cleaning properties to remove some of the sealant protection.

Quote:

How would OCW look over Natty's Blue x2? Would applying OCW as the LSP prolong the life of the layers under it?

I'd use OCW under Natty's Blue and maintain with a good QD instead. But yes, OCW works fine over NB but it won't have that super wet look. Go with your favorite LSP on top.

happies713 · 12-26-05, 10:34

you RICK are a NOOB!! ahha JOKING.

WOW with that much stuff on the paint, im assuming it would look AMAZING.

good luck with your detail, and orange peel..