Paint imperfections?

[Wheelman916]

So i washed and Quik Waxed my car today... and I noticed some imperfections. Some of the usual... a scratch or 2... some real light swirl marks... and i`m aware of how to take care of those... a mild polish or a glaze/sealant/wax with a polish or a lot of fillers...

What my problem is... i notice in the really clean glossy parts of my paint, in the reflection... that the image seems... wavy? or somehow distorted... i`m not sure how to discribe it... but the reflected images are NOT 100% accurate...

All i have is my iPhone 4 for pictures. I`ll shoot some later today.

What is wrong with my paint and how can i correct it?

[Wheelman916]

Oh! I was looking thru my Photobucket at old pictures of my car... and this picture kinda captures what i`m talking about.

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv298/1hot281/saleenoval.jpg

See how the edges of reflected objects kinda lack definition? looks like low resolution... lol

I`ll still try and take some better pictures later today

[shuddleston]

Are you talking about orange peel or something else?

[Poorboy]

Are you talking about orange peel or something else?

i would say that is what he is talking about :notme:

[Beemerboy]

If you are talking about the orange peel that is on the paint, not the clear then there is nothing that you can do about that

[Wheelman916]

Orange peel?

[mrclean81]

From the pic, it looks to me like a repaint. If so, its definatly orange peel and may be repairable but I dont suggest trying it yourself.

[wallyStang]

I want to see some more pics of the Saleen :)

[chet31]

The orange peel is pretty normal on a lot of cars. BMWs have it, it`s thought to be due to the use of water-based paints.

[JaredPointer]

You *can* wetsand orange peel to flatten it out some. However, there`s a lot of precautions you should take prior to doing so. And as with most anything, there`s most likely a point where it`s only going to get "so good."

[Wheelman916]

From the pic, it looks to me like a repaint. If so, its definatly orange peel and may be repairable but I dont suggest trying it yourself.

Not 100% sure, but like 99.9% sure it hasn`t been repainted... car had 11,000 miles when i bought it. Clean carfax... and the paint color matches the build sheet from Saleen. plus the front bumper has seen better days. if they repainted it, they should`ve hit the front again before i got my hands on it...


I want to see some more pics of the Saleen :)

Snapped a few today:

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv298/1hot281/photo1-4.jpg
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv298/1hot281/photo2-11.jpg

and a few from the carshow i was at two weekends ago:

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv298/1hot281/dsc03882wo.jpg
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv298/1hot281/dsc03752a.jpg
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv298/1hot281/photo4-8.jpg

[mrclean81]

You *can* wetsand orange peel to flatten it out some. However, there`s a lot of precautions you should take prior to doing so. And as with most anything, there`s most likely a point where it`s only going to get "so good."

This would be my solution weather it was a repaint or not if the orange peel was too much to live with. However, if your not 100% comfortable with wetsanding I dont suggest it, especially on such a beautiful car :bigups. Now that I see the rest of the car, I doubt its a repaint, just factory orange peel.

[wallyStang]

Oh God. such a sexy car! I cannot wait till I install my full saleen kit :)!!!!!