Orange Peel Discussion

**RAG** · 05-31-2006, 09:29 PM

Manufactures don`t seem to be getting any better with this orange peel business, do they.

Maybe it`s just my set of clients, but the GMs and Chryslers seem to have it real bad, with the Hummers leading the way (the Escalades aren`t too good either). Take the Hummer...why do you think it is consistently so bad on these? Do you think maybe the paint is on thicker since the OP is so bad, or is this no indication? Ihave a client that wants it done(H2), but I told her I don`t/won`t sand factory jobbers, though I do periodically do some spot sanding. Still, I`m not going to do it, as I`d have to charge big bucks to make it worth my while...I just wanted to spur the conversation of the OP issue as a whole. I guess a lot of companies are just trying to save a buck.

**gbackus** · 05-31-2006, 09:33 PM

I know of at least 2 manufacturers that will send cars back into the paint booth if there isn`t a certain level of orange peel. I don`t know if I`m allowed to divulge who they are, but I will ask the people in the know what info I`m allowed to give out.

**seth812** · 05-31-2006, 09:40 PM

my rsx has orange peel. i want to sand it down, but with my soft honda paint, i need to conserve all the cc i can so i have enough room to remove other defects that will come along.

**Scottwax** · 05-31-2006, 10:16 PM

What is suprising is how inconsistant the orange peel is too. I detail a couple Escalades that have relatively low orange peel but the pearl ones especially have horrible orange peel. The Mercedes MLs and BMW X5`s can be really bad too.

**SpoiledMan** · 05-31-2006, 10:33 PM

Talk about inconsistent. My dad has TWO Escalade EXT`s. One pearl white and the other burgundy. The white one is almost flawless while the burgundy one looks to have been painted by a kid!

**imported_steveo3002** · 06-01-2006, 12:42 AM

i cant beleive any manf has been wet sanding and buffing orange peel, maybe they would carry out spot repairs on bad cases but not a whole car

i dont think it means theres a thick coat of paint neither...just a slopy job, theyre geared up to use as little paint as possible nowadays

as far as wet sanding a new car goes..ive worked at a GM bodyshop and had plenty chances to sand new cars, id say be very carefull with them..you may get away with knocking the top off the peel with 3000 but i wouldnt dare go for dead flat

**BobD** · 06-01-2006, 04:49 AM

I don`t think they wet sand from the factory unless they had to do a spot repair or something. I know Cadillacs used to brag about their "top secret" paint application process and they used to be good but the new Cadillacs look horrible. I even saw a new Land or Range Rover the other day on the express way and it was horrible. I am sure it has to do with a few things. They are all trying to cut back cost and get things done faster. If they paint the car to perfection it will take longer and cost more. Also if you have perfect paint you had better have a perfect body because perfect paint will show any and all flaws in the body work. I have heard that manufacturers sometimes make the paint orange peel on purpose to hide body defects but I am not sure how true that it.

**imported_Neothin** · 06-01-2006, 06:21 AM

my scion (sub company of toyota) has pretty bad orange peel over the whole car. I`d noticed that other tC`s aren`t nearly as bad as mine. I think I just got the ugly duckling of sorts.

**RAG** · 06-01-2006, 06:22 AM

Gbackus, are you implying that they want OP, or that they don`t want OP?

All of the black Escalade`s I detail are really bad. And I`ve never seen a Hummer that wasn`t really bad.

On the subject, the best car I have ever seen OP-wise is a client`s black SL500 (I think it is a 2003) - it is absolutely PERFECTLY flat. He recently got in an accident and had to repaint the hood and front fenders, took it to the best shop in town (supposedly) for painting (of course I had to remove some of the deepest buffer swirls I`ve ever seen afterward), and even though these panels have almost not OP...they have a very slight ripple when compared to the factory painted panels. Suprising.

**imported_steveo3002** · 06-01-2006, 06:43 AM

yeah i guess a little orange peel allows for sloppy panel pressings to go unoticed, if the paint was perfect they would need to spend more $ on perfectly straight panels

**the other pc** · 06-01-2006, 09:47 AM

The vast majority of car buyers don`t even know what orange peel is, let alone care. As such, it would be pretty dumb for a car maker to spend a lot of time and money to minimize it.

To a car maker it`s just another parameter in the mix. Car makers must consider cost, sprayability, production throughput, environmental compliance, workability, uniformity, gloss, service life, serviceability, a bunch of other stuff and yes, orange peel when tuning their paint lines.

Strangely enough, orange peel comes in somewhere around the bottom of the priority list. They want it to be in a range, not so much that the average Joe will notice it but not so little that dealing with it`s infringes on any other characteristics.

When millions of car buyers start caring the car companies will too. Until then, the rest of us are on our own.

PC.

**imported_Picus** · 06-01-2006, 09:51 AM

I always find it interesting how some panels on a car will be perfectly OP free and others are a total mess. Must be the actual paint process. For example, my hood, roof, and rear decklid (all horizontal panels) are almost cyrstal clear, but everything horizontal (especially the rear fender) is a total orange peel hazard zone.

**-Lebowski-** · 06-01-2006, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by the other pc

The vast majority of car buyers don`t even know what orange peel is, let alone care. As such, it would be pretty dumb for a car maker to spend a lot of time and money to minimize it.

To a car maker it`s just another parameter in the mix. Car makers must consider cost, sprayability, production throughput, environmental compliance, workability, uniformity, gloss, service life, serviceability, a bunch of other stuff and yes, orange peel when tuning their paint lines.

Strangely enough, orange peel comes in somewhere around the bottom of the priority list. They want it to be in a range, not so much that the average Joe will notice it but not so little that dealing with it`s infringes on any other characteristics.

When millions of car buyers start caring the car companies will too. Until then, the rest of us are on our own.

PC.

:werd: .................

**wildboar** · 06-01-2006, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by RAG

All of the black Escalade`s I detail are really bad. And I`ve never seen a Hummer that wasn`t really bad.

The mother-in-law`s brand new GMC Envoy Denali (white) is like looking at a rippling lake of milk - so much for the top of the line models having good paint...