Let`s talk about lousy factory paint jobs!

[HotRodGuy]

What is the deal, i`ve been detailing a lot of new cars and NONE of them are orange peel free. SOme of them it`s pretty bad. I`m looking at getting a Magnum R/T but everyone I see has some of the worst orange peel I`ve seen. (hell even a cayenne I detailed a few weeks back had HORRIBLe orange peel).



How are you autopians dealing w/ it? Anyone sanded a brand new car yet? Is there a way I can pay extra cash and have the car built to my specs and INSURE they do a flawless job on the paint (I know this is doubtfull).





What`s the reasoning for this? They just don`t care or what?

[boeman]

One of the major reasons is that robots spray the paint, the nozzles can`t stay close enough to the vehicle to have a real smooth clear application.

[Craigmri]

Our new Kia Sedona has really bad orange peel but then again for a $20,000 Van loaded with every option I accept some shortcomings.



I wouldnt dream of wet sanding it(I`ve wetsanded many new paint jobs too) because the factory clear is so thin your asking for a clearcoat failure within a couple of years.



Craig

`04 Sedona EX

[Eliot Ness]

Mass production and robots shooting the paint.... it`s all about saving a few $$$$.



I`d say there is no way you could get the paint shot to your specs.



Your only hope is to wet sand, and that all depends on how thick the clear coat is. Well, there is an option #2, and that is to take it to the guy doing your toolbox and have your new car repainted. Pretty sad that even has to be considered on a new car

[SilverLexus]

Bad Paint? Two words: Pontiac Firebird.



Been there. Done that. Lost my shirt on resale.

[MongooseGA]

Wanna see hella bad orange peel? I have one word for you:



Jeep Wrangler.





OK, well two words. Either way, this thing has terrible orange peel, and the paint is just plain terrible. I`ve also noticed my mom`s Chrysler has terrible orange peel (almost makes the paint look dull) above the mid-body trim piece, below the windows. I hate it!!!

[HotRodGuy]

Originally posted by Eliot Ness

Well, there is an option #2, and that is to take it to the guy doing your toolbox and have your new car repainted. Pretty sad that even has to be considered on a new car

the tool box was expensive, I don`t want to know what a whole car would be

[boeman]

My Silverado SS surprised me, with the amount of orange peel I`ve had on my last few GM`s, I expected the worst. Surprisingly the orange peel isn`t too bad, It`s noticible, but not as bad as the `02 SIlverado I had before it.

[NavindraLR]

Honda and Acura paints have really bad orange peel... the worst in my opinion... ill post pics later



not to mention they chip easily

[TGates]

Infiniti/Nissan paint is really crappy, too. Really thin, almost brittle it seems. Almost makes spending hours on detailing the paint seem worthless at times. If it weren`t for the sheer pleasure of using products I enjoy methodically to achieve the goal of paint perfection, I`d say it wouldn`t be worth the time and money. Oh well... my QEW is calling my name in the garage :sosad

[Peter Crowl]

I have an 05 MINI Convertible on order...the cars I`ve seen at the dealer look pretty decent. Some OP to be sure...but not too bad.



I just did my dad`s 02 Park Avenue this past weekend and I was appalled at the paint flaws I saw when looking closely.



I guess people just accept it as a fact of life. It is a fact of robots and EPA mandated paint formulations though isn`t it?



Peter...in Denver

[Scottwax]

Even the new Rolls Royce Phantom has orange peel.







Bentley, on the other hand.....

[RedondoV6]

The worst is when the orange peel effect is underneath the clearcoat, in the color layer and wet sanding is not even an option. My 03 Accord is like this (I still love her all the same!).

[xjdmb16a2six]

yup.. my 03 accord have orange peel too.

[Setec Astronomy]

Originally posted by Eliot Ness

Mass production and robots shooting the paint.... it`s all about saving a few $$$$.

I think that`s too simplistic an explanation. As some others have mentioned here, it`s about low VOC`s, about trading off a robot`s consistency (even if it`s consistently orange peel) against a human`s (likely) wider variation, about getting people out of an unfriendly work environment. And yes, also about cost.



Although I`m the first one to say that the greed of corporate executives in the last decade or two (and the short-sightedness of the unions prior to that) has ruined US industry, I don`t confuse that with engineering tradeoffs like robotic painting.



I like the solutions that give you a better product AND save costs, but that isn`t always possible. Sometimes the tradeoffs have to be different...maybe humans can`t spray the low VOC paint consistently enough---some cars might be perfect, and some others might be unsellable without a repaint. In that case, a better tradeoff might be to do it robotically with all cars acceptable, but none perfect.