Orange peel or not?

**JJ_** · 03-09-2005, 06:06 AM

Hey guys currently got a bit of a problem. A guy on another forum, across the pond is saying that this Mercedes SLR DOES NOT have orange peel?

I think it does especially the side on`s, he thinks just cos the car is $700K odd that it wouldn`t.

Thanks.

http://seriouswheels.com/top-2005-Br...LR-McLaren.htm

**benpocock** · 03-09-2005, 06:11 AM

Well as far as I`m concerned that`s orange peel! Unfortunately most cars have it these days due to the manufacturers using more and more water rather than solvent based paints.

Also, what the SLR made of? Is it carbon fibre? If so it`s going to OP a treat as it`s pretty difficult to get paint to stick to carbon. I know the trouble my bodyshop had when they had to repaint the fron bumper on my CSL.

Ben

**togwt** · 03-09-2005, 09:25 AM

Orange Peel:

Orange Peel is paint film surface that has a dimpled appearance that paint takes on due to an equipment/operator caused defect. Like wrong paint-gun pressure and/or distance from panel, an operator not knowing how to set-up the equipment for that particular type of paint, or even a partly blocked paint-gun nozzle, improper pre-paint preparation and /or paint application, or uneven drying of the clear coat.

It is usually eliminated by quality control (QC) after the final shooting of clear coat by wet sanding the paint film surface, and polishing with a mildly abrasive polish and a high-speed rotary polisher.

Orange Peel on Paint

Looks like-

Orange Peel on Paint

JonM

**JJ_** · 03-09-2005, 09:52 AM

so it is infact orange peel.

he said and I quote "No, I think that`s digital distortion.

It happens when I take pics at 6 megpixels and resize them down to 640x480.

If you notice the dustbin looks like it`s dithered, and the endges of the bootlid handle have ripples there too."

making reference to this picture.

**imported_Axe** · 03-09-2005, 01:06 PM

I would say that merc does not have orange peel, I can see why it might look like it does, on the door panel particularly. But I think that is a camera distortion, if you look at the rear wheel you can see that is also distorted. The reflection in the door could be hundreds of meters away also. If you look at the pictures of the front panels of the car (which are in focus) you can see the paint is immaculate.

It is difficult to tell really, and that site is so painfully slow I couldn`t be bothered waiting for more than the 4 pics I looked at.

**JJ_** · 03-09-2005, 01:50 PM

what about the bonnet axe? that has orange peel effect - well so i thought. lol.

**MongooseGA** · 03-09-2005, 02:34 PM

http://seriouswheels.com/2005/2005-B...-1600x1200.htm

This picture in particular shows some worse than average orange peel. I don`t think that`s camera distortion, just a poor paint job.

BTW, the MB SL65 makes 604 HP and sells for rougly $200,000 US give or take. Why does the SLR cost $.5 million more for just 50 more hp? I can understand a price increase for the materials used to production, but really, $500,000 more?

**TW85 HHI** · 03-09-2005, 02:49 PM

IMO, that is not camera distortion. If it were, most of the edges would have a jagged look due to resizing; the lens of a camera does not pick hundreds of random spots to distort.

**imported_Axe** · 03-09-2005, 02:50 PM

:nixweiss

**imported_Bence** · 03-09-2005, 03:35 PM

Axe, sorry but this IS OP!!!

BUT, not entirely from paint! The recent techniques can not make carbon and other plastic body panels perfectly flat, and therefore... yes those SLRs tend to look like cheap mockup prototypes. Last week in Geneva, I saw four of them; one on display (that was the sit-in-try-pull-twist-assess one), the others parked. With $#itty paints. BTW the new Maybach 57S was awful too. OP & swirls everywhere. But if you like the supercharger whine and thundery V8, then the SLR is indeed, lovable.

**gbackus** · 03-09-2005, 04:08 PM

I think it has FLA, just like all the Carrera GT`s I`m seen at the local BMW/Porsche/Audi/VW dealership I go to when I get the Audi serviced. They`ve had 7 GT`s move through already, and they`ve all had it. For those that don`t know, FLA is Fat Laddy`s A**, it`s like orange peel, but not as bad. If you ask body shops that do high end custom paint work and ask them what the difference between OP and FLA is, they`ll usually tell you FLA is what`s left after the initial sanding of Orange Peel, it`s significantly better, but still there. Most shops when they sand the clearcoat, won`t go any further than that, unless it`s a big $$ job.

**grimmster** · 03-10-2005, 10:11 PM

Have to agree with the others. It`s orange peel. Nothing else but the car paint has the "jaggies".

also, crappy tint job on the windows.

**salty** · 03-11-2005, 01:36 AM

Looks like OP to me.

**rollman** · 03-11-2005, 07:29 PM

IMO Its not OP . Its just a combination of lighting and camera focus . You can tell what part the photographer focused on . From the rear of the front tire back is where you start to loose detail. You can`t read that emblem on the fender but you can make out the detail in the cabon fiber ground effects. You can loose field of depth without lines distorting.

**Maknmony** · 03-11-2005, 09:53 PM

Originally posted by TOGWT

Orange Peel:

Orange Peel is paint film surface that has a dimpled appearance that paint takes on due to an equipment/operator caused defect. Like wrong paint-gun pressure and/or distance from panel, an operator not knowing how to set-up the equipment for that particular type of paint, or even a partly blocked paint-gun nozzle, improper pre-paint preparation and /or paint application, or uneven drying of the clear coat.

It is usually eliminated by quality control (QC) after the final shooting of clear coat by wet sanding the paint film surface, and polishing with a mildly abrasive polish and a high-speed rotary polisher.

Orange Peel on Paint

Looks like-

Orange Peel on Paint

JonM

Dont forget laying the color and clear on too dry. If the base has orange peal, you may as well forget about anything else. Yes, you can wet sand and get alot of it out of the clear, but the base will always be there.