Orange peel?

[EdJ]

Is there any way to remove orange peel from a newly painted surface? Thanks.



Ed.

[Mike Phillips]

Yes. To remove orange peel, you typically wet-sand the finish using a higher grit paper like #2000 Grit sanding paper. After sanding, you remove your sanding marks using a rotary buffer and a cutting compound and then follow this process with one or more polishing steps to restore the gloss and remove any swirls.

Here at Meguiar's we actually offer a much higher quality paper than a sanding paper, we offer Finishing Papers which offers more control over the grit particle size and distribution. These premium quality papers go as high as #3000 grit.

Most wet-sanding is done when the paint is only a day or two old while it is still soft enough to remove your sanding marks. If you're wondering about sanding a factory baked-on finish, you're talking about a typically very difficult thing to do.

It's easy enough to sand the paint, the hard part is buffing out your sanding marks.


What are you working on?

[EdJ]

My mothers car was in a minor accident and it was repainted two days ago, and the orange peel is disgusting.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by EdJ
My mothers car was in a minor accident and it was repainted two days ago, and the orange peel is disgusting.

Have you ever wet sanded paint before?
Have you ever used a rotary buffer?

[EdJ]

Never wet sanded but I have used a rotary buffer, I guess I should leave this to a professional.




Ed.

[armand]

check out the lengths this guy went through to remove orange peel --- AMAZING !

[Mike Phillips]

A quick comment on this...

Note the black paint coming off on his orange cutting pad?

This car must be a single stage finish, assuming this, it's important to note that a major factor that will determine how difficult or how easy it is to remove your sanding marks out of the paint is how hard the paint is.

does this make sense?

The harder the paint, the more difficult it will be to remove your sanding marks.

The softer the paint, the easier it will be to remove your sanding marks.



Generally speaking, single stage black paint is the softest paint there is because when working on a single stage finish, the pigment or colorant will in part determine how hard or how soft the paint is.

The pigment for most black paint is called carbon black, which is basically soot, like in your chimney.

The point being, if this were a clear coat, or a single stage white paint, it would be a lot more difficult to remove defects out of.

Also, if you have ever done any wet sanding at all, you know that a camera cannot capture whether all of the sanding marks are 100% removed, let alone tracers.

Just a word of caution before everyone gets all excited and goes out and starts wet sanding their car's paint!

[gregcavi]

totally agreed mike! Wetsanding is not something to mess around with. I highly reccoemnd getting a test panel and trying it before you hit the car of choice.

Greg

[armand]

These pics are from a guy in London therefore I am assuming they may use a different paint process that we do here in the States. I'm sure there is someone more qualified than I to discuss the difference so I will leave it open to debate/discuss.

I am a "the glass is half full" type of guy and like to think the guy knew exactly what he was doing and had at it. Because the pics were not taken in a body shop does not mean he was any less experienced to tackle a wet sanding project.

But i understand your concern that these pics make it look like a DA and a few products can make you a paint restoration expert and shouldn't be tackled by the inexprienced


+++++++ Kids, don't try this at home or get your parent's permission first ++++++++++

LOL my disclaimer.

[gb387]

Like the photos... really shows what is involved in the process, I have always wanted to give wet sanding a try. It is quite frightening seeing a cars look during the sanding process.

One of these days I am going to pick up a Harbor Freight Buffer and a junkyard panel to try out things.

[explore_02xlt]

i wish i had that skill

[Bence]

armand,

This was the FACTORY PAINT of this Lexus, except the hood & trunklid.

[armand]

Interesting Bence, someone on this thread mentioned it was a 1 stage paint which was the reason for the black showing on your pad. In other words, no clear coat. I would think a factory paint job would be 2 stages.

Does lexus paint procedure vary depending on what country their cars are to be shipped to???? I would venture to say no, but im in the finance biz not the auto paint biz.

Never-the-less I'll still give you for the work you did and the picture documentary you provided.

Thanks Bence

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by armand
Interesting Bence, someone on this thread mentioned it was a 1 stage paint which was the reason for the black showing on your pad. In other words, no clear coat. I would think a factory paint job would be 2 stages.

Does Lexus paint procedure vary depending on what country their cars are to be shipped to???? I would venture to say no, but I'm in the finance biz not the auto paint biz.

Never-the-less I'll still give you for the work you did and the picture documentary you provided.

Thanks Bence

Here's what I was trying to point out, the below picture was cropped out of one of the original pictures on the first page of this thread...




Two things,

1) Before everyone starts wet sanding their car's paint to remove orange peel, re-read the 7th post down on the first page.

2) If you should decide to wet sand your car and then try to remove your sanding marks using a dual action polisher, first practice/experiment in a small area and make sure you can remove your sanding marks in a small area. Don't start out sanding down the entire car and then check to see if your product selection, your tool and your skill level are able to remove the sanding marks. Always perform a Test Spot, make sure you can make a small area look good before attempting to wet sand and buff out the entire car.