Slight orange peel in paint.
Slight orange peel in paint. Ok, I got my car back from the body shop about 9 months ago. Bumper, hood, fenders, and doors were all painted due to an accident. Sounds bad doesn't it. Well, it really wasn't that bad. Just a lot of scratches on the doors, and one fender. Other fender, bumper and hood got completely replaced. I noticed the orange peel slightly when I got the car back from the shop, but it didn't bother me too much. Now we got summer here and it is starting to stick out, atleast to me it is. Is there anything I can do. Could I wet sand to help it out a little. Or is it too late for that. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 
Originally Posted by TransAm_00
Ok, I got my car back from the body shop about 9 months ago. Bumper, hood, fenders, and doors were all painted due to an accident. Sounds bad doesn't it. Well, it really wasn't that bad. Just a lot of scratches on the doors, and one fender. Other fender, bumper and hood got completely replaced. I noticed the orange peel slightly when I got the car back from the shop, but it didn't bother me too much. Now we got summer here and it is starting to stick out, atleast to me it is. Is there anything I can do. Could I wet sand to help it out a little. Or is it too late for that. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 107
Likes: 0
From: STL
If you are good with a buffer. You could wet sand and buff the orange peel out of it.
If you do, make sure you keep the area you are sanding wet, use 1500 grit then use buffing compound to get it out. 3M Fast cut, I wouldnt use anything more abbrassive than that, the extra cut will leave noticable scracthes.
Hope this helps
If you do, make sure you keep the area you are sanding wet, use 1500 grit then use buffing compound to get it out. 3M Fast cut, I wouldnt use anything more abbrassive than that, the extra cut will leave noticable scracthes.
Hope this helps
You would have to wet sand. If it's pretty moderate, you'd have to start with 1500 then go to 2000. After that you'd have to get the buffer out, hit it with some compound, then swirl remover, and finally your favorite polish and sealer.
It should be the clear coat. If they had orange peel in the base and then cleared over it, they are a bunch of hacks. If that was the case the panels would have to be resprayed to look right. What color is the car?
BTW: if you try this, you need to be careful. If they only sprayed a couple of coats of clear, you won't have much material to work with.
BTW: if you try this, you need to be careful. If they only sprayed a couple of coats of clear, you won't have much material to work with.
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The color is pewter. In direct sunlight you could not see the orange peel and reflections look good. But when driving and looking out the drivers side mirror, the paint on the door looks foggy. And when in the shade and looking at the doors from outside the car, everything is just blury and reflections don't look right.
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HOPEFULLY all the orange peel is in the clear. That's a relatively easy fix for someone competent and wet sanding and buffing. If the body shop put the base coat on too heavy and got orange peel in it then you're screwed.
On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 107
Likes: 0
From: STL
Orange peel will be in the clear coat, the basecoat needs to be sparyed more along the fluid on the gun choked so it will lay down more uniformed and especially being metallic, if you don't do it right and overlap it incorrectly or have too much fluid coming out and the air not adjusted right, you will get tiger stripes where the metallics "bunched up" Clear the fluid is opened more and is layed down thicker. Body shops will usually put 2-3 coats of clear depending on the shop. I would definetly take it back....it should be warrenty and they should not have any arguments buffing it out for you, its their reputation they have to uphold. If you want to do this yourself you could go up and ask how many coats of clear they put on.
Hope that this cleared some stuff up.
Hope that this cleared some stuff up.
TECH Regular
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 455
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by TransAm_00
Ok, I got my car back from the body shop about 9 months ago. Bumper, hood, fenders, and doors were all painted due to an accident. Sounds bad doesn't it. Well, it really wasn't that bad. Just a lot of scratches on the doors, and one fender. Other fender, bumper and hood got completely replaced. I noticed the orange peel slightly when I got the car back from the shop, but it didn't bother me too much. Now we got summer here and it is starting to stick out, atleast to me it is. Is there anything I can do. Could I wet sand to help it out a little. Or is it too late for that. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 740
Likes: 0
From: Pearland, Texas
Originally Posted by TransAm_00
Ok, I got my car back from the body shop about 9 months ago. Bumper, hood, fenders, and doors were all painted due to an accident. Other fender, bumper and hood got completely replaced. I noticed the orange peel slightly when I got the car back from the shop
After 9 months I don't think a shop will do anything. You should have brought it to their attention sooner.
I wouldnt wetsand it yourself inless you know what your doing, the paint is hard now and it will be alot harder to knock down the high spots which means more sanding then normal and easier to scratch. wetsanding old paint is tricky and you could scratch the **** out of your car and have to have it re cleared.
Take it to a good body shop and have them wetsand the whole car and give it a good buff, should do it for around $200
Take it to a good body shop and have them wetsand the whole car and give it a good buff, should do it for around $200
Thanks for all the help guys. Oh, orange peel is when someone throws an orange at your car and it sticks to it. Serious problems can occur after is has been stuck there for a while. 
Originally Posted by TransAm_00
Thanks for all the help guys. Oh, orange peel is when someone throws an orange at your car and it sticks to it. Serious problems can occur after is has been stuck there for a while.
J/K. Do you know what an actual orange peel looks like, kinda has that texture to it. If a body shop does a real bad job with the paint and clear, that is what your car looks like. Not to the feel, but just when your looking at it from certain angles. 
