Success in orange peel reduction or removal?

[WD Pro]

Yes, just to note though - only the photo of the wax pot has anything on the paint. The other photos (1st and 3rd) are ‘bare’ and exactly as ford supplied it with no correction or products from either me or the dealer

WD

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[XS]

It can be minimized. As others pointed out, you're reducing the amount of clear no matter what you do. But, a standard compound and polish, which any new car should be able to withstand easily, will help. Then you could follow it up with a synthetic glaze, which is the thickest filler you can top a paint with. All that said, I don't blame you for passing on the car. I've seen many not-inexpensive cars out there with atrocious orange peel and I, myself, would just pass on dealing with that. Worst offenders I've seen lately are Rams, Chargers, and Mercedes. Absolutely unacceptable from any of those - especially considering a new Ram 2500 is what... $70k on average? It happens to all manufacturers though - comes down to painting conditions (temp, humidity, paint hue and viscosity) - you would think it would be precisely consistent, but it's surprisingly not.

 

[Les]

The roof on my 2012 Roush (Kona Blue) is pretty flat. The front fenders and rear quarter panels not so much. My 2019 Shelby is pretty much the same. I haven’t taken pictures of the Shelby the same way yet. I’ve been detailing cars since 1974 and have wet sanded some cars and polished them out. I would strongly recommend NOT doing that. It will look great for a few years, then it will deteriorate and get faded looking. My HotRod paint was wet sanded to perfection 25 years ago with more than enough clear coat. Paint and body work was $23,500. (Long before retirement) Car was disassembled down to the bear frame. I’ve detailed 4 brand new Mustangs. Driven from the dealer to me. Every one of them needed some form of paint correction. Scratches, scuffs or stains in the clear coat. I don’t attempt to correct orange peal, I know better. A friend of mine had his Mustang wet sanded and clear coated and wet sanded again to perfection about 3 years ago. The car was disassembled (glass, doors, hood and truck) and looks like a show car at a cost of $18,000. The before and after is dramatic—-at a price. I would love to that to my cars but I would have to win the lottery first. (Retired now) My cars are shinier then any new car on the lot at any dealer, measured with a gloss meter. Ya, I would like the paint flatter, but at my age I realize you can’t have everything absolutely perfect. That just leads to a life of frustration!

 

[460Fred]

Something to think about. I have a detail business. You can make it "better" however not perfect.

Great statement in the video.
Yes we can fix it, no we won’t fix it.

 

[Tony_the_Brit]

I guess that I must be weird. I love to drive it but very rarely wash the car. My cars typically get washed twice a year (I do 40-50k) so orange peel isn't really a concern. Now of course, you made me look - the paint job on my DD 14 ex-police Interceptor Utility is a lot better! Oh well - at least it seems to be all one color.

 

[460Fred]

I guess that I must be weird. I love to drive it but very rarely wash the car. My cars typically get washed twice a year (I do 40-50k) so orange peel isn't really a concern. Now of course, you made me look - the paint job on my DD 14 ex-police Interceptor Utility is a lot better! Oh well - at least it seems to be all one color.

Tony
You may want to rethink your paint care practice.
I’ve learned quite a bit about vehicle paint care the last few months. Believe me I’m not at all anal about it but I do care for my vehicles better than I’ve ever done. Leaving dirt, brake dust and other particulates on your paint flat out destroy it prematurely. Also keep your wheels clean, brake dust will etch your clear coat if left on to long.

 

[2016 GT/CS Laila]

This thread popped up on my weekly email and I feel a bit strange responding as I’m a GT owner ...

Anyhow, although my paint is not free of flaws, with regards to orange peel it’s pretty good. Here’s the roof with zero polishing :

It is completely free of any hint of orange peel :

The lime is also pretty good, this shot is 100% unprepared (I took the car from the dealer unprepared - nothing but a jet wash on the outside) :

The biggest problem I have seen with the mustang is the variance from one car to another.

It’s a worry for us in the U.K. as we don’t really have the option of shopping around from one dealer to another and anything slightly out of the ordinary is a factory order i.e. wait ages and then get what your given ... (or walk away and start again).

At the same time I bought mine there was a black 55 edition (euro ‘special’) and a DHG Bullitt in the showroom. The 55 was horrendous, you could spot defects from a couple of car lengths away. The Bullitt was OK, if you could ignore the chipped paint from a misaligned trunk lid ...

WD

I have to admit, I am amazed at how good the black top comes out compared to the rest of the car. I guess the process is a little better for that coat. Mine looks just like yours.

 

[pilotgore]

Tony
You may want to rethink your paint care practice.
I’ve learned quite a bit about vehicle paint care the last few months. Believe me I’m not at all anal about it but I do care for my vehicles better than I’ve ever done. Leaving dirt, brake dust and other particulates on your paint flat out destroy it prematurely. Also keep your wheels clean, brake dust will etch your clear coat if left on to long.

I disagree. Simply having contaminants sit on the paint isn’t harmful. The method of removal is important however. If your removing large build ups of dirt by anything other than high pressure water, than yes, you’re at risk of damaging the paint if you’re rubbing the contaminants against the paint.

Brake dust will not etch paint/clear. It is possible however for iron particles from the rotor to become embedded in clear and eventually rust, but this is typically rare and pretty superficial.

The less you can touch a painted surface the better.

For reference, I worked at a high end car wash for a few years in college (so I’ve seen what overwashing can do to a paint job), I restore old stuff, I’ve painted my fair share of cars, and I’ve detailed on a professional level for 15 years (including full paint restorations of barn finds.)

The oldest car I’ve restored the paint on was a 1924 Stutz ($180k). It sat in a barn for ~50 years, uncovered, before I got to it. I spent 40 hours detailing the car (interior and exterior) and I brought it back to near perfection. The reason it took so long to detail wasn’t due to the car sitting for 50 years, it was mostly due to the fact that the paint was in poor shape when they parked it long ago.

 

[460Fred]

I disagree. Simply having contaminants sit on the paint isn’t harmful. The method of removal is important however. If your removing large build ups of dirt by anything other than high pressure water, than yes, you’re at risk of damaging the paint if you’re rubbing the contaminants against the paint.

Brake dust will not etch paint/clear. It is possible however for iron particles from the rotor to become embedded in clear and eventually rust, but this is typically rare and pretty superficial.

The less you can touch a painted surface the better.

For reference, I worked at a high end car wash for a few years in college (so I’ve seen what overwashing can do to a paint job), I restore old stuff, I’ve painted my fair share of cars, and I’ve detailed on a professional level for 15 years (including full paint restorations of barn finds.)

The oldest car I’ve restored the paint on was a 1924 Stutz ($180k). It sat in a barn for ~50 years, uncovered, before I got to it. I spent 40 hours detailing the car (interior and exterior) and I brought it back to near perfection. The reason it took so long to detail wasn’t due to the car sitting for 50 years, it was mostly due to the fact that the paint was in poor shape when they parked it long ago.

As far as the body paint is concerned, I’m thinking outside contamination, meaning using the car and not washing it will have more contaminate exposure than sitting in a barn for years. I checked and you are right about the barn dust actually helps protect the paint. The wheels not being cleaned is another story. The only way I’ve discovered to get rid of brake dust that’s been sitting on wheels for quite a while is to either strip paint in extreme cases or wet sand. If you have a quicker, less evasive method I’d like to here it....seriously it would save me a lot of time.

 

[pilotgore]

As far as the body paint is concerned, I’m thinking outside contamination, meaning using the car and not washing it will have more contaminate exposure than sitting in a barn for years. I checked and you are right about the barn dust actually helps protect the paint. The wheels not being cleaned is another story. The only way I’ve discovered to get rid of brake dust that’s been sitting on wheels for quite a while is to either strip paint in extreme cases or wet sand. If you have a quicker, less evasive method I’d like to here it....seriously it would save me a lot of time.

Brake dust sucks, especially on bmws where it tends to build up quickly. If it’s really baked on, I usually go for something like this for agitation: https://www.stonercarcare.com/produ...01/stoner-car-care/cp_/shop-online/wheel-tire

You can use that in conjunction with off the shelf wheel cleaners (professional wheel cleaning products are typically acid based, which makes them more effective but are less user friendly. It will haze aluminum wheels that haven’t been cleared, and can damage paint if left to sit too long.)

If the brake dust is reallly caked on, I’ll spray it with Acid (or whatever other wheel cleaner I have), let it sit 30 seconds or longer, agitate with the wheel pad, or toothbrush , then rinse with water (or reapply and re-agitate without rinsing). I’ll repeate those steps until it’s fully gone. Afterwards I’ll typically hit the wheel with synthetic sealant to make removal easier the next time.

You should think about caked brake dust like baked on food on your dishes at home. The best thing to do is let it soak for a while, agitate to remove whatever layer has been rehydrated, then soak the next layer and the next until you reach the bottom.

Can you wet sand... absolutely. Is it faster.... hell yes it is. Is it harder on the finish of the wheel to wet sand.... you bet it is. Just like anything in detailing, the least abrasive route is the best route, and usually the most time consuming.

pm me if you’re ever looking for detailing help, tips, tricks, or knowledge in general. I’ve had hour long conversations on the phone with several forum members who needed assistance with detailing, and I’m happy to do it. I’m not saying I know everything there is to know about detailing, but I’ve acquired a lot of knowledge over the last 15 years in this field and am happy to pass it onto someone else.

 

[460Fred]

Thank you!
I’m in the mobile wheel repair business in California so wet sanding is probably the way to keep on going. Certain chemicals I can’t get in this AQMD which doesn’t help.

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