Question About Orange Peel On cars

[Mikejl]

Can a car be painted without leaving an orange peel finish? Or does it always require sanding down and buffing to have smooth paint?

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Question About Orange Peel On cars

It can be done, at least close enough that most people wouldn't sand, kind of depends upon your criteria is for perfection.

It requires the painter to have his both and paint system completely dialed-in, I don't know what the specifics of that would be but I've been in body shops where the paint is flat as a board and by flat I don't mean dull I mean flat and orange peel free.

Show cars are usually sanded because the standard is perfection and sanding insures flatness which insures the most distinct reflections.

[Mikejl]

Re: Question About Orange Peel On cars

Thanks Mike. I wasn't sure it could be done. Is this something that a good painter can repeat time after time?

I imagine for show cars the norm is to have done like you recommended in another thread to a forum member:

"... work with your painter to let him know your expectations and then you can together create a plan that includes the painter spraying a few extra coats of clear onto the car and then having someone that knows what they're doing be in charge of the wet-sanding, cutting and polishing work so you don't have orange peel and you don't have swirls and burn-throughs."


Mike

[Black Bart]

Re: Question About Orange Peel On cars

Like Mike said different people have different opinion of what perfection is.
For repaint or body repair of a late model car a good painter can lay it on better than the factory without sanding.

If you want a show car finish it will require sanding.

A show car Finish will cost twice what a normal paint job so if you expect perfection expect to pay for it.

One of the hardest things to do is repair a new car that has orange peel because you want the repaired panel to look like the rest of the car.
To make it match you need to adjust the air pressure so that it will have OP

Some paint for years and still can not spray smooth and flat if you want a good paint job I would suggest you attend a car show and ask who in your area is a good painter.

[jfelbab]

Re: Question About Orange Peel On cars

Not too sure about the ability to uniformly paint the whole vehicle with absolutely no OP. Lexus has a very advanced painting system that monitors the process in real time and yet they wet sand the LS to achieve the flawless finish. I think wetsanding is the way to go to achieve the ultimate OP free finish.

BTW, if anyone wants to see just how good paint should look take a drive by your local Lexus dealerships and look at the new LS. This is the best OEM paint I have ever seen, bar none.

[Holden_Caulfield04]

Re: Question About Orange Peel On cars

I think part of the issue is that the new paints are water-based, and they go on like a paste. It's much different than older paints with a higher solvent level. So, when they are sprayed they drip and it gives the OP texture. At least that's the way it's been explained to me.

I think it is possible for a good painter to do work with OP, but probably not with the water-based paint.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Question About Orange Peel On cars

Guess I should clarify, I was only referring to custom painters, not assembly lines, not production shops. Only custom painters have the financial incentive, the labor incentive, (or the lack thereof), and the pride they take in their craft to dial in their system to produce flat finishes.

As for getting this discussion into specific types of paints that's way outside my field of expertise and I'm wise enough to not even try to go down that road.

[Black Bart]

Re: Question About Orange Peel On cars

I think part of the issue is that the new paints are water-based, and they go on like a paste. It's much different than older paints with a higher solvent level. So, when they are sprayed they drip and it gives the OP texture. At least that's the way it's been explained to me.

I think it is possible for a good painter to do work with OP, but probably not with the water-based paint.

That is why some car manufactured in Europe have good paint they do not have the VOC laws that the US manufactures do.

State that I live in allows us to use the high VOC paint for repainting.

That may not last though big brother is always changing the law.

[Holden_Caulfield04]

Re: Question About Orange Peel On cars

That is why some car manufactured in Europe have good paint they do not have the VOC laws that the US manufactures do.

State that I live in allows us to use the high VOC paint for repainting.

That may not last though big brother is always changing the law.

Would the laws not still apply for cars sold in the US? I know the VW TDI models were not sold for one year because of some environmental laws and they had to be improved, and as far as I know they are made in Brazil/Mexico/Germany.

[the other pc]

Re: Question About Orange Peel On cars

There are different laws in different places for different reasons.

Some regulations are for controlling emissions from the vehicle (i.e. the tailpipe) when/where you're driving it. The ones about paint VOC's are for controlling emissions from the factory when/where it's being manufactured.

There are also regulations about what's leftover in a car after it's taken off the road and disposed of.

As for orange peel, applied solvent content is only one of many parameters that affect the final results. The whole process is far too complex to make simplistic blanket statements about this or that cause.


PC.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Question About Orange Peel On cars

.

As for orange peel, applied solvent content is only one of many parameters that affect the final results. The whole process is far too complex to make simplistic blanket statements about this or that cause.


PC.

That's why I don't ever get into the chemistry behind the paint and the specifics behind the process, it's out of my range of knowledge.

Sometimes it better to not say a thing and have everyone think you're a fool than to say something and confirm it.

[Black Bart]

Re: Question About Orange Peel On cars

Orange peel can be caused by improper mixing ratio Holding the gun at the wrong distance wrong air pressure adjustment improper hand movement speed.

But to answer the OP question YES it is possible to repaint your car without OP find a good custom shop and tell them what you expect..


I'm a bigger fool than Mike but I bet I have done more painting than he has.