Clear Mirror Reflection

[ADPGT]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

Yeah thats what I thought. Anyways, I will go buy some M205 and use UC to clean the paint up with my D/A that should arrive in a couple days. I'll be sure to ask if I need any help.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

Thanks all. Is it possible to rip the clear coat off down to the beginning of the base coat? And then after that, put a new layer of clear on top of it?

I will obviously have this done by some shop if it actually can be done.

In theory, maybe. In reality, why? Even if you could find a shop that could do this, or would even be willing to do it, the cost to have it done properly would be several thousand dollars. Honestly, the paint looks good and healthy as is and any attempt to repaint could lead to a lesser overall finish than what you already have. Unless you spend serious money to have the car repainted. But again, why?

This appears to be a very clean Mustang, but it's essentially a bone stock, mass production vehicle. Yes, it appears to be in fantastic shape and from a strictly personal perspective I happen to love the color, love the wheels - it is a great looking car. It may well be your pride and joy, and a fantastic weekend therapy vehicle for you, but is it really worth putting a ton of money into what is an otherwise perfectly "normal" paint job?

What are you goals with the car? Are you planning on modifying it heavily and showing it? Or do you just want a really, really nice looking finish on it? If the former, and you're prepared to spend a pile of cash, then do it right and have the whole car stripped and fully resprayed, including enough clear that it can safely be sanded 100% flat. And if you have those funds available to you why not take a shot at the process we outlined in our post above and see where that gets you first? We're willing to be that, if done properly, you'll be extremely pleased with the level to which this existing finish can be taken.

[cd36]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

I don't know if it will make you feel any better, but that is pretty minor orange peel compared to some vehicles I've seen.

[ADPGT]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

Thanks all. Is it possible to rip the clear coat off down to the beginning of the base coat? And then after that, put a new layer of clear on top of it?

I will obviously have this done by some shop if it actually can be done.

[Ravi_1992]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

The shine doesn't look bad, I would say more 50% of the cars on the road have orange peel so don't feel bad

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

Yup that's orange peel!

Looks like you did produce a pretty good clear reflection, except for the orange peel.

Your Mustang needs to be wet sanded, if your unable to do it properly yourself then I would shop around your area and find a reputable detailer that can do it the right way!

See our post above this - it is NOT recommended to wet sand factory paint in order to remove orange peel. There simply is not enough clear coat present to allow for long term overall health of the paint.

Consider this: let's say you decide to ignore the manufacturers warnings (not Meguiar's but the car manufacturer) and you have the paint wet sanded and buffed and you manage to stay within that 0.5 mil max removal window. You'll most likely pull very close to that limit in order to eliminate the orange peel. But now what? What happens if you get a defect of some sort in the future? You can't buff it out now since you've already buffed away the majority of the UV protection present in the clear coat (the UV screeners tend to migrate to the surface while the clear is curing) and any further buffing is going to seriously compromise the integrity of the clear.

Wet sand and buff factory clear coat and you are essentially done for the life of the car - you can't do any more serious defect correction on that paint. Ever.

[nick98338]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

The last picture, of the driver's side door, below the door handle and around the door lock... *that* is orange peel.

[Underdawg736]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

Yup that's orange peel!

Looks like you did produce a pretty good clear reflection, except for the orange peel.

Your Mustang needs to be wet sanded, if your unable to do it properly yourself then I would shop around your area and find a reputable detailer that can do it the right way!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

What should I do now to get it fixed?

It is generally not a good idea to "fix" orange peel on factory paint because the only way to truly correct the condition is to wet sand and then buff it out with a rotary buffer. The problem with that is:

• Wet sanding is a highly advanced technique that should only be done by someone with a lot of experience
• Rotary buffing, the follow up to remove wet sanding marks, is also an advanced process that should not be entered into lightly
• Wet sanding removes, potentially, a lot of paint. Rotary buffing as a follow up removes a fair bit more.
• Your factory clear coat is only about 2 mils thick - that is 2/1000 of an inch thick, which is as thin as it sounds.
• Virtually every auto manufacturer will tell you that removing more than 0.5 mil of clear coat will lead to premature clear coat failure. Ford recommends the removal of no more than 0.3 mils on their newer vehicles - that is 3/10,000 of an inch!!
• Your orange peel is deeper than any of this - do NOT attempt to wet sand it to remove or "fix" it.

Here's what you can do, however, to maximize the reflections in this paint:

• Clay the surface to remove all above surface bonded contaminants
• Remove all swirls, fine scratches, etchings, stains and other below surface defects with a D/A buffer (not a rotary, a D/A like Meguiar's G110v2 or the Porter Cable 7242XP) and something like SwirlX or Ultimate Compound (depending on how responsive the paint is)
• Refine the finish with M205 using a finishing pad on the D/A. You can work this product for quite some time and gain a lot of clarity to the finish
• Top everything off with a couple thin coats of NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0

Medium to dark gray metallic clear coat paint can often look really deep and wet with the above process. The metal flake really pops with the above process and the finish takes on a level of clarity that is really impressive. Yes, the texture of the orange peel will still be there, but you won't mind quite as much!

[Murr1525]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

Make it shiny and learn to live with it.....

Factory paint jobs dont have thick enough paint to safely remove it.

Think of it as texture....

[ADPGT]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

What should I do now to get it fixed?

[Murr1525]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

Yup.

[ADPGT]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

One More,



Is it orange peel then?

[ADPGT]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

Hey guys,

Sorry for the late response. I had my son take some pictures of the car and here they are.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Clear Mirror Reflection

Sounds like a bad case of orange peel.However pics would help out greatly.