Removing orange peel
 

My SS was wrecked in January and its been in the body shop for almost two months getting "fixed". Considering the damage, it looks pretty good, BUT...there's a lot of orange peel in the new paint--even more than in the factory paint (which was pretty good actually).

I read Todd's post about removing the orange peel and I'm pretty sure I will have to do it myself as the body shop guys don't seem to be very good at it.

They painted roughly half the car--pretty much the whole right side and roof, trunk, but not the hood. The difference between the remaining factory paint and the "new" paint is pretty obvious. The shop talked me out of repainting the entire car, which saved me about $3K which will now go toward a cam and ported heads.

I'm mostly concerned about taking off too much clear coat and ruining the paint. Is it possible to purchase a paint thickness meter like Todd has for a reasonable price?

Should I let the new paint "cure" for a certain length of time before polishing? Is there any point in claying the new paint? If so, I would clay the entire car because the factory paint side hasn't been clayed for over a year.

Where can I get good pads for my Porter Cable? I have one set from Auto Geek, but I can see I need more as I load up a single pad after less than 1/4 of the car and have to wait for the washed pad to dry before resuming.

I've been using mostly Meguiar's polishes and glazes, but am willing to entertain something else if it gets me the results I want. What's the best for removing orange peel and swirl removal?

I appreciate any help and advice.

Do yourself a favor and let someone do it who knows how to do it.

You can very very fastly screw up your paint if your not 100% good at buffing....

Porter cable will do nothing for orange peel.

Completely agree with the guy above me. Let someone who knows what they're doing tackle this. If you have to ask these questions you aren't ready

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Just a buffer will not remove the orange peel unless you are using a special aggressive pad designed to remove that much material. If you do go that route you will need to be VERY careful if you are not experienced with buffing (like better off letting someone else do it.)

Otherwise you will need to wet sand the peel down to match the factory peel, then buff it out. Again you will need to be careful doing this, especially around any edges. Unless it is something you have done before, I wouldn't recommend learning your way into it on the side of your car.

If you are too aggressive or burn through the clear you will need to re-spray the panel.

Granted, I've only used the PC about 10 times in 4 years, but I'm not totally inexperienced. Years ago, when I was much younger and had a string of performance cars, I used a Craftsman rotary polisher with a 7" lamb's wool bonnet. I never burned any paint, even on fender edges. I also had several black cars and did a good job of eliminating swirls and scratches. I'll just have to see how the final polish from the body shop looks, and may have to find a pro to do it right.

This is an all too common story.

As noted in the posts above, orange peel removal is a different ball game then just polishing paint (although you will need those skills as well to remove the sanding marks, should you wet sand).

Blending orange peel (instead of eliminating it) requires more patience and a steady hand. It is often more difficult to blend orange peel since you have to stop, clean and inspect the finish often).

Removing too much paint, as well as over flattening the paint (making it too smooth and lopsided compared to the factory paint) are your two biggest concerns.

Yes, you can purchase some paint meters that are inexpensive, but they tend to be far less accurate, particularly if they are held at the slightest angles. With paint thickness gauges, you get what you pay for in my experience. The Deflesko brand is top notch.

You want to wait a day or two before polishing. Most bodyshops sand, cut an buff shortly after painting. Keep in mind that the paint will be soft, so polishing will be easier but finishing will be more difficult.

Claying isn't a bad idea, as it will remove some likely overspray from the factory side. The refinished side should be smooth as glass already).

[QUOTE}Where can I get good pads for my Porter Cable? I have one set from Auto Geek, but I can see I need more as I load up a single pad after less than 1/4 of the car and have to wait for the washed pad to dry before resuming.[/QUOTE]

From Autopia-CarCare.com of course! And use your forum discount

Removing orange peel will require either sand paper or special polishing discs that replicate the planing action of sandpaper.

In addition, you will need a good compound and several cutting pads, a good polish and several finishing pads, and a lot of patience.

If you want, give me a call @ 877.855.3125 ext 3202 and I can walk you through the process, answer any questions and/or get you set up with what you need.

I'd rather not go into too much detail here, because this is an advanced process and I would feel more comfortable explaining risks, pros and cons over the phone so you have a good idea before jumping into it.

Thanks Todd. I may call you. I should pick up the car sometime this week, unless the orange peel is so bad I make them fix it. I already called their attention to it and told them they need to polish it better, but they gave me the same old tired line about "...that's what you get with today's water-based paints...". Well duh...the factory paint is water-based isn't it? It doesn't look that bad.

Sure, let me know. I'm here :)

If it was me and the new paint is that orange peeled I would not pay the body shop. Did you chose the shop or did your insurance company. If the insurance company chose the shop I would really complain. If you picked the shop make them match the finish on the car. The body shop I use would never send that out like that.