Does anybody else's car show signs of orange peeling?

[BrokenVert]

Just what the title says. I hand wash my car once every week or two and wax it once a month. I noticed after I clayed and re waxed last thursday; my trunk, hood, and both quater panels are horribly orange peeled. Do I have a massive paint defect?

I would love to hear fellow SGM owners chime in.

[1013mm]

do you really need to wax that much? I do mine every 3-4 months.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by jzhang

do you really need to wax that much? I do mine every 3-4 months.

I like to be cautious. Especially because of the winters here.

[jkp1187]

Sorry, but what is "orange peeling" with regard to paint?

Any pictures?

[Linoleum87]

does this mean lots of tiny orange specks all over the car?

i have that on mine, and couldnt get all of them off even using clay. Im thinking about getting a polisher later this summer and removing them with that by doing a full polish in the fall.

[JohnL135I]

The orange peel is normal. Hate to say this, but this is the quality of the process/paint. There is nothing you can do about the orange peel also.

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by JohnL135I

The orange peel is normal. Hate to say this, but this is the quality of the process/paint. There is nothing you can do about the orange peel also.

Correct, most modern cars have orange peel due to the new "enviornmently friendly" paints and processes used. I know that some high end car makers actually wet sand the paint in the factory to eliminate orange peel (which is the only thing that can be done to get rid of it).

Also to the OP, it doesn't "develop" per se, it comes that way from the factory. Perhaps it was masked by the wax or glaze you're using.

[135iUSN]

pictures please (:

[BrokenVert]

I will post pictures when I get home tonight. I have SGM tho. I thought that paint was discontinued because it wasn't environmentally friendly.

And I think it was the factory paint job. I compared my decklid to my new rear bumper. The bumper (which was painted last wednesday) doesn't have any orange peel.

I can't explain it.


And to all those who don't know what Orange peel is...

Orange peel is a certain kind of finish that may develop on painted and cast surfaces.[1] The texture resembles the bumpy surface of the skin of an orange (fruit) hence the name.

Gloss paint sprayed on a smooth surface (such as the body of a car) should also dry into a smooth surface. However, various factors can cause it to dry into a bumpy surface resembling the texture of an orange peel. The orange peel phenomenon can then be smoothed out with ultra-fine sandpaper, but it can be prevented altogether by changing the painting technique or the materials used. Orange peel is typically the result of improper painting technique, and is caused by the quick evaporation of thinner, incorrect spray gun setup (e.g., low air pressure or incorrect nozzle), spraying the paint at an angle other than perpendicular, or applying excessive paint.

[FMINUS]

All BMWs have OP. Thats just how it is!

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by FMINUS

All BMWs have OP. Thats just how it is!

Well that just sucks...

[135iUSN]

how is that considered OK - my 23k, 27k and 31k Honda never showed signs of whats being described here... totally unacceptable. if I were to encounter it.. it will be fixed...

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by 135iUSN

how is that considered OK - my 23k, 27k and 31k Honda never showed signs of whats being described here... totally unacceptable. if I were to encounter it.. it will be fixed...

My $50k Porsche had it......maybe it's prevalant in German cars?

[135iUSN]

I feel like I'm in a bad dream... and you accept this orange crap.. sorry, but I don't, I didn't pay over 40k for an orange peel.. period..

where did I put that damn vodka bottle...

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by 135iUSN

how is that considered OK - my 23k, 27k and 31k Honda never showed signs of whats being described here... totally unacceptable. if I were to encounter it.. it will be fixed...

Yes they do, but chances are they have more metallic flake, which makes orange peel harder to see. It's not unacceptable as 99.99% of cars on the road have massive orange peel. Unless your car is color sanded between each coat of primer and paint, including the clear, your car will have noticeable orange peel. Last I checked, only Maybachs, Bentley Arnages and Rolls Royces had color sanding done at the factory. Ferraris, Porsches, Aston Martins etc all have noticeable orange peel.

It's a fairly common mistake of auto body shops to not account for factory orange peel and spray paint on with less OP than factory. Some shops seem to take pride in spraying better quality than the factory, but sadly, it just makes identifying repair work much easier. Finding a shop that takes OP into account is much harder, but usually worth the trouble.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by 135iUSN

I feel like I'm in a bad dream... and you accept this orange crap.. sorry, but I don't, I didn't pay over 40k for an orange peel.. period..

where did I put that damn vodka bottle...

Your Alpine White is non-metallic, which will show defects more clearly than a metallic finish. But if it makes you feel any better, there's an orange Murcielago convertible down the street from me that has just as much orange peel as either of my BMW's, and it cost a little more than $40k.

[135iUSN]

glass #2

[BForbes]

IMO, Orange peel is unacceptable on a 40k+ car. I'm priviledged enough to spend a lot of time around premium cars but BMW's seem to have it the most. I still think its a small price to pay.

Here is Orange Peel on an E90 M3.

[135iUSN]

humm - thanks for posting.. (:

[Red Bread]

Wow, BForbes, that is awful! I've seen bad orange peeling, but that is probably the worst I've seen yet. Are those raw photos, or were they retouched to bring that out?

My Jet Black 135i isn't nearly as bad as that, except for possibly on the plastic bumpers or the door sills. Have you seen other BMW's with similarly bad orange peel?

[TP 135i]

I have very slight orange-peel on my SGM. If you don't look real close you can't notice it.....It's nowhere near as dimpled as the M3 pics above.

FYI...My wife's 2006 Cayman S is Black Metallic and has no orange-peel that I can see.

[Jumpman]

Once I developed an eye for detecting orange peel, I started noticing that basically all modern cars have it, and have it pretty bad. Sometimes a car will not appear to have any at first glance, but if you get the right angle on it, orange peel city. It sucks but that's how it is. I'm skeptical of anyone who says there car doesn't have orange peel.