WHAT IS ORANGE PEEL & HOW DO YOU FIX IT?

While there is a short answer and a long answer, we hope to give a thorough answer that will give you information on what “Orange Peel” is, how it is created, and options on dealing with it.

 Orange Peel is the term commonly used to describe a finish that is not very flat for one reason or another. If you look at the surface of an unpeeled orange, you’ll notice the surface isn’t really smooth, rather it has obvious higher points and lower points.

When liquids are sprayed (primer-sealer, base-coat, clear-coat, etc), they are mixed with pressurized air in order to propel and “atomize” the liquid, that is, break the liquid into many small tiny droplets that will reach the intended surface. The smaller the droplets and the more smooth the airflow propelling them, the more even and smooth the painted surface will look. Also, as the little droplets land on the surface, they flatten out (due to the adhesive bond on the surface, gravity, or other means of creating attraction) and the flatter they settle before they dry; the smoother the finish will be. The more flat the paint lays, the more clear and crisp the reflections will be. This is also why an outstanding paint job is referred to as looking “like glass.”
Despite the optical benefits of a flat surface, almost all modern/new cars have a lot of orange peel when compared to cars manufactured just 10 years ago. While dealership sales representatives from various manufacturers have been quoted as claiming this is done on purpose “to help hide scratches”, the truth of the matter is likely much deeper than that.

TIME TO GET INTO A LITTLE CHEMISTRY

Volatile Organic Compounds & Pollution (V.O.C.) laws have become more and more strict across North America and Europe over the last several decades as national and local governments try to curb pollution and the long-term effects of greenhouse gases. While this may be a good thing for our health and our future generation’s health. More strict laws mean less aesthetically appealing paint jobs out of the factory as paint restrictions allow for less and less V.O.C.’s. Volatile Organic Compounds are the parts of the paint that hold the pigment molecules in an even distribution to help transport the pigment through the air in a liquid form and onto the surface. Once the paint reaches the surface, the V.O.C.’s evaporating from the finish leaving the paint to become solid and dry. If you’ve ever been around a paint shop, you’ve likely smelled the V.O.C.’s in the air as they evaporate giving off a strong solvent scent. V.O.C.’s are used as carriers of particles: they suspend pigment agents, urethane, polyurethane, and other molecules that will be left behind once they evaporate. They also allow the sprayable liquid to be much less viscous: that is they thin out the liquid solution to be less like honey and more like water. The thinner the liquid is, the easier it is to atomize as it comes out of the paint gun. The more V.O.C.’s in the liquid, the longer it will take to become sticky/tacky, and the longer it will take to dry. The longer it takes for the paint to dry, the flatter the paint will end up as the drops have plenty of time to settle into a flat surface. While it could be common for paints of the past to have 75%+ V.O.C. content (that is, 75% or more of what you spray will evaporate away), many laws today force certain products to have up to a maximum 50% V.O.C. content or even less.

The Future of Automotive Paints: Water-Based?

Some local governments/municipalities will begin to force OEM paint applications to use water-based base-coats (the thin layer of pigment under the clear-coat that provides color) or have already begun forcing manufacturers toward this new technology. While the benefits include a large drop in pollutants in the air as well as a very fast drying time, these paints are still having the kinks worked out. Due to the clear-coats being used are still solvent-based, they don’t completely bond in the same way as the water-based layer they lay on top of. Some owners of newer cars complain of abnormally high stone-chipping issues, but it is hard to prove this is due to the new paint technology or not. In the future, we may very well see a move to completely phase out solvent-based products, but for now, clear-coats continue to be solvent-based as well as most “refinishing” products (body-shop AKA after-market paint jobs.)

Now that you know what orange peel is and a little about how it is formed, we’ll discuss how to get rid of orange peel

Factory paint jobs applied by robots from the factory aren’t sanded after the clear-coat is applied. This is the opposite of what happens with hand-sprayed paint jobs. Some low-volume manufacturers (think certain exotic and super-car brands), and the refinishing industry (paint shops and body shops), often sand down the clear coat to eliminate excessive orange peel, dust specks, or other paint defects after painting. If your car needs to have a panel resprayed because of an accident, a good paint shop will not only work hard to match the color closely but will work hard to mimic the amount of orange peel in the rest of the finish. Only when color AND orange peel match will the paint finish appear nearly factory new.

Please be aware that sanding in any capacity is very risky. If you question your ability, equipment, or overall skill, we at Revive Auto Detailing & Paint Correction would highly recommend you take your prized possession to an expert (We would love to help). While the benefits can be huge, the risk of making a mistake can often lead to a ruined paint job that can only be fixed through repainting the damaged area.

Wet-sanding (or “color sanding” if you’re old school) is the recommended way to eliminate deep defects, orange peel, or paint defects from a painted surface. This method will ensure a more constant finish and is overall safer than dry-sanding. Needed tools and equipment include a Dual Action buffer/sander, sanding disks/paper, and a lubrication agent. We at Revive Auto Detailing & Paint Correction use a rinse-less wash as our lubricant. While wet-sanding can be used for multiple reasons, we’re going to focus on removing orange peel in this section.

The lubrication used in wet-sanding is traditionally water, but many people will use things they feel give them a better lubricating medium like a diluted car wash shampoo such as Optimum No Rinse, baby shampoo, or clay lube. We would recommend against anything that evaporates quickly as you want to make sure your lubrication lasts as long as possible, so keep your mineral spirits and alcohol in the cabinet.

Sanding paper/disks that are often used for wet-sanding cars don’t need to be as aggressive as the types used on wood or other finishes. Just as swirls can easily be installed in your clear-coat with the wrong type of care, sanding clear-coat only requires some of the finest grits available. When looking to spot wet-sand a problem area or an entire car, we often reach first for our 3,000 grit paper or disks. Just as with polishing, it is always good practice to use the least aggressive method and work your way to a more aggressive grit as needed. While there are many brands and types of sanding paper available, we recommend Meguiar’s Unigrit papers for their ability to leave an extremely consistent finish if you need to work by hand. For disks, we’ve really been enjoying 3M brand 3,000 grit sanding disks. They have a thin layer of foam backing which helps them to contour to body panels, and we believe they perform extremely well.

A dual-action polisher/buffer gives a more consistently inconsistent finish, which is exactly what you’re looking to achieve. The marks left after wet-sanding should look more like controlled chaos than any uniform marks. Uniform sanding marks are often a sign something was done wrong because they are usually caused by inconsistent pressure being spread on the surface. Rather than this happening, you want the entire finish to be of a uniform depth.

A uniform chaotic finish is an indicator that you’re achieving even material removal. Any variation in material removal may result in an uneven finished appearance. In other words, if you remove more orange peel from one area than another, the difference will stand out and will continue to be an eyesore. The goal is to achieve a uniform finish that will provide a consistent reflection.

While we don’t recommend any novice try wet-sanding if you do decide to learn, make sure to take your time and make sure to properly polish out the area afterward.

Pricing an orange peel job is extremely difficult to do over the phone or through email. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to orange peel. Each vehicle has its own unique set of circumstances. Please send us an email, text, or call and we would be more than happy to remove your orange peel problem or even walk you through the process if you choose to try to do it yourself.