orange peel in paint

killer454 · 10-09-2009, 10:28 PM

im painting my 1980 vett,first time i have painted a car.
my question is-is orange peel normal for a base coat/clear coat paint system?

my front clip cameout shiny but i have to wet sand to get it to look smooth.i did my door and now it looks very good but their is still little spec spots in it scattered throughout the door.do i have to keep sanding till the clear is perfectly smooth,what about these little spec spots from the orange peel.

i did not realize i would have to do this much wetsanding on this car to get that mirror finish.

thanks for the advice guys

markids77 · 10-09-2009, 10:39 PM

Some surface texture is normal for hand applied finishes. I can generally level the surface of my jobs using 1500 as a first color sanding followed by 2000, then polish. I used to paint professionally, not so for 25 years though. What grit is needed for you to level the surface? If more than 1000 grit is required please post photos taken from oblique angles to the paint so we can suggest gun adjustments to improve your surface finish. If you worry about "cut through", add an extra wet coat of clear; then there's more to sand/polish.

markids77 · 10-09-2009, 10:40 PM

And yes, you need to sand to uniform, dull flatness before polish to get a smooth mirror result. HTH!!!

killer454 · 10-09-2009, 10:44 PM

well im starting with 1200 and then moving to 2500 for finishing it up.

then i use a 3m micropolish and then the 3m polisher.

i have one door done but if you put your face right up to the door you can see little specs scattered throughout the door.(i think i need to sand more on the door to get these out of it or is this normal and should just leave them in it?

markids77 · 10-09-2009, 10:50 PM

If you paid a shop to paint it you should expect perfection. Attaining perfection in your first respray might mean painting it a couple times before you are happy. If the tiny specs bother you, sand some more. If you cut through the clear you will see a "halo" effect after you polish... then you will need to degrease, resand, reclear and repeat as required. Is the finish nice enough to not drive you nuts looking at it? If yes you're done. If no, keep sanding!

markids77 · 10-09-2009, 10:58 PM

A good way to tell if you have sanded enough before polishing is to obtain a rubber squeegee from your paint supplier... they are sold as "spot putty" application squeegees. After you think it's flat, run water over the area then squeegee it clean with the applicator. In good light any imperfections left in the surface will "glow"... be shiny in appearance. A smooth area with no imperfections will appear uniformly dull. Then you know it's cut flat and ready for the next grit or polish.

killer454 · 10-09-2009, 11:02 PM

markids thanks for the advice

and im going to sand some more these spec are driving me crazy right now this is my first paint job and i want it perfect.

thanks for the help i have read your post and understand them completly and now i know what i need to do.

thanks for the advice on my first paint job

markids77 · 10-09-2009, 11:11 PM

It is a lot of work, but when you have it right you will be proud to say you did it yourself. Be patient. Expect a mistake or two. Learn, redo and press on... then go out and get "best paint" awards at the next cruise night, or concourse!