newtlicious

Clay bar does not fix or even diminish orange peel since it doesn't remove any clearcoat. I color sanded my 2004 Mazda RX8 with 2500 grit wet paper and buffed it to perfection. No more OP. The only way to remove the high spots is with an abrasive and a flat surface, i.e. a sanding block. You can't even buff it out. Sanding and rotary buffing is the only way to eliminate this. I would be nervous attempting something like this on the SMC plastic panels on the 'Vette. The plastic doesn't dissipate heat as well as metal and could cause problems when buffing.

Periokid

If you are comparing Porsche paint to Corvette paint, there is no comparison. Not even close. Porsche paint is much better.

LarsAtTheBeach

I'm sorry, but unless you car is awful looking (I doubt it) leave it the heck alone...

Nothing you can do will be as good as a factory paint job.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not one of these **** types who detail the undercarriage of a car. I keep my rides clean, polished and waxed.

I may be alone here, why would anyone mess with the paint on a new $50K - $60K+ Vette.

Lars

DebtCraft

I was checking out a S Class Merc in a parking lot the other month that had a really pretty metallic dark green paint job. I noticed it from a bit of a distance and as I got up to it, I noticed signficant OP all on the side of it. You find it on many cars, even $90k premium German vehicles.

I bet nobody other than you will notice it.

Now go drive that thing and enjoy it.

sal3coach

Clay bar and Zaino it, wait a month and see if it still bothers you.

lt1george

I've seen some terrible orange peel on Porsche GT2's. Just gotta be luckly to get a "good one". Leave the orange peel alone on your new Corvette before some expert screws it up. Drive it. Enjoy it. Just my .02. No offense to body shop workers, but you guys know some sports car types are never happy. Myself included. Save the Wave.>George

antoniopaolo

Unless its so bad you can't stand it. If its that bad you should discuss it with the authorities as to what to do. i.e. your wife, or the dealership. Sorry I shouldn't joke. I hope you arrive at a decision that you find comfortable or at least acceptable. Gd. luck.

antoniopaolo

KLO

Working in the detail industry for years, I have seen very, very few cars from the factory that did not have some orange peel. To me Lexus is about the best I have seen with lack of peel.

Why does most all factory cars have orange peel? because factory cars are not color sanded and buffed all over after the final coat of clear.

Can you color sand a factory painted car? Yes Is it a common thing? No Reason: because factory painted cars are not shot with coat after coat after coat of clear like custom painted cars are with the intentions of color sanding off some of those coats of clear to leave a perfectly flat finish.............

Clay bar will do nothing to orange peel.......

jazzlove

Very true, just be careful who you take it to..... I would get an opinion on who's best in the area. I would call Gary at Performance Restorations in San Antonio, 210-599-8377. I would trust his judgement...

tdg911

if I were you I'd keep the factory paint "factory". The paint gauges that we can do not measure on fiberglass but I can say this much most newer cars have at least 1 mil base and 2-3 mils clear. Still not worth wet sanding in my opinion. My Lemans blue c6 has minimal orange peel but some spots are heavier than others. I can live with it. Besides, if anyone is going to come up to my car and start pointing out imperfections in the paint then they can go to hell Cant stand when people just try to pick apart something nice. Jealous

CROSSRAMZ

No offense , but factory clear coat is very thin and if you sand thru it ..you will be very Try matching DSOM in the middle of a hood or fender Open sand scratches on base coat
is strickly forbidden Therefore paint work is then required!
Be prepared to spend lots of money. Want to really be sick, put a new C-6 or any new car in flouresant lites Just drive it and be proud, it's the world of robotic paint jobs.

TEAShea

I compared my C6 with my 2005 Mercedes C55 AMG and my 2004 BMW 545i. I use these cars as show cars in local competitions. The paint on the C6 is generally as good as the Mercedes or BMW. All of the cars have some orange peel - this is normal an unavoidable on factory paint jobs. The only way to have flat paint is to color sand the finish, which is not remotely cost effective for factory paint finishes in this price range.

I did have one small area about 4" x 4" where there was excessive orange peel. My dealer buffed this out and it matches the rest of the car.

The primary consideration for me is that the orange peel is even over the whole car.

TEAShea
from Nebraska

RICS C6

I received my new black convertible a couple of weeks ago and was very disappointed with the amount of orange peel in the paint...especially the rear quarters. My dealer agreed and hammered the factory. After reading all of the posts on the subject, I nervously allowed the dealer's body shop to color sand and polish my black baby. What a difference! The shop used 2500 grit paper and then buffed. After that they polished with swirl remover and ended with wax. I forget the name of the product or system of paint treatment. They put about eight hours into it at the factory's expense. While I was stressed out during the process, I would recommend it. Just make sure you deal with a reputable dealership.

Kreuzen

Guess I lucked out....the paint on my black vert is damn near perfect. As a matter of fact, by picking it up at the factory, I avoided having dealer prep, which in my opinion is one of the biggest headaches/damaging to the new cars finish that you typically are faced with on a new delivery.

VetVetter

Ok. I have read threads concerning "orange peel" for a while ... I have gone out to my car several times to try to discover this ...

So I will just ask - What is "orange peel". Anyone have any pics?

Thanks!

Jbal

Folks;
I realize this might STUPID-just forgive me! Please, someone just define Orange peel!! The paint on my C6 LMB Coupe looks terrific!
Thanks-Jerry

heisnuts

Here's the short answer: When paint has "orange peel" to it, the paint does not "look" smooth. It has the texture of the exterior of an orange. In a perfect world the paint will not only feel like glass, but look as smooth as well.

VetVetter

Ah ... now to go check !! Thanks mate!

branmin

Well, have been over every inch of my LMB and it's damn near perfect, just like the rest of the car....slight tyre squeak, no big deal.. and we might even get a fix on that soon

Jbal

Heisnuts;
Much thanks for the response-I really looked very carefully at the paint on my LMB Coupe, & all looks pretty good. Perhaps, I just got lucky. Thanks Again-Jerry