Can Orange Peel be removed from my car?
October 2nd, 2006 by Danny the web stig
Yes, but it’s probably best not to!
“Orange Peel” is the name commonly given to a slightly rippled effect that is found on paintwork. The paint is sprayed on at the factory and because it is wet and the spray guns are pushing out a lot of air, the airstream leaves a visable rippled effect which is actually nothing like an orange!
Orange peel is a very old expression from back the days when cars were painted very differently from they way they are now. Different paints were used, different techniques were used, and very good paintwork on high end cars would be as smooth as glass while bad paint jobs really would look like orange peel or worse.
These days different paints and techniques mean that paint is applied much thinner than it used to be. Most factories use computer controled robots to apply paint and you certainly won’t find anybody rubbing down between coats! The robots are able to apply the optimal amount of paint meaning that it goes on much thinner than it used to… and this is the main reason that your paintwork is best left alone.
To remove the orange peel effect would require flattening (wet sanding) and polishing, each stage removes a thin layer of paint meaning your paintwork would become dangerously thin, especially near the edges of panels where the paintwork tends to be thiner to begin with. This means that not only is there is a danger of buffing or sanding through the paintwork, but your car would be left even more prone to scratches going all the way through your paintwork.
It’s also worth considering that a mirror flat finish has to be maintained that way or else it will show every blemish, it may also show up flaws in the paintwork it’s self, and even slight ripples in the cars bodywork caused by the pressed steel manufacturing process. It will certainly make tiny dents and dings a whole lot easier to see.
All-in-all, it’s really not worth doing. There is a huge amount of work involved and extra special care has to be taken at every step of the way, meaning a lot of man-hours, it would probably end up cheaper to repaint the car!
However, if you have had some bodywork done and the panel that has been repainted is a bit more ‘orange peel’ than the rest of the car, it is worth having it flattened and polished to make it match the rest of the car.
The way to get a mirror finish
If you have seen cars with a totally smooth mirror like finish, it’s usually because they have had a custom paint job. Sometimes the paint is applied extra thickly, sometimes old style cellulose paint is used and this is thick enough to allow plenty of wet sanding and machine polishing. I have seen this work carried out on a Sunbeam Alpine a number of years ago. After a silver base coat, 6 coats of thick lacqure were applied and flattened between each coat. The end result was truely astonishing, but this is a totally different kettle of fish to taking a modern car with factory finish and trying to atchieve the same result!
Here’s what CAN be done
When your car leaves the factory, it is waxed and that is about it. Your paintwork is actually rough when seen under a microscope, and because it is rough it absorbs and refracts light. Machine polishing will remove some of this roughness and actually make it shinyer than when brand new. It won’t remove the ‘orange peel’ effect but it will stun and amaze your friends.
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