Who has been successful removing orange peel? I'm talking about a 2000 GM made product, factory paint. Are you able to knock it down with a rotary and compound or do you have to wet sand? Would you remove too much clear coat by the time you leveled the orange peel? I don't have a paint thickness cage.
Wet Sanding
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Suprchargd
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- Nov 9, 2006
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badazta87 said:
Do you have to use a rotary or can a PC with an aggresive compund and a high cut pad work?
TOGWT
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- Dec 4, 2006
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This kind of work should only be undertaken by a very experienced enthusiast or a professional detailer, the paint sections / panels that are difficult and involve risk are usually those that are close to the edges of a panel (as this is were paint is usually thinnest) or highly contoured areas. Flat areas like the trunk, hood or roof involve minimal risk.
Wet-sanding levels the paint (and removes orange peel, harsh acidic or alkaline marks, etc) it removes approximately 0.025- 0.03 Mils (a Mil is 1/1000th of an inch) of paint from the vehicle using 2000 -grit finishing paper, Bear in mind that a clear coat has a thickness of 1.5 – 2.0 Mils, removing more that 0.3 – 0.5 Mils of clear coat may cause premature paint film failure. As a point of reference a sheet of Saran wrap measures 0.95 Mils
A digital paint thickness gauge will allow you to measure the film thickness of the paint system which includes the e-coat, primer, base coat (colour) and clear coat, total thickness is usually 4.0 – 6.0 Mils. Check the paint system both before and after wet sanding and this will tell you how much paint has been removed. For these reasons all car manufacturers now specify that the paint thickness be measured in 0.1mil, or 1/1000th of an inch before and after any wet sanding or buffing. The following are the maximum allowable clear coat reductions the major USA car manufacturers will allow: Chrysler – 0.5 mils; Ford – 0.3 mils; GM – 0.5 mils without compromising their warranty
Caution- It is possible to wet-sand orange peel, but if you try to eliminate it completely you risk severely compromising the paint thickness.
Knowledge; [and the proper methodologies are the key to correct automotive detailing]
Wet-sanding levels the paint (and removes orange peel, harsh acidic or alkaline marks, etc) it removes approximately 0.025- 0.03 Mils (a Mil is 1/1000th of an inch) of paint from the vehicle using 2000 -grit finishing paper, Bear in mind that a clear coat has a thickness of 1.5 – 2.0 Mils, removing more that 0.3 – 0.5 Mils of clear coat may cause premature paint film failure. As a point of reference a sheet of Saran wrap measures 0.95 Mils
A digital paint thickness gauge will allow you to measure the film thickness of the paint system which includes the e-coat, primer, base coat (colour) and clear coat, total thickness is usually 4.0 – 6.0 Mils. Check the paint system both before and after wet sanding and this will tell you how much paint has been removed. For these reasons all car manufacturers now specify that the paint thickness be measured in 0.1mil, or 1/1000th of an inch before and after any wet sanding or buffing. The following are the maximum allowable clear coat reductions the major USA car manufacturers will allow: Chrysler – 0.5 mils; Ford – 0.3 mils; GM – 0.5 mils without compromising their warranty
Caution- It is possible to wet-sand orange peel, but if you try to eliminate it completely you risk severely compromising the paint thickness.
Knowledge; [and the proper methodologies are the key to correct automotive detailing]
ryandamartini
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- Sep 22, 2006
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^ I agree. Unless you already know how to do it, I would pay a pro to do it.
Totoland Mach
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- Mar 3, 2006
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Paint Guage-Paint Guage-Paint Guage....can't say it enough!
Doing the sanding I now do on a weekly basis, I wouldn't tackle wet sanding without a) lots of practice on junk body panels or b) an experienced teacher standing right by me. Even with all that, mistakes can, and do happen. Here's a BMW X-5 that I used a guage and didn't measure body ridges. Wet sanded and when I compounded, realized I had gone too far.
Hopefully, this will give you some direction. I have orange peel on a section of my Mach 1 and I'm just gonna live with it.
Toto
Doing the sanding I now do on a weekly basis, I wouldn't tackle wet sanding without a) lots of practice on junk body panels or b) an experienced teacher standing right by me. Even with all that, mistakes can, and do happen. Here's a BMW X-5 that I used a guage and didn't measure body ridges. Wet sanded and when I compounded, realized I had gone too far.
Hopefully, this will give you some direction. I have orange peel on a section of my Mach 1 and I'm just gonna live with it.
Toto
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Totoland Mach
I just about decided to live with the orange peel, unless Santa Claus brings me a thickness gauge for Christmas
I just about decided to live with the orange peel, unless Santa Claus brings me a thickness gauge for Christmas