Factory Paint - Orange Peel on Purpose?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 409
Likes: 199
From: Bay Area
Factory Paint - Orange Peel on Purpose?
I was watching this AMMO You Tube and right at about 14:45 of this video below he talks about Porsche intentionally paints with the intention of putting some orange peel on the final paint job to help in blending scratches that will inevitably occur. He said polishing to a smooth finish may later show scratches more. This makes me not want to polish to a complete smooth finish. Never really occurred to me. I just assumed that I'd eventually get the paint buffed to a smooth finish but now I'm having my doubts. Interested in whether you guys have thought about this and whether this impacted your decision to get paint correction particularly right when you picked up the car.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 804
Likes: 1,197
From: Iowa City, Iowa - Go Hawks
You can do a "show car" finish (if the car has adequate clear coat thickness) with a show car level cut and buff. It'll be gorgeous but an absolute bear to maintain in that state AND if you continue to try to correct the paint you'll eventually go through the clear and have a real mess on your hands. The factory paint job is pretty good - good enough, in my mind, to live with as is. Minor paint correction prior to ceramic or other coating is not nearly as aggressive as a true cut and buff. Most show car paint jobs have many coats of clear built up to a greater thickness - this is done because the plan is to remove a substantial amount of that clear after painting with color sanding and subsequent cutting / buffing.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 5,241
Likes: 6,305
From: Fairfax County, Virginia
It’s not exactly like that. There is orange peel in every factory paint job from every maker until you get into the realm of Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls….because in those brands they are wet-sanding the paint using microfiber sandpapers to get to the absolute best finishes. You can polish or buff your Porsche until your hands wear out and are not going to get a wet sanded finish. You have to sand the color coats underneath the clears, it would be a major project best left to a Pro painter to get the orange peel out of your car, and effectively it’s a whole new paint job. This is also why custom hot rods look so good, most have an extensive wet sanded paint job on them.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 409
Likes: 199
From: Bay Area
It’s not exactly like that. There is orange peel in every factory paint job from every maker until you get into the realm of Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls….because in those brands they are wet-sanding the paint using microfiber sandpapers to get to the absolute best finishes. You can polish or buff your Porsche until your hands wear out and are not going to get a wet sanded finish. You have to sand the color coats underneath the clears, it would be a major project best left to a Pro painter to get the orange peel out of your car, and effectively it’s a whole new paint job. This is also why custom hot rods look so good, most have an extensive wet sanded paint job on them.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 804
Likes: 1,197
From: Iowa City, Iowa - Go Hawks
Thanks for explaining that. I'm satisfied with the factory paint truth be told. I just use Griot's hand wax constantly and it looks great. At first I was curious about the ever so slight wavyness in the paint but then grew to tolerate it. I don't think I have the time or skill to maintain a custom hot rod finish anyway.
Drifting
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 2,257
Likes: 2,092
In the old car market they use the term "looks good at 10 or 5 feet" With a new car I use 1 ft as the parameter. I think getting rid of the orange peel and all that special treatment is if you want it looking good at 4 inches. (A little tongue in cheek)
Trending Topics
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 327
Likes: 93
From: Wisconsin
Porsche paint orange peel
My clean, 44k mile 997.2 C4S Cabriolet was wet-sanded and the paint was polished smooth some time ago. It is being repainted as part of its restoration/ updating/ modifcation project. It's a high-end paint job.
The new finish will have light OEM orange peel that replicates the factory finish.
The new finish will have light OEM orange peel that replicates the factory finish.
I was watching this AMMO You Tube and right at about 14:45 of this video below he talks about Porsche intentionally paints with the intention of putting some orange peel on the final paint job to help in blending scratches that will inevitably occur. He said polishing to a smooth finish may later show scratches more. This makes me not want to polish to a complete smooth finish. Never really occurred to me. I just assumed that I'd eventually get the paint buffed to a smooth finish but now I'm having my doubts. Interested in whether you guys have thought about this and whether this impacted your decision to get paint correction particularly right when you picked up the car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6isLvfvYFQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6isLvfvYFQ
Rennlist Stories
The Best Porsche Posts for Porsche Enthusiasts
9 Features and Characteristics That Only Porsche People Understand
Verdad Gallardo
I've Written 500 Rennlist Articles: Here's How Porsche Has Changed Along the Way
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Unnecessary Porsches Ever Built (And Why We Love Them)
Verdad Gallardo
Porsche 911 GT3 S/C vs 718 Spyder RS: 10 Categories, One Winner
Joe Kucinski
This Builder Is Turning Heads With Its Slantnose 911 Creation
Verdad Gallardo
Porsche 911 GT3 Artisan Edition Pays Homage to Japanese Culture
Verdad Gallardo
Porsche Reveals Coupe Variant of the Electric Cayenne With a Fresh Look
Verdad Gallardo
10 Porsche Colors That Have More Personality Than Most People
Verdad Gallardo
Guntherwerks' Final Speedster Creation Is the Ultimate Porsche Restomod
Verdad Gallardo
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 7,392
Likes: 1,442
From: Houston, TX
It’s not exactly like that. There is orange peel in every factory paint job from every maker until you get into the realm of Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls….because in those brands they are wet-sanding the paint using microfiber sandpapers to get to the absolute best finishes. You can polish or buff your Porsche until your hands wear out and are not going to get a wet sanded finish. You have to sand the color coats underneath the clears, it would be a major project best left to a Pro painter to get the orange peel out of your car, and effectively it’s a whole new paint job. This is also why custom hot rods look so good, most have an extensive wet sanded paint job on them.
Racer
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 322
Likes: 248
From: so cal
I'd leave Aston off that exclusive list. Their "60 hours of hand paint finish" is more like 60 hours of your cat running around tangled in a HVLP sprayer. My buddy owns a shop that does all the paint work for Star Aston Martin in Houston. The quality of Aston finishes range from decent to abysmal. Runs, peel, overspray, contaminants.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 5,241
Likes: 6,305
From: Fairfax County, Virginia
I'd leave Aston off that exclusive list. Their "60 hours of hand paint finish" is more like 60 hours of your cat running around tangled in a HVLP sprayer. My buddy owns a shop that does all the paint work for Star Aston Martin in Houston. The quality of Aston finishes range from decent to abysmal. Runs, peel, overspray, contaminants.
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 7,392
Likes: 1,442
From: Houston, TX
Looks great! I had a 2007 V8 Vantage on order until I saw a batch that came in with not enough resin on the composite rear lids. You could see the weave in the mesh and my friends shop was tasked with completely refinishing the lids prior to customer delivery and undisclosed. He told me the paint depth on Aston panels on new cars would be inconsistent and all over the map. I cancelled my order
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 10,364
Likes: 11,601
Correct. A completely flat finish looks amazing on a museum piece but for cars that see all kinds of conditions and get washed often, manufacturers leave a small amount of orange peel to diminish the appearance of spider webbing.
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 1,274
Likes: 1,347
I don't know about automotive paint so this topic is new to me. Just today at a car show the original owner of a 1968 mustang had a placard on his car that mentioned factory finish with orange peel. Apparently has repainted it once on original color with orange peel per manufacturer spec. So it's been a thing for a long time.