I keep hearing people talking about orange peel in their paint and i'm not really sure what it is. What should i look for and does everyone have it in their paint? I searched but couldn't find a clear explanation. Thanks.

 

It's a "defect" in the paint that comes from the factory paint process on the Z. It seems to be seen best on the vertical sections of the car like the doors. If you set your eyes in a line that is perpendicular with the door itself, you should see it. It is much more obvious on a dark color like black or Brickyard. You almost have to focus your eyes off a bit so as to avoid focusing on the reflection you see in the door. It looks exactly as it is called, like the lumpy surface of an orange with the peel still on.

 

Thanks Doc, i have quickly learned that i can always count on your replies in the detail forum.

I know what you're talking about, when i was putting on the 3rd coat of Zaino this weekend i noticed a few of those spots, now i know what they're called. Thanks.

 

Hi
Try this- get some glaze from the auto paint store- about $16 per bottle here in Phoenix. Aurora and 3M are brands here. Put on really soft cloth and polish- you will find that the cloth gets warm as the polishing occurs- perhaps some transfer of color to the cloth, and gradually over time, the orange peel will be reduced- do not try to do this at one time- just repeat over several months. You will feel the paint surface becomes really slick. Don't wax over the glaze-finished surface- it just prevents the glaze compound from working. This was suggested/told to me by the guy that painted my F40. I have used it once on my Z (only had the car for 1 month so far)- and it at least feels smoother if not really "unpeeled" yet. I have used it since July 2000 on the F40- really like the results, and never waxed the car. Only time the dust will not just "dust-off" is where there are small oil drop residues on the back of the tail section (the engine does bleed a small amount of oil at high revolutions).
Hope this works for you.

 

I am not familiar with this product but I would be VERY hesitant to use something like this.

It was my understanding that the only thing that removes orange peel is a sanding and complete re-painting.

Any autobdy/painters out there?

 

Bonz, mine has a greater than average case. The recommended procedure from Nissan was wet sanding and buffing. After taking the car to a number of body shops, what I found was that most didn't want the liability of doing that since there is no good way to determine how thick the clear coat is or how much of the condition is a result of a poorly applied base coat. Polishing will reduce the effect because it removes a small amount of the clear, but it is much more time consuming than starting off with wet sanding. However, since it is a much more gradual process (assuming a fine cut compound is used), it's probably safer. So the process johnsZ described above should improve the condition if not done to excess. However it would take quite a while, especially if done by hand versus with a rotary polisher.

On a related note, the high end body shops I contacted all recommended starting over (e.g. sand and complete repaint) if you want a top flight finish.