Orange Peel


swmalm

Recommended Posts

Hi all. I drove my brand new Porsche Macan (Agate Grey) directly from the dealer, to a highly recommended detailer for Opticoat Pro Plus application . I asked the dealer to not wash or polish the vehicle and all they did was remove the plastic for inspection. So the car was dirty and of course I was very excited to take delivery and did not notice orange peel on paint at the time. After I picked up from detailer (after Opticoat application) and seeing car in bright sun light I have notice a lot of orange peel all over the car.

 

Based on my research I think I already know the answer, but want to confirm with the experts here (especially since the Porsche dealer basically said the detailer must have caused this). So I ask you here, is there any circumstance where improper application or rush job/not enough time between coats, etc. on an Opticoat pro plus application could cause an orange peel effect on the finish? (NOTE: I notice no high spots, clouding or streaks as described elsewhere on the forum, just a lot of orange peel)

 

Assuming the answer above is NO, then a question for the detailers. Would/should prep for Opticoat Pro Plus include some polishing to reduce orange peel? I've read both polishing OR wet sanding can be used, with the latter being risky for factory finishes (and not recommended for daily drivers - which mine is). Does normal dealer prep (which I explicitly declined) do some orange peel correction??

 

My car looks good, don't get me wrong, I just know it would look freaking awesome without the orange peel. I find myself looking at paint as I'm walking through parking lots. I've seen plenty of BMWs and Mercedes with as bad or worse orange peel, but a Boxster (also Agate) with some, but much less than mine. However bummed that I've seen a couple of Ford Edge cars with perfect paint and no orange peel.

 

My detailer says 97% of Porsches have orange peel and they can remove it for $3500, but not what I was hoping to hear.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys I suspected as much. Found one other guy on another forum asking the same thing. Maybe the Opticoat Pro is so glossy it just reveals the factory imperfections more.

 

Other question remains though. Do detailers normally do some amount of polishing to reduce the factory orange peel OR is the only way to do that with wet sanding which I've seen detailers recommend against for factory finishes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depending on the paint you could try a MF pad or even a denim pad but to fully remove orange peel could result in the removal of a lot of paint, on a daily driven car this is not always a good thing. Sometimes it is worth doing nothing and see if you can live with the factory finish, this will be the cheapest option.

 

I would assume it is not standard practice to attempt to remove orange peel unless specifically requested as it is more complicated than simply trying to remove some swirls

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, appreciate the response. Looks like "living" with it is the best option for me, as I really can't afford and don't want to risk damaging, as it is a daily driver. Seems like it is luck of the draw, as I've seen other Macans with some but not nearly as much peel as I got, but hey what are you going to do,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.