The orange peel effect is a very minor defect in the paint job of a car. The orange peel effect is characterized by tiny, jagged lines that are visible on the surface of the paint. It occurs when the paint job is not applied ‘properly’ and/or has an uneven surface. This can happen when there is too much or too little paint applied to a surface, or if there are any bumps in the surface which cause it to be uneven.

It is worth noting that orange peel is quite common in car paint, particularly in mass produced cars and even in older Ferrari models. However, with high-end cars such as Ferrari, owners prefer to keep as much of the original factory paint as possible to maintain its increasing value.

What Causes Orange Peel

Apart from a couple of the points mentioned above, other factors that lead to orange peel are:

• Not allowing enough time for the first coat to settle when spraying the second coat
• Low pressure or incorrect nozzle causing the paint to shoot unevenly and sometime causing what’s known as tiger striping

Paint Layers Explained

When a body panel is formed (usually in aluminium) it’s important to understand how they’re painted in order to know what you’re doing when carrying out the next step, removing orange peel.

To begin, we’ve outlined the 3 stages of paint applied from the factory, including the order that they are carried out in:

1. Car material: metal, fibre glass, carbon fibre.
2. Primer: This ensures an even surface and something for the base coat to adhere to.
3. Base Coat: The actual colour of the car – this can be a flat, metallic or pearlescent colour finish.
4. Top/clear coat: Thickest, finishing layer that acts as a layer of protection for the base coat and adds a glossy finish to your car.

How To Remove Orange Peel

If you believe the orange peel is not too bad then you can attempt to polish it out with an electric polisher and some cutting compound. For paint that requires more extensive work, the wet sand route is the way to go as this will help to prevent burning into your paint with a polisher if you’re a beginner. Furthermore, not only will these methods help to achieve a flat, mirror finish, but it will also get rid of all (or most) of the swirl marks your paint might have had from poor washing methods or lack of maintenance.

For more detailed steps on achieving that showroom mirror finish we highly recommend checking out AMMO NYC YouTube channel.