my monterey blue z had pretty bad orange peel. I've heard nissan skimps on the paint job to keep costs down :/ anyway, my next z will be pearl white :tup:

I have thought about giving that a try, at worst I still would need to get it repainted at some point, at best it would look decent. Can't hurt at this point.

It's great stuff.

The orange peel issue has become more apparent with all manufacturers over the last decade+

That doesn't have to do with poor paint technique as much as the modernization of fleet painting in regard to environmental impact. Without getting too technical, paint (both colored and clear) can't atomize as well as it could before these large companies embraced environmentally-friendly painting chemicals and techniques.

The sad thing is that it's very difficult to fix orange peel on factory paint as it's a surface flaw in a very, very thin clear coat. My Z had it all over the rear fenders, but luckily the rest of the car was pretty decent.

Orange peel is caused by incorrect painting technique. There are many factors on how it is caused.

9 month bump? :ugh2: :icon17:

FWIW, my DD 2011 Gun Metallic Z looks incredible ... from 10+ feet away :tup:

That may have been the case before manufacturers had to change their paint to conform with environmental regulations, but it is simply not the case now.

The orange peel phenomenon plagues entire ranges of brand new cars from many manufacturers due to the requirement that they use non-toxic paints that don't atomize or cure as well as older paint blends.

Couple that lower-quality paint with the thinnest paint layers that the manufacturer can get away with and you'll see orange peel. It happens on many volume manufacturers from Ford to BMW.

Other manufacturers such as Porsche, MB, Audi, Aston Martin, and other higher-end/marquee brands tend to experience less orange peel due to more liberal application of these newer paints which are usually water-based.

Technique can only go so far when your materials and cost need to meet a certain specification.

part of the problem might be the soft paint, the other part is the person washing and drying it.

Yep. Thanks, EPA. Water based ********. :mad:

:ugh:

That crap wont work tried it already.

Couldnt agree more.

Also mentioned about cheap microfibres avoid them as they do mark the paint when used.

It is possible to improve the paint by hand with the right products (and alot of man hours) but using a machine polisher is much easier and less time consuming.

Unfortunately, OEM orange peel can rarely be corrected due to the extremely thin clear coat. By the time you've sanded the "high spots" of the peel down, you have very, very little clear left (if you've done it properly).

It's much easier on aftermarket spray jobs, as the paint is typically much thicker.

On a different note, Dr. Colorchip is pretty well regarded, but it'll do nothing for orange peel.

for me, i dont mind mild orange peel because i can hide my PDR repairs within the recess itself.

I've been using Dr. Colorchip for years. You just need to learn how to use it. The first thing is patience.