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Old Jun 29, 2009 | 11:46 AM
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Mike-in-Orange
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Joined: Jul 2007
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Default Re: removing orange peel

Originally Posted by ZeroZero
Hi Mike
Well been all over the hood with the 105 UC & i seem to have very shinely Orange peel now this clear coat is hard stuff , Should i move on to a cutting pad with the same 105 UC , Or could a 2000 / 4000 grit disk do the job . I think i have a too lighter touch , i did the stop the disk spinning & back off thing .

Cheers

Andy
As I've mentioned before you will NOT remove orange peel simply by buffing the paint, and that includes with a rotary buffer and a wool pad. You must wet sand in order to remove orange peel. But, as I've also stated, it is NOT recommended to do this procedure on factory paint as there simply isn't enough clear present to safely eliminate the orange peel anyway. And even if you did have plenty of clear coat, which you do not, wet sanding is a very advanced process and should not be entered into lightly. You most definitely do not want to learn how to do this on a vehicle that you care about. Watching a few videos on YouTube is NOT sufficient to gain the proper technique and knowledge. Incorrectly sanding the finish will result in depressions in the paint, tracers left behind from the sand paper if you choose a low quality paper, and the very real posibility of sanding through an edge on a body panel. But even if you did an excellent job sanding, you then need to remove the sanding marks, and even 2000 grit marks are deeper than you might think. You will need a rotary buffer, a wool pad and a heavy cutting compound to remove those sanding marks, especially from paint as hard as that found on the Crossfire. Rotary buffing is another process you do not want to self teach. Again, the possibility of inflicing real damage is quite high, especially in the hands of a novice. A pro makes the process look downright simple, but the learning curve is pretty darn high. You can be highly skilled with a D/A buffer but that doesn't prepare you for what a rotary can do both for the paint and to the paint.

Bottom line: do your best to eliminate swirls and fine scratches, but live with the orange peel. Seriously.
 
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