Developed an eye for orange peel!!

[Qusai]

LOL Its crazy how i never knew what orange peel was when it was looking like that on my bumper..After i found autogeek, i started finding so many flaws that i would have never acknowledged..So what is my approach when it comes to wetsanding this bumper in order for the texture to match the fender above the bumper? As a matter of fact...What would YOU do if this situation was in your hands? I got hit from the front and it was taken to a bodyshop last year(new black painted bumper installed)..My upper body is crisp compared to my arm and hand, i know im not the only one who sees that. When it hits the sun, you can really tell that the bumper is not as smooth or reflective as the rest of my paint. This is my last panel and i will be completely done after that!! I promise ill post pictures because i could not have done any of this without the help from all of you. Thank you again.:props:

[Qusai]

Daamn forgot to mention the tooolies i got because i dont have wool pads or a rotary...i do have a pc7424 if that is even worth mentioning at this point and some 4in pads 5.5 in pads, different backing plates. I got Menz powergloss, m105 for compounds

[Qusai]

I hope somebody can chime in maaan i am too desperate!! LOL its my last panel comon guys dont do this to me lol

[A-train]

Hey Qusai, so have you ever wet sanded bf? What are u asking exactly if you should or shouldn't wetsand?
If it was me I would throw a sealant on it and be done.


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[Qusai]

i have never wetsanded before. Yes i am expecting to wetsand this bumper, thank you for the response, i really appreciate it. Im not rushing into sanding asap because i have much to learn about doing this risky task. But i would really like to get some ideas or a better understanding on how to approach this issue i have. Why would you put a sealant on the bumper and be done? I am just curious really thats why i ask. Thank you

[A-train]

I said that for a couple of reasons. 1. that is a risky spot to wet sand since I'm guessing that panel is all plastic and its difficult buffing plastic bumpers when your trying to pull out sanding scratches. . 2. It's a repaint so you have no idea how thick or thin the paint is. And finally with it being in a somewhat discreet location, I mean its not a door or your hood, so it really doesn't stand out. I wouldn't attempt it until you feel good and educated about the process. Definitely not something to rush into.


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[Qusai]

Thank you, that makes perfect sense actually..i didnt think about the plastic part!!! So would i be able to polish it like how i did with the rest of my paint then? maybe a finishing polish with da and seal? Its the last panel to work on before finishing the whole exterior

[A-train]

How long has it been since it was painted? Yes you can polish it out like the rest of the car no problems. Now if it hasn't been 30-45 days I wouldn't put sealant on it. They recommend letting it out gas for that amount of time.


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[Blackthorn One]

As A-train said, you don't know how thick the paint is, so it is difficult to know how much paint you can afford to sand off. Looking at the bumper in the pics, I would feel comfortable sanding 40% of it, and might do 50% If i really wanted it to be nice. 60% removal or more would make me very nervous. If you just removed 40-50%, it would make a huge difference in the appearance. It wouldn't make the peel go away completely, but that should be enough that it won't be eye catching anymore, and when you look sat the car, all you will really notice is the color and the shine. If you took half of it off, you would really have to look close at it in order to see it. At 50% reduction, that is still on par with some Ferraris, like the white 458that koniyoto did recently. http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/58114-ferrari-458-italia-new-car-detail.html
Look at pics 13 and 16 in the thread. That is white, so it is less conspicuous.

If you do decide to sand this panel, stay away from all of the edges. The paint is liquid when it goes on, and as such, tends to run off a bit from those areas, making it thinner than flat areas.

Aim for improvement, not perfection. If you go for perfection, particularly around edges, the chances of you sanding through the clear are near 100%. There is another thing that you might not have considered, and that is that despite the intentions of the designers of the car, when parts come out of the mold, they might not be perfectly straight or perfect. There can be slight waviness in them, which are effectively high spots in the material that you can't see. I speak from experience.

If you try to sand the whole thing perfect, the sandpaper can go right through the clear, when all you are doing is trying to make it smooth, and assuming the whole panel is shaped perfect.

Again, don't sand the edges at all, and only try to reduce the super high spots of the peel.

You have to weigh against the possibility of going through the clear, as well as considering that you may well be polishing the car a few more times as you own it, and sometimes having a little orange peel is an acceptable trade off in order to have a thicker coat of paint for a more long lasting paint job.

[rmagnus]

Professional respray on a bumper is $500-600. I bet that clear is really thin especially if its factory paint, so it's a risky proposition. I'd try hitting it lightly with 2500 grit then buff it with your M105 and a small pad. Use a flexible sanding block to keep it flat. Be very careful of building up too much heat. Bumpers react differently than metal panels. Objective would be to make it look better not perfect.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

I bet there is more clear on that respray than what the factory put on it. Factory paint has thin clear where a body shop has someone painting instead of a machine and im sure there is double the amount of clear than the factory.

I for one work in a body shop and paint quite often and I know for a fact that I and all my other co painters put on quite a bit of clear. I dont have a gauge yet but im sure we are putting down 5-10 mils thick. Thats more than enough to cut and buff should the situation present itself.

[Blackthorn One]

Professional respray on a bumper is $500-600. I bet that clear is really thin especially if its factory paint, so it's a risky proposition. I'd try hitting it lightly with 2500 grit then buff it with your M105 and a small pad. Use a flexible sanding block to keep it flat. Be very careful of building up too much heat. Bumpers react differently than metal panels. Objective would be to make it look better not perfect.
Yes, urethane bumpers often have flex agent added to the paint which makes it soft and can make it creep if it gets too hot. The car should be cool before buffing and care must be taken not to work an area for too long at once.

[rmagnus]

I bet there is more clear on that respray than what the factory put on it. Factory paint has thin clear where a body shop has someone painting instead of a machine and im sure there is double the amount of clear than the factory.

I for one work in a body shop and paint quite often and I know for a fact that I and all my other co painters put on quite a bit of clear. I dont have a gauge yet but im sure we are putting down 5-10 mils thick. Thats more than enough to cut and buff should the situation present itself.

All good points. I agree and missed that this was a professional repair. The shop should stand behind their work. Most offer a warranty, mine offers a lifetime warranty. They can tell if it's their work and can easily buff this out or at least make it better..

Even after a year take it back. You've got nothing to loose. Learn color sanding on something less valuable.

[c5errr]

first u should watch alot of wetsanding videos

wetsanding is the highest level of profession in detailing

in fact even pros can do it wrong sometimes

if u ask me no i never wetsanded before
but if i will i would take any panel from junk yard and sand it down just to know how sanding is done

check mike articles about sanding

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wet-sanding-cutting-buffing/21463-removing-orange-peel-sanding-marks-griot-s-rop-wolfgang-twins.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wet-sanding-cutting-buffing/23865-if-has-paint-gets-polished.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wet-sanding-cutting-buffing/50222-video-wow-3m-5000-grit-polishing-i-mean-sanding-discs.html

[Qusai]

Thank you guys very much for the information, I definitely won't rush through it, and I was thinking that it had more clear than my factory panels. I was going to go see the body shop to ask about the thickness of clear on my bumper but by what you guys are saying, seems to be a good amount of clear on this bumper. Thank you again