"Lime Peel" (Micro Orange Peel)??

[tguil]

I recently had have bodywork done on my new Ram. I hit a deer and the result was $5700 damage, but very little actual bodywork. A corner of the hood had a small dent and there was a scratch of on fender. The body repairs were made and then repainted using a blend technique for the base coat that turned out very well. Both the entire hood and entire fender were clearcoated. As far application with this particular paint system (Spies Hecker), both base coat and clear coat are applied using a coat and a half technique. (The first coat is quite heavy; the half coat is a lighter coat.) The base coat is waterborne paint. The clear coat is solvent based.

About a two weeks after picking up the truck, I noticed that the whole hood and the fender has “orange peel” like I have never seen before. It looks more like a “lime peel” rather than “orange peel”. I might also call it “micro orange peel”. It doesn't appear to be "blushing" or "wrinkling". I only noticed it under the very good lighting. (My Ram is white and imperfections are not all that noticeable.) The “lime peel” (or whatever) covers the entire hood and the fender. From a distance and under normal lighting it is not at all noticeable. The finish appears to have good gloss. The shop owner assured me that there is ample clear coat for correction and that the problem probably was the result of temperature and/or humidity and/or the painter not “getting it quite right”. He said that it could be corrected by wet sanding and/or compounding and then polishing.

After this long, round about post..... My questions.... Has anyone else ever come across something like this "lime peel”? I've had vehicles in and out of body shops for almost 50 years and have never run across anything like it. (But I sure have seen lots of other mistakes.) Would the probable cause of this “lime peel” be related to the paint not flowing correctly when it was applied? How common is it to have to have wet sanding/compounding/polishing done on today's hi-tech repaints? Back in the days of acrylic lacquer, it was standard operating procedure. I sort of thought that things were different now and that wet sanding/compounding/polishing were used only rarely.

Tom

[NIS240SHU]

Without being there, it's hard to say where the problem actually lies. However, having a body shop in the family for many years gives me a hint that the clear may have been sprayed too "dry", meaning the gun was held too far away from the car while being sprayed, allowing the clear to partially dry before actually hitting the paint. This will not allow the clear to flow and flatten properly.

If it was a blend, even more so because the painter will try to feather the new into the old.

It may also be that the reducer used wasn't adequate for the temperature/humidity on that day. In the PPG system that we used, there were three different reducers to be used depending on conditions.

Good luck with getting the paint back to where it should be. Maybe someone else can help with more info.

- Helder

[tguil]

Any painters on the forum?

Tom

[fdesalvo]

So the shop basically told you they didn't do it right. They should correct it.

[rmagnus]

+1 the shop should correct it. They should also warrantee the work. (which is why they should wet sand it). It's hard to spray clear w/o orange peel. It can be corrected but mor labor is necessary sand & polish).

[tguil]

Never was a question about doing a correction. Mostly I wondered how frequently corrections like this have to be made. The work was done by a very good shop.

Tom

[NY-Bondo]

Possible silicone contamination. Either airborne or ?

[weekendwarrior]

Never was a question about doing a correction. Mostly I wondered how frequently corrections like this have to be made. The work was done by a very good shop.

Tom

All the time, its not uncommon.