How to remove Orange Peel using a Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher

[Mike Phillips]

Could it be just me?

Yes. It's personal preference.

I've met a lot of people in my life in both the real world and the cyber world that are not happy with the amount of visual orange peel present in the factory finish on their car and for these people, this is an option to reduce the orange peel without having to,

• Wetsand or dry sand by hand or machine.
• Own and know how to use a rotary buffer.

Considering the idea is to just knock off the tops of the hills and leave the valleys untouched as I state in the above video, you're really not removing very much "overall" paint off the car.

So it's personal preference and that's going to come down to how much the orange peel look bugs the owner of a car.

[FUNX650]

Yes. It's personal preference.

Hi Mike...

May I ask if you would use it, or not, on the aforementioned: OEM factory paint?

Thanks.



Bob

[SR99]

Have you ever done a "panel next to panel" comparison of the velvet pad + OEM paint combination, versus a microfiber pad, when doing orange peel reduction? In other words, all else being equal--compound type, number of passes, pressure, speed, machine etc--except the pads, how much more cut does velvet have vs MF?

It just seems strange the velvet itself would be aggressive so I wonder if it performs much different from MF in this application. Or maybe this velvet is not like the traditional velvet used for upholstery/clothing?

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Mike...

May I ask if you would use it, or not, on the aforementioned: OEM factory paint?

Thanks.



Bob

If the orange peel bugged me then I would start with the Velvet pad. If that was working but not working fast enough for my expectations then I would use the more aggressive Denim pad.

[Mike Phillips]

Have you ever done a "panel next to panel" comparison of the velvet pad + OEM paint combination, versus a microfiber pad, when doing orange peel reduction? In other words, all else being equal--compound type, number of passes, pressure, speed, machine etc--except the pads, how much more cut does velvet have vs MF?

No I have not done that comparison and I would not do that comparison as microfiber pads are not designed to remove the tops off of orange peel.

The reason why the denim pad removes th tops of the high points of orange peel is because the surface of the pad is flat and the pad overall is thin and dense, even hard. This keeps the abrasiveness focused on the tops of the hills that make up orange peel and not the entire surface of the paint which is what tends to happen with all other types of pads be they fiber or foam.

It just seems strange the velvet itself would be aggressive so I wonder if it performs much different from MF in this application. Or maybe this velvet is not like the traditional velvet used for upholstery/clothing?

All of the above could be possible.


I have not used the velvet pads yet. I tend to wait until I have what will be a very good candidate car for testing products no matter what the product.

[FUNX650]

If the orange peel bugged me

Understood. Thanks.



Bob

[erichaley]

No I have not done that comparison and I would not do that comparison as microfiber pads are not designed to remove the tops off of orange peel.

The reason why the denim pad removes th tops of the high points of orange peel is because the surface of the pad is flat and the pad overall is thin and dense, even hard. This keeps the abrasiveness focused on the tops of the hills that make up orange peel and not the entire surface of the paint which is what tends to happen with all other types of pads be they fiber or foam.






All of the above could be possible.


I have not used the velvet pads yet. I tend to wait until I have what will be a very good candidate car for testing products no matter what the product.

IME, I found that Velvet pads on a DA were not effective. I used denim on my factory orange peel.

[SR99]

Just wondering aloud, not expecting an answer, but I wonder if the MF's intended for windows (the types where 1 side is an extremely short nap (more like a fuzz than a nap) and the other side is like a looped fiber) would work for orange peel removal.

If the denim and velvet are not modified in any way from the normal cloth, there could be other textiles that were not originally intended for this but actually work.

[Mike Phillips]

IME, I found that Velvet pads on a DA were not effective. I used denim on my factory orange peel.

That would be my guess. Too NON-aggressive of a material and too non-aggressive of a tool.

A couple factors that could make a difference,

1. Top coat hardness. - That is how hard or soft the paint is.

2. Type of compound used. - There's a lot of options on the market and while most of us trend towards the hi tech compounds that finish out like polishes it could be low-tech compounds work better for orange peel removal.

[rmagnus]

Mike these pads are interesting. I've read about them but have never used them. I do see a reason for having some on hand. My questions are somewhat subjective.

1. Say for the truck hood you did, how many pads would be required to complete just the hood?

2. How long will a denim pad last realitive to say a foam backed finishing disc?

I'm guessing a Flex 3401 might be an ideal tool being direct drive and that it oscillates. I like the safety factor over wet sanding but would look for something quicker than 8-12 passes.

I see this as a way of spot correcting quiclky vs sanding and then polishing out the sanding marks. Could be a nice upsell or a way to deliver that sometnhing extra for a client.