Weird clearcoat/orange peel on my car

[chopper82p]

Front end of car was repainted before I bought it to repair rock chips. The clearcoat has some weird orange peel effect on it. This effect makes it look dull in daylight unlike normal orange peel which will still allow the paint to shine. Its a 2003 BMW M5 Imola Red. The owner told me part of it wasn't wetsanded but he was a little vague.
on to the pics:

hood:


fender:


and trunk:



Can this be wetsanded or does it require a repaint?

[StangFan25]

That looks like a bad paint job.

Maybe too much paint used and wasn't cured properly?

[ClayR]

From my limited paint experience, it looks like the paint did not adhere correctly due to poor surface preparation (and or lack of) like wet sanding before painting, causing the paint to ripple up. There might be a chance that some of it will start to bubble and come off. Take it to a professional autobody shop and ask them what is wrong and cost to fix it. Sometimes it takes a tactile feel to tell what is going on under the paint.

I would suggest wet sanding to level the paint, then compounding to see what you've got. You might get lucky and it stays good.

[Mike Phillips]

That looks like dieback to me...

Check this thread for the pictures and see if the problem in your paint looks like the pictures I posted...

Here's what Dieback or Shrinkback looks like in fresh paint



I was able to remove the appearance of dieback in the above article. You might be able to remove the appearance too but you won't know until you try.

Here's one way to "try" besides learning how to wetsand and use a rotary buffer...


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

[chopper82p]

That looks like dieback to me...

Check this thread for the pictures and see if the problem in your paint looks like the pictures I posted...

Here's what Dieback or Shrinkback looks like in fresh paint



I was able to remove the appearance of dieback in the above article. You might be able to remove the appearance too but you won't know until you try.

Here's one way to "try" besides learning how to wetsand and use a rotary buffer...


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

Thanks!!

What causes dieback/shineback?

[ClayR]

Thanks!!

What causes dieback/shineback?

Copied from the glossary at Autobodystory, "Die-Back - The gradual loss of gloss due to continued evaporation of solvent after the paint work is finished. This problem was a big problem in paint jobs that used paints that had a large percentage of solvent trapped below the surface. Lacquer is know for it's ability to "die back.

[Andr3wilson]

The only thing I can add to this is that BMW is notorious for bad peel. All part of their powder coat system. It's not this bad, but it usually is worse than other OEM finishes.

[chopper82p]

The only thing I can add to this is that BMW is notorious for bad peel. All part of their powder coat system. It's not this bad, but it usually is worse than other OEM finishes.

This was on panels that were repainted, not OEM.

[Andr3wilson]

This was on panels that were repainted, not OEM.

Clearly

[Blackthorn One]

It looks like the primer sank. I don't think that is really "in the paint". I think those defects are too deep for that. It looks like the bodywork/filler/primer sank and the paint, being bonded to it, sunk along with it, to reveal the texture.

This should be covered under warranty from the bodyshop. It should be redone. If the owner can have this redone at a shop for free, it doesn't make sense to try to polish it out only to end up with very thin paint in some places, compromising the longevity of the paint.

Sanding the paint down, using filler primer or glazing putty, and re sanding and repainting is the only right way to fix this IMO.