Orange Peel Texture on Red Paint

[Electric Chic]

Either I didn't notice when I took delivery or it has just become increasingly obvious. My M3 has a very textured appearance in the paint job. Anybody else notice this? It's hard to capture it directly, but you can really tell by the distortion in the reflected image.

 

[woodisgood]

Orange peel that you can’t feel is extremely common in new cars nowadays. Reflections are usually wavy. This is different from a lot of car paint from even 10 years ago.

Assuming this is uniform on your vehicle and not a patch or panel that is worse than the rest?

I noticed this too when first detailing my MSM a year ago. I had been used to my ‘08 Acura, which gave razor sharp reflections after normal detailing. After looking at a lot of new car paint (including my other vehicle, a 2014 Honda), lots of BMWs etc., I figured out it’s par for the course. Correctable of course with a lot of polishing, possibly wet sanding, but not worth it to me.

 

[M109Rider]

All cars have an orange peel look to it unless it’s hand sanded and polished.
Which they don’t do from factory.

Only custom paint jobs do the glass finish approach.

 

[ngogas]

My bmw has them. I own several and they a notorious. Specially certain colors.

 

[tvad]

Oof...that's pretty extreme orange peel. Our red Model 3 paint looks nothing like that.

 

[WilliamG]

Oof...that's pretty extreme orange peel. Our red Model 3 paint looks nothing like that.

I’d be close to betting it does in the right light...

 

[tvad]

I’d be close to betting it does in the right light...

Close to betting is the correct call.

 

[ReddykwRun]

Orange peel that you can’t feel is extremely common in new cars nowadays. Reflections are usually wavy. This is different from a lot of car paint from even 10 years ago.

Assuming this is uniform on your vehicle and not a patch or panel that is worse than the rest?

I noticed this too when first detailing my MSM a year ago. I had been used to my ‘08 Acura, which gave razor sharp reflections after normal detailing. After looking at a lot of new car paint (including my other vehicle, a 2014 Honda), lots of BMWs etc., I figured out it’s par for the course. Correctable of course with a lot of polishing, possibly wet sanding, but not worth it to me.

Either I didn't notice when I took delivery or it has just become increasingly obvious. My M3 has a very textured appearance in the paint job. Anybody else notice this? It's hard to capture it directly, but you can really tell by the distortion in the reflected image.View attachment 457125

Any PPC? (WRAP) Just curious if it magnifies imperfections.

 

[Whitehawk]

My white pearl has orange peal but nothing like yours. Almost looks like a crappy repaint job. I though these cars were robotically painted.

 

[Fossil Fool]

My red 3 is similar. No time to complain though, having too much fun driving it!

 

[Blacknbean]

My red is the same depending on the lighting and angle. Most of the time I don't notice it.

 

[eustachio]

That effect is much more common than people realize on most modern cars. But it's only visible with the right lighting.

A quick Google shows how prevalent it is, eg
Orange Peel in Paint on a $70K car, Really?

 

[TMThree]

It's a product of the solvents in the paint. Since our cars are painted in CA, there are heavy restrictions on what can be used, and as a result, you won't find a Tesla without orange peel. That said, if you look at a 250k Ferrari, it too will have orange peel.

It's also going to depend on what you're looking at, what you're looking for, and who is taking the photo.

Here is the side of my car.

Looks pretty nice right? Here's another photo of the same car, zoomed in. Look at the reflection of the side view mirror.

 

[tvad]

It's a product of the solvents in the paint. Since our cars are painted in CA, there are heavy restrictions on what can be used, and as a result, you won't find a Tesla without orange peel. That said, if you look at a 250k Ferrari, it too will have orange peel.

It's also going to depend on what you're looking at, what you're looking for, and who is taking the photo.

Here is the side of my car.

View attachment 457551


Looks pretty nice right? Here's another photo of the same car, zoomed in. Look at the reflection of the side view mirror.

View attachment 457550

That's how the paint on ours looks. Orange peel? I suppose, but nothing like that in the photo posted by the OP.
FWIW, our Made-in-Germany car also has a degree of orange peel (similar to the finish on our Model 3).

 

[Rothgarr]

My Pearl White has it, too. Par for the course.

 

[TMThree]

That's how the paint on ours looks. Orange peel? I suppose, but nothing like that in the photo posted by the OP.
FWIW, our Made-in-Germany car also has a degree of orange peel (similar to the finish on our Model 3).

It's hard to say based on this one photo. We can't tell how severe it is. I mean, I could likely make my car look pretty bad if I had that as my goal.

Video footage might be beneficial.

Also, the color of vehicle can matter in terms of how visible orange peel is.