What is orange peel?
Orange peel is the term applied to the minute bumps in the surface of paint, which resemble the surface of an orange peel. Looking at the paint surface at a low angle will show the orange peel-put your head right next to the body panel and look at the light reflecting off of the panel. Look at the reflection, not the paint or panel itself, and you will see that the surface of the paint is either smooth or bumpy. Orange peel can result from improperly mixed paint, which dried too fast before it leveled out on the surface, or from not applying a thick enough layer of paint. General Motors vehicles seem to have more-pronounced orange peel on their vehicles than other makes since they use a powdercoat paint system. To combat the bumpy paint problem, GM uses a thicker clearcoat to even out the bumps. Orange peel is not necessarily a bad thing, but merely the result of the painting process. If orange peel bothers you, it can be buffed, or wet-sanded and then buffed, to make the surface of th
• “Orange peel” is a term representing the texture of a painted surface that has “hills and valleys” or bumps similar to the skin of an orange. • Excessive orange peel is considered a paint condition defect and can be effectively repaired using 3M’s recommended Surface refinement & protection procedures.
