Factory paint jobs often leave a car’s finish with a dimpled effect commonly called orange peel, or as I have heard one detailer describe it, FLA (fat ladies ass). This is evident on the surface of our TL’s, as it is on almost all factory paint jobs.

I was wondering if anyone out there has taken any steps to polish or wet-sand the paint to a smooth finish. I have no where near enough experience to do this myself, so I would probably consult a dealer or body shop to have this done. I have no idea what such an operation would cost, or if the results are even worth the effort.

So I thought I would throw this out to the group and see if anyone else has been down this path.

Thanks in advance.

 

There is no way I would wet sand the entire car; too much risk of going through the clearcoat or worse the basecoat. Plus you have to polish it afterwards and there's another nice risk of screwing up the paint if you don't know exactly what you're doing.

Just wax it!

Mike

 

There is no way I would do this myself. But I know there are pro painters out there that do this on cars; probably show cars for the most part. It is definetely a job for a pro, no argument there.

 

Is it just me? The average person would never notice the "orange peel" effect you mention. I don't see it on mine. I'm not being a smart ass - I just wonder how much this really matters?

 

I'm sure it matters to some more than others. For me, I happened to get a look at a restored classic car with a wet-sanded finish and I was blown away by the mirror like shine. It was noticably different, and I was interested in knowing more about it. This forum seemed like a fine place to start.

'Jus fishin for some info... which it appears you do not have. Thanks anyway, smart ass.

 

I think it's great that it matters to you. I was honestly interested in what the big difference was and clearly stated I was not trying to be a smart ass.

Sorry you took the question the wrong way. Doesn't appear others had much info to provide either, but if someone knows something, you'll normally find it here.

Let's not be so sensitive, huh?