My paint has an orange peel texture to it, particularly on the sides. (True Blue 2012 Crew model)

I'm contemplating bringing it up to the dealer when I take it in to have the tailgate strut replaced tomorrow. I'm wondering if they can polish it or something to make it smooth. But also worried about any process that removes material, since salt/rust is a big concern here in the land of frozen tundra.

Anyone with body shop experience have an opinion on this?

I rented Dodge Challenger this week while in TX, and noted that the black paint on that thing was glass smooth. (Side note: best rental car ever)

Steve

 

Was told its due to the water based paint and local body shop recommended not wet sanding it and buffing it. not to many layers of paint on them, saves weight !

 

I had some orange peel on the roof of my Magnum R/T. Dealer repaired under the 3yr/36k bumper-to-bumper by sanding and repainting the entire roof. I don't know how it is in your area, but not many dealers around here with paint shops, so you may have to take a trip. Well, that's if you can even get it approved.

 

Can't polish or compound orange peel off, there is an orange peel removal pad that specifically designed to remove orange peel but you must know what you are doing with this. Wet sanding and then compound/polish will remove orange peel, but you will also be removing micron layers of clear coat. See what the dealer says, might have to repaint, but if you have a body shop with a paint meter gauge they can tell how much paint they have to work with and let you know if it can be wet sanded and buffed or has to be repainted.

Or you can just leave it alone, as many vehicles have noticeable orange peel.

 

Please don't take this as a criticism at all, because it is not meant to be one. Your post just made me remind myself to ALWAYS perform a THOROUGH inspection of any vehicle being purchased ON A SUNNY DAY prior to finalizing the deal.

Similar situation. Three years ago I purchased a "Certified Pre Owned" Audi from Audi of Bernardsville. Car looked clean, but it was overcast out. Pulled the trigger and drove it away. Not until a couple of days later in the bright sun did I notice a tremendous amount of orange peel and even fish eyes. Bottom line the paint looked like crap and I was already the proud owner. I took it back to the dealer and the Mr. Slick Sales Manager brought out the paint gauge to explain to me how the "car had never been painted" due to the thickness of the paint. My wife proceeded to hit a deer about a year later and the body shop provided detailed feedback on the fact that the car had indeed been hit and repainted. So much for "CPO" vehicles.

Anyway, sorry to hear about your orange peel. Mine has a little bit too in some areas and actually has 5 or 6 paint "globs" that are noticeable when you really look for them. The design of the D is a 10, but the paint job is about a 7 if you ask me.

Good luck with your resolution!

Frank

 

I worked as a Factory Rep for a major auto manufacturer for 28 years. I have not seen the paint on the subject vehicle, but can offer the following based on my experience. Today's vehicles have far superior paint compared to vehicles 20 years ago. If you have 2 vehicles with identical paint quality, one light and one dark in color, in looking at them, most people will think the light colored vehicle has better paint quality. This is because on the darker vehicle, the more obvious the imperfections are. The subject vehicle is dark blue. Through the years, when a dealer alerted me about a customer who objected to the paint quality on their vehicle, 99% of the time, it was a dark vehicle. Last, if the manufacturer did paint repairs at the request of the owner, rarely was the customer happier with the repaint. Bottom line, unless the Orange Peel is bad, my opinion is to leave well enough alone. A previous post offered good advice, inspect the vehicle before you buy it. If it doesn't suit you don't buy it.

 

Yeah, i decided not to bring it up. Orange peel looks wavy in bright light, but better than having it start rusting in 5 years.

And yes, I have multiple times kicked myself for accepting delivery of the thing. I bought it sight unseen based on the build sheet, had not even seen the color in person. Looked better in the brochure. My second choice was a mineral gray ride on the other side of town but it was missing the DVD system that I wanted for the kids.

On a positive note, they replaced the tailgate strut under warranty, and did it in about the time it took me to gobble up a subway value meal.

Steve