How to Repair Orange Peel Metallic Paint Work

Orange peel is a natural result of painting a vehicle too heavily with clear coat spray. Metallic paint can be especially troubling due to the metallic flakes in the paint and the clear coat over it can easily begin to orange peel. Orange peel--like the name suggests--makes the surface of your metallic paint look like the surface of an orange. There are a lot of dimples and the paint is not very smooth. It is something that can be repaired.

Things You'll Need

• Soap
• Water
• Sponge
• 1200 grit sandpaper
• Lint-free towel

Instructions

1. Wash the orange peeled metallic paint area with soap and water with a sponge.

2. Dry the area with a towel.

3. Wet the sandpaper and a small area of the orange peeled metallic paint.

4. Sand the paint down with 1200 grit sandpaper. Keep the sandpaper and the area you are sanding wet. This is called "wet sanding" and it will help to prevent damaging the paint. Sand the surface of the paint until the orange peel is gone.

5. Wash the area with soap and water using a sponge.

6. Dry the area with a lint-free towel.

References

• "Auto Body Repair Technology - 5th Edition"; James E. Duffy, Cengage Learning; 2009