FMINUS Detailed: 2002 Laguna Seca Blue M3

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I love that color so much. A guy in the student apartments I was in back in college had an '02 M3 in that same color.

Great detail too!

WOW .. You are a great detailer.

OMG my keyboard is covered in drool..

It looks nice, but couldnt you have done something about the ungodly amounts of orange peel? At least some heavy cut compound on a wool pad, and/or 2000 grit.

It looks nice, but couldnt you have done something about the ungodly amounts of orange peel? At least some heavy cut compound on a wool pad, and/or 2000 grit.

whats orange peel?:confused

whats orange peel?:confused

orange peel is the ripple effect in the paint. It is usually caused by the escaping of solvents/gasses when the paint was first applied. The more paint the more orange peel. For instance look at any object through the reflection of the car (like the one of the white lexus). You will notice that the lines of the object are obscured unlike that of a mirror. The way you get rid of it is to physically sand down the surface of the paint so that the entire surface of the paint is level ergo its "as smooth as glass".

thanks! So do all cars normally have the Orange Peel effect from the factory? I notice my car has some as well. I just assumed that was normal. Is it in the clear coat? If I were to use some cutting compound how deep would it need to go to get rid of the effect?

It looks nice, but couldnt you have done something about the ungodly amounts of orange peel? At least some heavy cut compound on a wool pad, and/or 2000 grit.

I could of removed the OP but after speaking with the customer and going through the pros and cons of the OP, we decided to leave it as it is.

pros?

thanks! So do all cars normally have the Orange Peel effect from the factory? I notice my car has some as well. I just assumed that was normal. Is it in the clear coat? If I were to use some cutting compound how deep would it need to go to get rid of the effect?

yes, just about every car has orange peel (with the exception of very lightly painted carbon cars, ie. enzo, mclaren f1, etc.). It is not just in the clear, it is a combination of multiple layers of paint. You gotta keep in mind, most cars have around a minimum of 5 paint layers. Most upwards of 10. The effectiveness of the compound is determined by a lot of factors. These are the main ones: pollishing pad, rotation speed (or D.A.speed), amount of liquid applied, temp of the surface, grit of compound, pressure applied, and how long you buff one area.

Completely removing the OP would require taking off at least 1.5 microns off the clear. Thats about 10x the amount a normal polishing would take off. Brand new Bimmers have around 4.7-6.0 microns on the paint. BMW specs consider 2.0 microns a minimum. Anything underneath would cause CC failure.

So it wasnt worth it to remove the OP for some people, including myself.

good info! Thanks

sweet M3!