The orange peel effect is a car painter’s worst nightmare. It often makes the car look hideous. Orange peel can be caused by various issues such as applying excessive paint, incorrect spray gun setup, and several other things.
Once you spot orange peel on a car, the first thing that comes to mind is to get rid of it. Today, we will be looking into whether it’s advisable to clear coat over the orange peel.
Should You Clear Coat Over Orange Peel?
You can clear coat over the orange peel. As a matter of fact, a clear coat on its own is a quick fix for minor orange peel. But before doing so, there are a couple of things you need to understand.
First, you need to identify where the orange peel has formed. There are three layers of paint in a car. There is the primer, base coat, and clear coat.
If the orange peel is in the base coat, spraying a clear coat over it won’t change anything because it will be visible. What you have to do in this scenario is to sand the base coat and then apply another layer of the base coat before clear coating.
If the orange peel has formed on the clear coat, you can sand it down and then spray another layer or two of the clear coat for maximum protection. This is the best way to deal with orange peel on either the base coat or the clear coat.
Can Clear Coat Fix Orange Peel?
As mentioned earlier, a clear coat can help get rid of minor orange peel. Therefore, if you are painting the car and happen to get some orange peel on the base, you can always spray some clear coat, and the orange peel should vanish.
However, before clear coating orange peel, you need to evaluate the extent of the latter. If the orange peel is excessive, it should be dealt with before any clear coat goes over it.
What Should I Do If the Orange Peel is in the Clear Coat?
Before clear coating over the orange peel, we have mentioned that it is essential to evaluate where the orange peel has developed.
If you get through the base and clear coat and it happens that the orange peel effect is in the clear coat, do not spray more clear on top of it. Applying an excessively clear coat isn’t the best advice.
Experts recommend sanding down the clear coat to achieve a flatter surface. That should get rid of the orange peel on the clear coat.
To ensure the paint beneath is well protected, you can add a layer or two of clear coat. This time around, make sure that you use the correct painting techniques. Later on, we will share some of the methods on how to avoid orange peel.
Will Orange Peel Still Be Visible Through Clear Coat?
This has been a hot topic for many years on various car forums. The thing about the internet is that people have various opinions. As a car owner, you should always follow professional advice, not personal opinions.
When it comes to orange peel, it will always show through the paint, especially the clear kind. Therefore, if you notice the orange peel effect during painting, it’s best to deal with it before applying anything on top of it.
The only wiggle room you may have is if the orange peel is minor or slight. Three layers of clear coat should conceal that, and you may not spot any orange peel.
However, if you are dealing with a significant amount of orange peel, kindly avoid spraying a clear coat over it. It doesn’t matter whether the orange peel is on the base or the clear coat itself. Make sure that you sand the surface and then proceed to clear coat.
Won’t Sanding Make the Surface Too Smooth for Clear Coat to Adhere?
From the above, it’s clear that Sanding does a commendable job of dealing with orange peel. However, as beneficial as Sanding is, there is one concern that you may have. Won’t sanding make the surface very smooth for a clear coat to hold on to?
You must first understand that when dealing with orange peel on a painted surface, you should use ultra-fine sandpaper. Our goal here is to deal with the orange peel, not to strip off the paint, which will most likely occur when you use coarse sandpaper.
Considering that the sandpaper being used here is ultra-fine, you don’t have to worry about the surface being too smooth for a clear coat to adhere to.
Once you are done Sanding and eliminating the orange peel, you can clear coat over it, and it will hold well. You should only be concerned about creating a smooth surface if you were to use coarse sandpaper.
Should You Sand and Clear Coat or Clear Coat and Sand?
The other thing that may confuse many DIY painters is whether they should sand and clear coat or vice versa when dealing with orange peel. This, however, doesn’t have to be a problem since we have clarified everything above.
Sanding should always come first since we will use it to fix the orange peel. A clear coat can follow afterward. You can only clear coat and sand if you are dealing with minor orange peel and want the finish to look neater.
With the above in mind, it should be pretty straightforward what you should and shouldn’t do.
What Causes Orange Peel?
Having established the steps one needs to take when clear coating orange peel, it’s vital that DIYourselfers understand how to prevent such an imperfection.
Even when you sand the clear coat, if you are doing something wrong, chances are that the orange peel will still show up when you clear coat.
So, how does orange peel occur? Before we list the causes, we must define what orange peel is. This is a finish that forms on a car due to several reasons.
The finish resembles an orange peel hence the name. For most people, an orange peel isn’t the most desirable finish. It’s probably why you are researching how to get rid of it.
Anyway, here are some of the leading causes of orange peel;
• The main cause is the improper adjustment of the paint application equipment.
As much as car painting has become a common practice, not everyone is skilled at it. When painting, the equipment used must be adjusted to meet the requirements on the technical sheet. Failure to adhere to the above can also lead to orange peel development.
• Another cause of orange peel is the use of insufficient thinner.
If you don’t mix the correct amount of thinner, the paint can be highly viscous, leading to an irregular finish.
• If you also don’t let the previous coats dry in the stipulated period, orange peel can develop.
From primer, all the way to the clear coat, always ensure that you give each coat time to dry. The manufacturer of the paint you are using should recommend the best drying period. If previous coats weren’t given enough time to dry, you will have a terrible finish.
• Holding the spray gun far away from the workpiece leads to an uneven coating.
That can also cause the orange peel effect. The ideal distance between the spray gun and the workpiece should be twelve to fourteen inches.
If you made any of the above mistakes during painting, make sure you avoid them when applying the clear coat. That should ensure the problem doesn’t arise once more.
Is Clear Coat a Recommended Method of Fixing Orange Peel?
There are two main methods of dealing with orange peel, and that is through Sanding and polishing. Clear coating isn’t a fix for orange peel. The much it can do is conceal some slight orange peel, but it’s not a solution.
If there is an orange peel in the base coat, it will show up even when you add a clear coat. Please don’t use it as a fix for clear coat issues.
Do Experts Recommend Clear Coating Orange Peel?
If you ask any detailer, they will not advise you to clear coat orange peel. They will ask you to follow the method prescribed above, which entails sanding and polishing. Even though a clear coat can fix such an imperfection, it’s not the best option.
Should I Ignore Orange Peel and Spray Clear Coat Over It?
Imperfections such as orange peel are very common when painting, especially if you don’t have much experience.
The good thing about painting is that these imperfections are often covered as you add more layers to the surface. If you are dealing with minor orange peel in the base coat, a clear coat can hide that imperfection.
The problem is if the orange peel is substantial. It doesn’t matter how many layers of clear coat you spray in such a scenario. The orange peel will still be visible.
In such an incident, kindly don’t ignore the orange peel and spray a clear coat on top of it. The only time you can ignore orange peel is if it’s minimal.