pettvette

Long before I Ordered my 2015 I knew I wouldn't be happy with the amount of Orange Peel. After growing some ballz's and seeing the results others had gotten I decided to attack the issue...

So far I have only done the sides, but I'm so happy with the results, I'll probably do some work on the tops surfaces as well..

Warning: this is not for amateurs. You could destroy your paint....

I started with 2000 grit wet sand paper, then moved up to 2500 then 3000. I used a couple of compounds and polishes to get the shine and depth I wanted, and then finished off with Zaino...

Here's a few photos from my not so great camera....

JJoeG

Glen e

Nice job.....if you really want to protect it and add additional thickness, dump the Zaino and apply Cquartz UK or another coating, then Zaino after that.....

///ADMAN

Yep, I've done the same with my other vehicles. Makes a HUGE difference.





Thankfully, my C7 is AW. So, the orange peel isn't quite as noticeable.

1BADLS3

So, all of the OP is in the clearcoat? Or is your clearcoat now gone?

pettvette

I cant say all of the OP is in the clear but sanding the clear smooth's it out.... Didn't go through to the base coat in any spot, if you do you can only repair by repainting...

LSRX

It looks really good you did a nice job. Maybe you should go give lessons to GM on how to make the car look!


My OP wasn't as bad as others but really any is unacceptable on this car.

Thanks though for a solution with some hard work..

meyerweb

All that hand work would probably add 5 grand to the cost of the car.

pettvette

One of the reasons the OP bothered me so much is that I do some what high end paint work on the side.... Here's a 56 I'm just finishing up painting. It belongs to a Forum member, its the 3rd Corvette I've done for him. The more that I sanded and polished on the 56 the more I knew I had to do something on my 15....

Finishing up the clear...



After the sanding and polishing....

rcooper

Your car looks really nice. I am afraid that a lot of my op is in the color coat, so that makes me uneasy about doing the process. Con't want to spend the time just to have really shiny op and a super smooth clear coat.

Glen e

If you are doing by hand and using the grits the OP used, you can just lop to tops off the clear and get a much better finish by the light sanding and then going slower with polishes. It's not so hard, it just takes loads of time and effort. I spent 22 hours just on my sides:


I personally think virtually all the peel is in the clear coat.

John Ulrich

Nothing makes the neighbors cringe more then stop and see the new car and you're sanding on it!!

owc6

pettvette

Hey Glen, on my test panel I did start with 1500, then to 2000 and 3000. It seemed like I had to sand a lot more that I wanted to remove the 1500 sand scratches... It also took me about the same 22 hours to do the sides...

I used these polishes and both 3M & Lake Country foam pads....

Glen e

Yup, I used about the same, after sanding, a LC hybrid foam/wool pad on a flex rotary made it get better, MUCH faster. I just sandEd more with 2500/3000 as it's easier to get rid of the sanding marks vs using 1500, which I have done before.....I used FG400 then 4500, Menzerna is great stuff. Meg's 105/205 is also a great combo....but the hybrid pad is a godsend on a rotary.....but not for the inexperienced.....

99ta316

Or your wife. Been there done that.

Steve Garrett

Looks beautiful...congrats.

John Ulrich

After 27 years of marriage there is little I could do to phase her!!!

Although.....ordering the C7 via email at 2:00 am on a sleepless night is one of her recent favorites..........
.
.
.

Vetteman Jack

You did a great job making the paint really pop.

bigblock427

Looks very nice.