767guy

I completely get what you are saying.......you just know a bit too much.

In a similar vein to what you are saying, I have studied and played music as a hobby for over sixty years. Sometimes at a wedding there will be a band, and by a lot of peoples account, a"really good band". Too often I cringe at what I am hearing. Then I start telling her all the stuff that is going wrong......she tells me "shut up and keep dancing" ..

Foosh

Yes, one panel prepared for PR purposes is easy. Did you ask them if they color-sanded, polished, clear-coated, wet-sanded, and polished again? It's way too labor-intensive to be done on mass-produced cars in this price range, and robots can't do it.

But, that's what happens on very high-end cars, or super custom, paint jobs, and the only way to avoid OP. I don't remember which car now, but I saw a documentary on one of the high-end machines, where they claimed 48 hours of human-powered paint work on every vehicle, saying machines simply can't do this. It takes human eyeballs, human judgement, and human muscle.

Again, I only started this thread from reading the many comments over the last several months about the new plant. So many people have so many unrealistic expectations, that disappointment is inevitable.

spinkick

The orange peel makes the car more stable at high speeds; much like how a golf ball does.

If you shank the vette, dont blame GM its driver error.

AviBen

Hey, Foosh, is that your 911? It looks like Carmine Red, which is an extra-charge color (about $3k+ extra as I recall). Knowing how Porsche charges for everything, I'm guessing that OP on the frunk lid is an option running somewhere between $300 and $600.

Foosh

Not mine, but I was ogling it, and it is Carmine Red. That would be my 1st choice. It's a gorgeous color, and I would be happy to own that very car even w/ the OP.

I just couldn't help but see it. As ls3zob said above, once you know what to look for and start noticing, "you can't unsee it."

Damn . . . I think you're right, and obviously why Porsche does it too!!!!

LT4CMG

Funniest post I've read in a while

Thunder22

themonk

People who complain about paint need to get a life.

Foosh

I agree strongly with that. I see it on my car and others, but I'm able to ignore it, and enjoy the many other virtues of fine automobiles.

a striper

I was disappointed with the OP on my 15 but the car is too good to let that be a deal breaker.

The dimples on a golf ball decrease aerodynamic drag by delaying the separation point, according to one of my professors decades ago

mschuyler

I really feel for the folks who encounter pain when looking at Orange Peel. It's too bad your fine sensibilities are assaulted by such poor workmanship. I feel the same way about decent looking guys toting around fat wives (or beautiful women married to fat guys with guts.) That's just sad. It's painful, I know. I do not understand how they put up with it. But now that Foosh has pointed out a Porsche (Gasp!) with Orange Peel, I figure we need to lower our standards for cars in the $80-$150K range. It's a fact of life that they come with the dreaded Orange Peel. If it bothers you so much, then buy a $500K car. If you can't or won't do that, well then, you live in Orange Peel territory, my friend, down here in the proletariat gutter with the rest of us. Much as you would like to see yourself as a high roller of good breeding, you aren't. So get over it. It ain't gonna happen.

Gearhead Jim

The horizontal surfaces on our 2017 Long Beach Red are perfect, no orange peel or other defects at all.
The vertical surfaces look like an entire citrus grove.

It's interesting that the Porsche orange peel pic is a mostly horizontal area, supposed to be easier to avoid OP there. I wonder what the doors look like?

Foosh

Wanna bet . . . ? It's there, and very good for you that you don't focus upon it. Harsh bright fluorescent lights are the enemy.

No matter, I honestly don't look for it most of the time, and it doesn't bother me when I do see it. It's only when I'm in "detail mode" that I see it. Generally, I'm a "gestalt" person. I see the whole as opposed to the minutiae. Consider this thread as preventative therapy for those soon-to-be, new paint-shop owners.

That Porsche photographed above is drop-dead gorgeous, and a fine machine. It's very comparable performance-wise to a C7 Z51 w/ 450HP and 405 ft/lbs. of torque, but a little lighter. I just don't see it as worth more than 2X the price and was pointing out everything has some warts, as well as making a plea for realistic expectations.

We really do have an incredible performance bargain, warts and all.

BrunoTheMellow

Kid you not, robots are already capable of wet sanding vehicles. Robots and cameras are MUCH more accurate at seeing defects. Yes a human is good for the last checks but there are already full body inspections done by robots, color checks, etc. Humans miss a LOT of defects.

The only reason "machines can't do this" right now is cost. The technology is there.

bbrown450

True ..true. And there are some C7’s that have near perfect paint, in terms of Orange peel....time will tell

lakemg

I don't obsess over the OP, but it would be nice for the C7 to not look like it was painted at the factory with one of these:





or one of these:






An exaggeration, but you get my point...