glava2876: I agree completly; "if you look at the finish close, especially at an angle they all have slight orange peel. Stand back 10' and they all look amazing" My black 2015 actually has pretty good paint except as I quoted you above.

I just bought a 2016 Acura which is supposed to have pretty good paint (Slate Silver) and it really has more orange peel than my CV. The car I sold a 2011 Accord, paint was excellent. You really had to look "very closely" for imperfections.

I think as said above in the thread, all the mass produced cars are luck of the draw and if paint is a big issue for you, decide upon the vehicle condition before delivery and reject the car if it doesn't meet your needs.

a lot of people in here want champagne on a beer budget.

I've never seen a BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Porsche, MB, or any Japanese car w/o some OP. The only way to get rid of it w/ modern paint processes is to wet-sand, which Ferrari, Lambo, etc. can afford to do before delivery given what they're charging for cars.

Here are some details about the paint shop upgrades

Same here. Not much orange peel at all, but there is a little if you get up close. The top surfaces are orange peel free though.https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...b9e842c0f6.jpg

When I took delivery of my 2016 TR C7 I was not happy with the amount of OP on the sides of the car, however, the top painted surfaces are perfect. Then I went to a big auto show and looked at the paint on Testla, Audi A8, Lexus Sport, Maserati, BMW, Mercedes, etc. Everyone one of them had OP, several brands were down right horrible. After that I didn't feel so bad, in fact I hardly notice it anymore.

I believe that main culprit is water base paint and clear coat. It does not flow and spread out smoothly like previously used paint/clear coat.

Its interesting that the carbon fiber parts have the least amount of OP, while the SMC panels are likely to have more.

The upside is that you can get rid of orange peel in the manufacturing process. The downside is that the paint and clear coat are so thin that when you breathe on them wrong, you'll get rock chips.

The reason the top (horizontal) surfaces are way better than the sides (vertical) are because the top surfaces (roof and hood) are carbon fiber. The SMC is far harder to get right with the EPA certified water-based paints.

Frankly my BMW in bright red (Melbourne Red) has just as much OP or more than some C7s I've seen (no paint runs or panel fitment issues though) despite not being an SMC body.

My AW is OK. Lighter colors conceal the flaws a lot better... I looked at several black C7s, which was my first choice, but the finish helped to influence my decision to go with AW. "That," and I'm getting lazy w/age...

love that painted vent option .. Orange peel or no orange peel ... Can be debated forever ...at least you see or don't see prior to driving away from dealer with the new car ...dont like it ..dont accept the car .... The real issue ..to me is the a8 tranny problems ..that you cannot see...that to me is the biggest deal by far with my car ...the fear of what lies down the road ...

We saw a blue 2014 brand new. The orange peel was so bad that when the car arrived the guy who ordered it was having second thoughts after waiting and waiting for it to arrive. The dealer tried working on it in the body shop and finally satisfied the buyer. Our Red 2016 was actually one of the better one's we've seen, thankfully

:iagree:

The current paint section has outlived it's life cycle. Paint and products have changed, and the needed for an updated paint area is needed to keep up with increased production.

GM is about the profit, not customized paint jobs.

From the internet:

How do you fix orange peel?

Typically, if it’s bad enough, you need to wet sand. Sherwin Williams (and Dr. Beasley’s, for that matter) recommends starting with a compounding polish to see if you can address the problem without being too abrasive at first. If that doesn’t work, you should progressively get more aggressive as needed. Wet sanding, of course, is the dive-right-in approach that is most commonly used, but this makes my teeth cringe. Basically you wet the surface and the sandpaper, and diminish the clear coat until the surface is smooth. Then you follow with a polishing procedure to further smooth out the scratches you have created with the sandpaper. Because correction is an abrasive process in which you are removing microns of clear coat, in no way does this restore the finish to factory quality or thickness.

If you want orange peel gone for good and your finish restored to factory-like condition (with a full clear coat), the area will have to be repainted – hopefully by someone with enough knowledge to ensure orange peel isn’t created a second time.

my expert ..and I mean the very best ! told me live with it ...

This is true in most cases.. Some of the highest end detailers here said, unless you want to risk a full repaint, the paint on most vettes isn't thick enough to safely wet sand all over. You can do some trouble spots but overall it isn't worth it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbcb View Post

my expert ..and I mean the very best ! told me live with it ...

This is true in most cases.. Some of the highest end detailers here said, unless you want to risk a full repaint, the paint on most vettes isn't thick enough to safely wet sand all over. You can do some trouble spots but overall it isn't worth it.


That was advice I was given as well.... unless you have $$$$$ to do a full repaint estimated to be $10,000 at least. Absolutely NOT worth it IMHO.
:thumbs:

I think it could have been nicer but don't really care since I only wash it so my pics come out good, covered it with Xpel, and in less than 9 months, put 17k miles on it.

Disappointed in every C7 I've had so far, but still love the car LOL!