Orange Peel

APPEARANCE:
Texture in the dried paint film similar to the appearance of an orange peel

CULPRITS:
There are several reasons why paint will develop a texture during and after application, creating the “orange peel” appearance. They are:

• Excessive film thickness: Applying too much material in full wet coats can prevent the paint from flowing to an even film before drying.
• Poor choice in reducer or insufficient use of reducer: The wrong grade or the wrong temperature reducer for the conditions can cause solvents to evaporate too fast, allowing the paint film to dry before the material has properly flowed out to the desired appearance. Also important is using enough reducer.
• Insufficient air pressure: Not using enough air pressure at the tip of the gun can prevent paint material from properly atomizing, keeping it from flowing out to a desired appearance. Also important is use of the correct fluid tip and air cap, and even type of gun for the specific material.
• Poor technique: Any number of factors including the position of the gun tip, the speed of the pass, the degree of overlap between passes, the distance of the gun from the panel, etc. can lead to orange peel.

TO FIX:
If orange peel is minimal, sand out the texture in the dried paint film with a fine grit sandpaper, then compound and polish to restore gloss. If orange peel is significant, sand out imperfections and reapply paint using properly reduced material, air pressure and technique. Also, making adjustments to the gun settings may help.