# Orange Peel Removal Black Merc



## Sl500er (Apr 14, 2018)

Hi, I have lots of orange peel and scratches on my s class Merc. Not sure if it's from the factory paint job or a poor repair. Large area covering most panels.

What approach should I take? I have a DA polisher which I've used on other cars but was considering wet sanding (by hand or using something like the 3m system on my meguiars DA.

Is this something I should leave to a pro (how much?)or have a go myself to save money...

Cheers..


----------



## vsideboy (Sep 1, 2006)

Wet sanding would be the normal route for helping to reduce orange peel mate, but it's been a long time since I did any so maybe do a search through for someone who might have done some recently?


----------



## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Ideally leave to a pro if you've never done it before.

Unless you can get a test panel, or maybe try on a small area you'd not notice


----------



## waqasr (Oct 22, 2011)

Tips would be use the best quality paper you can get, Ive tried unknown brands and the sanding marks are very uneven leaving a difficult to remove sanding pattern. I use 3m for 1500 and 2000, nikken for 3000.

Make sure the panel is clean, and clayed, you dont want any embedded contaminants coming loose and scratching the paint even deeper.

Theres honestly no need for iron x, decon, 2 bucket method, wax strip etc etc. Your sanding the paint here, anything on there will be removed, just make sure the paint is glass smooth before sanding.

Depending on your objective, start with 3000 or 2500 grit, just the same as machining start with the least aggresive and work towards getting more coarse if your not getting the results.

Always use a block, especially with the courses grits (1200, 1500, 2000) as unless youve had alot of practice with out a block, you will make waves and ripples in the finish.

Try to finish sanding upto 3000 grit as itll be alot easier to take out the marks and restore gloss.

Also the finer grit you go, youll have to do that stage roughly twice as long to fully remove the previous marks. So for instance you did 10 strokes of 1500 grit, You'd typically need 20 strokes of 2000 grit to remove the 1500 and sand in a different direction to the previous grit so you can see if all the marks are gone.

Before I forget, try not to skip more than one grit. So usually the grits are 1200,1500,2000,2500,3000. So you can go for 1500 to 2500, but itll take longer ofcourse, but try not to go 1500 to 3000.

Use a spray bottle filled with clean water and use it frequently, not alot of pressure is needed and also be very cautious on edges, as you can see on the pics I didnt sand the edges.

I sanded all by hand, though machine sanding is not as aggressive as you may think, if anything its safer than hand sanding.

Think I covered most there, any other question let me know


----------



## A&J (Mar 4, 2015)

Has anyone ever used Denim pads made for removing orange peel??? I have one at home but i havent used it yet. That might be a good alternative to wet sanding.


----------



## vsideboy (Sep 1, 2006)

A&J said:


> Has anyone ever used Denim pads made for removing orange peel??? I have one at home but i havent used it yet. That might be a good alternative to wet sanding.


Yes... You...This Weekend...Report Back On Findings...Cheers Matey
:buffer:


----------



## A&J (Mar 4, 2015)

lol :lol: :thumb:


----------



## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

So long as the pad is rigid so it doesn't follow the paint it should work.

I have used the Meguiar's microfibre pads with their pink polish and I could see some of the orange peal had been reduced.


----------



## EliteCarCare (Aug 25, 2006)

For someone without previous wetsanding experience I would recommend the CarPro Denim 2000 pads, these work well in conjunction with a decent cutting polish, I always reach for Megs 105 is using a denim pad as they work so well.
The finish a denim pad leaves is also much easier to polish back from.

One tip, make sure you thoroughly brush the surface of the pad after every single set as any build-up can cause pigtailing or marking on the lacquer surface.

If you take a look on Youtube there are a few videos of them in use.

Alex


----------



## waqasr (Oct 22, 2011)

my review of the denim pad https://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=341732


----------

