[wheresmy5]

So I just got my 2019 540 detailed. Never knew orange peel was a thing until now, and it's everywhere. I haven't found a panel yet which doesn't have a pronounced peel effect.

I wonder if this is something more easily visible on darker colors? I have carbon black.

Pretty surprised it's so obvious on a 70k car.

There's not a chance I'll pay for a wet sanding so I guess I'll have to live with it. Any orange peel support groups out there?

[AddyDaddy]

Originally Posted by wheresmy5

So I just got my 2019 540 detailed. Never knew orange peel was a thing until now, and it's everywhere. I haven't found a panel yet which doesn't have a pronounced peel effect.

I wonder if this is something more easily visible on darker colors? I have carbon black.

Pretty surprised it's so obvious on a 70k car.

There's not a chance I'll pay for a wet sanding so I guess I'll have to live with it. Any orange peel support groups out there?

Take some pics

[wheresmy5]

For your citrus craving...

[DBO]

Difficult to judge by photos, but I think that's pretty standard these days. If you want mirror like finish you're going to have to put in the hard work yourself to cut and buff the gloss back.

[claykin]

Orange peel is part of the modern paint process. Since Euro manufacturers went water based (about 1996) orange peel has been a way to hide production line process issues that are common with water vs. solvent based paints. In addition, manufacturers use the orange peel effect to give them additional tolerances with panel imperfections.

The vast majority of orange peel is in the clear coat. There's plenty of services that specialize in paint correction. They thin the clear using wet sand or chemicals and reduce the effect. Personally, I'd leave it alone. You'll get used to it.

[AddyDaddy]

Just have car sealed and waxed. I'll look at mine tomorrow, it's almost 2 months old, but your pics looked normal except the last 2 photos, but angle may have exaggerated the bumps. I'm saying only you would ever notice it lol. I have the same problem, things like that keep me up at night sometimes.
I doubt the dealer would do anything since it passed inspections.

[Mach550]

There are two sides of orange peel, if you're not going to be taking the car to concourse there's no reason other than personal opinion to remove it. Second when you go to sell it people will think you had repairs done as the lack of orange peel sets off a red flag.

[Warp Ten]

If it really bothers you I would suggest going the paint correction route noted above with a detailer that is experienced in it. While not exactly comparable, I had it done on a Polo Green 1995 Corvette ZR-1 and it looked 10 times better than it had before (20 years of sun and polishing.). Two guys spent about 6 hours doing the work on my lift at home in a heated garage on an early March day. It cost about $450 roughly 5 years ago but would likely be more now and with a bigger car. Otherwise, I agree just ignore it. Although now that you mention it, maybe I will check my Carbon Black 540 just to see....Bob

[wheresmy5]

Thanks gents for your responses.

I'm going to leave it as is. I was more curious whether this was within factory norms or a defect. I never looked for this until now, so I can't recall whether my previous 5ers had this same issue... I suspect they did, based on your responses.

[wheresmy5]

Originally Posted by Mach550

There are two sides of orange peel, if you're not going to be taking the car to concourse there's no reason other than personal opinion to remove it. Second when you go to sell it people will think you had repairs done as the lack of orange peel sets off a red flag.

That's the thing... when I brought it up to the detail guy, he asked if it had body work. It's brand new, few thousand miles. I also would have expected something like this to happen only in aftermarket paint jobs.

[claykin]

Originally Posted by wheresmy5

That's the thing... when I brought it up to the detail guy, he asked if it had body work. It's brand new, few thousand miles. I also would have expected something like this to happen only in aftermarket paint jobs.

Most resprays have a smoother finish. Usually due to the body shop needing to work the clear to remove dust, imperfections, etc that are way more common in a respray. (these statements refer to a higher end shop, not your run of the mill hack shop)

It's more difficult for body shops to replicate BMWs orange peel. BMW sells (through their refinish vendors) - I believe usually BASF, special spray tips designed to replicate the factory finish. It's really important the shop prep the panels properly and spray in a ultra low dust environment so they can preserve the orange peeled clear.

[wheresmy5]

Originally Posted by claykin

Most resprays have a smoother finish. Usually due to the body shop needing to work the clear to remove dust, imperfections, etc that are way more common in a respray. (these statements refer to a higher end shop, not your run of the mill hack shop)

It's more difficult for body shops to replicate BMWs orange peel. BMW sells (through their refinish vendors) - I believe usually BASF, special spray tips designed to replicate the factory finish. It's really important the shop prep the panels properly and spray in a ultra low dust environment so they can preserve the orange peeled clear.

Thanks man.

I had a bumper repainted in a previous 5er and I remember seeing distinct orange peel. Here again, I considered this a bad job by the body shop. Who knew that they are trying to replicate the factory orange peel...

I can see the benefits of orange peel to the manufacturer - hides imperfections for sure. But to the consumer, there's no question that the effect is easily visible and inferior to smooth finish which doesn't break a reflection.

[claykin]

Originally Posted by wheresmy5

Thanks man.

I had a bumper repainted in a previous 5er and I remember seeing distinct orange peel. Here again, I considered this a bad job by the body shop. Who knew that they are trying to replicate the factory orange peel...

I can see the benefits of orange peel to the manufacturer - hides imperfections for sure. But to the consumer, there's no question that the effect is easily visible and inferior to smooth finish which doesn't break a reflection.

The body shop that left you distinct orange peel on your bumper probably just did a poor job. Orange peel occurs under many conditions, intentional and unintentional. BMW just tries to make it easier for their approved shops to match the factory peel.

[530iDriver]

Originally Posted by DBO

Difficult to judge by photos, but I think that's pretty standard these days. If you want mirror like finish you're going to have to put in the hard work yourself to cut and buff the gloss back.

Or pay $$$ a professional detailer to do a full paint correction job.

[530iDriver]

Originally Posted by wheresmy5

That's the thing... when I brought it up to the detail guy, he asked if it had body work. It's brand new, few thousand miles. I also would have expected something like this to happen only in aftermarket paint jobs.

Body work in new cars is more common than most people think. Cars often sustain damage in transport and when they arrive the PDC (Pre-Delivery Center) at the ports of entry, vehicles are evaluated and repaired as needed. Often if repairs don't exceed $1500 (Or thereabouts) these don't have to be disclosed to the would be buyer or new owner.

PDCs have fully staffed body shop facilities. This is why I tell people to always bring a paint thickness gauge and passing it over each panel on the new car to detect possible body work and respray jobs before taking delivery.

[wheresmy5]

Originally Posted by 530iDriver

Body work in new cars is more common than most people think. Cars often sustain damage in transport and when they arrive the PDC (Pre-Delivery Center) at the ports of entry, vehicles are evaluated and repaired as needed. Often if repairs don't exceed $1500 (Or thereabouts) these don't have to be disclosed to the would be buyer or new owner.

PDCs have fully staffed body shop facilities. This is why I tell people to always bring a paint thickness gauge and passing it over each panel on the new car to detect possible body work and respray jobs before taking delivery.

The orange peel is consistent throughout the entire body.

[530iDriver]

Originally Posted by wheresmy5

The orange peel is consistent throughout the entire body.

These cars are strictly painted by robots. Go to minute 3:43 in below video showing the paint shop process at BMW Group plant Dingolfing in Germany where most of our G30s are manufactured:

[AddyDaddy]

Yep looking on my 2019M550 with 2400 miles it's pretty pronounced peel effect. Reflection of power lines are almost blurred due to it on the hood and trunk. I think it's normal as long as your coat still shines,
I didn't notice on any of my previous BMW's