Hey guys.

Just wanted to share some info I've finally had time to post. Ths is what I have experienced in the last 3 weeks or more of owning the G8.

I have a balck GT.

Just real quick intro again from me: I do specialty paint treatment and correction. I wetsand and polish to remove Orange peel and any defect that still lies within the clear coat. Basically Im a car esthetician! ... detailer on steroids!

Ok, so: I measured the paint all over the car and found, to no suprise, varying thickness'. The obvious one is the bonnet (hood).
the hood measured between 5 to nearly 8 mils in thickness. Everywhere else measured at least 8 and as high as 11 mils. This is very impressive but no suprise seeing as they painted the cars back home:) They obviously painted the hoods and front clip afterwards and with either less clear or less paint!... not sure. But litterally, I measured the hood next to the fender and got 3 mil diff all round:eek2: amazing!

I have found the clear to be very soft and even reactive after light test washes. Im going to attempt to wet sand a section soon here and see what little grit it takes to remove as much OP as I can.

Stay tuned for results.

Thanks for reading and dont hesitate to ask Q's :)

Cheers

Caerwyn

Thanks for the info, Ausstar. Interesting as always, and we'll be watching for more.

uhh... did you keep your Goat?

Hey guys.

Just wanted to share some info I've finally had time to post. Ths is what I have experienced in the last 3 weeks or more of owning the G8.

I have a balck GT.

Just real quick intro again from me: I do specialty paint treatment and correction. I wetsand and polish to remove Orange peel and any defect that still lies within the clear coat. Basically Im a car esthetician! ... detailer on steroids!

Ok, so: I measured the paint all over the car and found, to no suprise, varying thickness'. The obvious one is the bonnet (hood).
the hood measured between 5 to nearly 8 mils in thickness. Everywhere else measured at least 8 and as high as 11 mils. This is very impressive but no suprise seeing as they painted the cars back home:) They obviously painted the hoods and front clip afterwards and with either less clear or less paint!... not sure. But litterally, I measured the hood next to the fender and got 3 mil diff all round:eek2: amazing!

I have found the clear to be very soft and even reactive after light test washes. Im going to attempt to wet sand a section soon here and see what little grit it takes to remove as much OP as I can.

Stay tuned for results.

Thanks for reading and dont hesitate to ask Q's :)

Cheers

Caerwyn

Just curious in what gage the metal is on these Pontiacs, 16 or 18?

thanks

I will be watching this thread for sure. The paint is decent on the car but the orange peel does bother me a little bit.

-brian

:worthless:

thanks guys.... should be fun to see what results I get and to what level I can get the op down to.
Im trying to find out fromsources back home if the the thickness is more paint or clear!! I hope its clear.!!!

Solrac.... sorry mate no pics to post yet. I have not doen anything other than measure thus far. BUt dont worry, ill show detailed pics when I start wet sanding.:)

I just recently "debadged" the car and had someone else do it (as I was afraid of scratching the car). This, of course, turned out to be a huge mistake as the "professional" that did it really scratched up the car. So I took it over to a place where I get detailing done and the owner said the exact same thing regarding the clear coat. He commented that it was some kind of clay based coat and very soft. Even leaning against the car with something moderately hard (i.e. seam on jeans) could leave a deep impression. I had him fix the paint on the back for me and he a very difficult time because of the softness. He did also comment that the quality of the paint is very good, but the clear coat could be very difficult to maintain. Swirl marks and other buffing impressions are going to be very hard to avoid I am afraid. I guess only time will tell...

I know this is going to sound bumb but what is orange peel?

I know this is going to sound bumb but what is orange peel?

It's when they use a too much paint, it looks a bit like the skin of a orange.

I see... i have noticed this...

I see... i have noticed this...

It's best seen when you look at a reflection of light, say a garage window. All cars have it, so don't worry.

Just curious in what gage the metal is?

thanks

anyone know about this? typically cars have 18 gage, jeeps have 16 (at least they did in the past).

I thought the orange peel was caused when the paint was shot to dry or maybe to wet. I don't recall which. I'm probably wrong, I might have gotten my paint conditions mixed up. Mine actually has very little peel in it. When we bought my daughters g6, the orange peel on the red was horrible. We bought her a silver which showed less peel then most did.

I've had many paint jobs on previous cars. All of them had orange peel, it's just part of the process. Way to remove orange peel is with wet sanding. 1500 grit paper, sanding blocks, water, lots of patience, emphasis on patience, heavy compound, light/fine compound, finally (3M perfect it), a good polish and walla!

Careful though, too aggressive, or not watching edges and corners and you can be prepping and shooting paint again.

How much wet sanding depends on how smooth or how much orange peel you want removed.

I had an 88 Mustang LX that was orange peel free, though 16 to 20 hours worth of wet sanding was necessary to get it in that condition. If your conservative and patient the results can be spectacular.

I my be mistaken, but i beleave there is a gauge out there the can let you know the thickness of the clear alone, I beleive it works by using reflection(place guage on paint and look at the way it reflects and it will tell you the CLEAR mils)

do you use a megnetic 'pull' mil tester, or an digital one?

Do expensive cars have better paint jobs than cheaper cars?

Do expensive cars have better paint jobs than cheaper cars?

Cadillac black has twice the dpi than the normal black on all other GM's, or at least they used to.

I loved the show car (wheels, interior, paint job, the stance) how much would that car cost? I would rather have that car than the 550 bmw. Seriously.

I loved the show car (wheels, interior, paint job, the stance) how much would that car cost? I would rather have that car than the 550 bmw. Seriously.

You talking bout the GXP? Under $40k
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm227/srg963/thumb1280x1280_2334164350_c84ffa3f5.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm227/srg963/thumb1280x1280_2333337635_5c0b5e291.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm227/srg963/thumb800x800_2334164464_e437d096-1.jpg

I think he might be talking about the grey car....

Do expensive cars have better paint jobs than cheaper cars?


That depends. However, I believe Toyota has the best paint jobs. If you ever look at a Camry, you'll see how smooth the clear coat is.

I think he might be talking about the grey car....

The Coupe 60?
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm227/srg963/Coupe60-33.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm227/srg963/Coupe60-19.jpg

just a concept, not for sale....yet :)

I think hes talking about the silver G8 shown in pics on google?
these?
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/B7_Kyle_A4/2008-pontiac-g8-gt-front-left-displ.jpg
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/B7_Kyle_A4/2008-Pontiac-G8-Gt.jpg

Yes the 4dr grey car with the nice interior and wheels and stance and paint and everything else. I love that car.

My observations when I test drove the G8:
Interior: not impressed. (loved the seats, plenty of space in the back)
Exterior: nice (except the hood scoops, 19 inch wheels look great in person, wheel spacers are a must )
Chassis: great (there was body roll, but it was really controlled)
Transmission: sucked, (it was the one real flaw, never drove it in sport mode, a tune can fix most of these problems)
Price: Love it.
Conclusion: I might buy a black one with the 19 inch wheels when I get my degree. What irritates me about the g8 is that it could have been a lot better, and with 5 dollars a gallon it has to be ( I live in Los Angeles). That car could have seriously competed with the BMW 550.

Ahhhh, That grey car.

I doubt you'll see an interior like that any time soon in these. The rest looks like the normal GXP, with chrome mirror caps, which will be out by Christmas ($40k).

My observations when I test drove the G8:
Interior: not impressed. (loved the seats, plenty of space in the back)
Exterior: nice (except the hood scoops, 19 inch wheels look great in person, wheel spacers are a must )
Chassis: great (there was body roll, but it was really controlled)
Transmission: sucked, (it was the one real flaw, never drove it in sport mode, a tune can fix most of these problems)
Price: Love it.
Conclusion: I might buy a black one with the 19 inch wheels when I get my degree. What irritates me about the g8 is that it could have been a lot better, and with 5 dollars a gallon it has to be ( I live in Los Angeles). That car could have seriously competed with the BMW 550.

lets not get off track in the wrong thread here.....:wink2:

To answer a few question.: I measure with a magnetic pull guage but I also have used the digital guages, I just have not got one yet. Mine works fine.

About orange peel: This is my profession and something I have paid close attention to thus resulting in a system that completes perfection. I dont know another detailer that does the same kind of work. OP is standard on any paint. It is next to impossible to paint a car without leaving OP. And also no need to try. The correct method is load up on clear then block it down once complete.

It starts with colour sanding: Depending on thickness I start with 2000 grit usually, and then 2500 then 3000. You always want to take 3 stages and increase in 500 increments. If you start with 1500 then you have to follow with 2000 then 2500-3000.
Once you have completed the sanding you have a perfect clouded surface, OP free. (I use special foam blocks that I have just come across that wont burn through clear!)
Then its down to polishing out the scratches. It takes at least 3 different pads and 3 different creams to complete this process. This is an art and not to be taken lightly. You have to know you can get out what you put in. To correct paint you need to inflict fine scratches that cut at the larger ones. Micro abrasives work the best but are the hardest to find.
The final polishing is crucial to implement a swirl, spider free finish. Results are breathtaking. The feeding is also vital to completing the process and showing a depth of reflection that, once done, has no rival on the road.

I posted a thread in the lounge back in March that outlines in detail what I do and includes pics.

Any other Q's are welcome.

be patient if you pm me, i usually take some time to formulate replies that answer multiple pm's!

Ok lets say I buy a black g8, how much to take out the OP and to make the hood look regular (take out hoodscoops)?lets not get off track in the wrong thread here.....:wink2:

To answer a few question.: I measure with a magnetic pull guage but I also have used the digital guages, I just have not got one yet. Mine works fine.

About orange peel: This is my profession and something I have paid close attention to thus resulting in a system that completes perfection. I dont know another detailer that does the same kind of work. OP is standard on any paint. It is next to impossible to paint a car without leaving OP. And also no need to try. The correct method is load up on clear then block it down once complete.

It starts with colour sanding: Depending on thickness I start with 2000 grit usually, and then 2500 then 3000. You always want to take 3 stages and increase in 500 increments. If you start with 1500 then you have to follow with 2000 then 2500-3000.
Once you have completed the sanding you have a perfect clouded surface, OP free. (I use special foam blocks that I have just come across that wont burn through clear!)
Then its down to polishing out the scratches. It takes at least 3 different pads and 3 different creams to complete this process. This is an art and not to be taken lightly. You have to know you can get out what you put in. To correct paint you need to inflict fine scratches that cut at the larger ones. Micro abrasives work the best but are the hardest to find.
The final polishing is crucial to implement a swirl, spider free finish. Results are breathtaking. The feeding is also vital to completing the process and showing a depth of reflection that, once done, has no rival on the road.

I posted a thread in the lounge back in March that outlines in detail what I do and includes pics.

Any other Q's are welcome.

be patient if you pm me, i usually take some time to formulate replies that answer multiple pm's!

I'd still like to know the gage of the metal on this car's exterior....no rush, just curious

About orange peel: OP is standard on any paint. It is next to impossible to paint a car without leaving OP. And also no need to try. The correct method is load up on clear then block it down once complete.

I'm a painter for a GM dealer, and when I did my collage portion of my Apprenticship a few years ago, something that teacher told us was "Your paint will ALWAYS have Orange Peel, and if it doesn't you have done something WRONG!!"


It starts with colour sanding: Depending on thickness I start with 2000 grit usually, and then 2500 then 3000. You always want to take 3 stages and increase in 500 increments. If you start with 1500 then you have to follow with 2000 then 2500-3000.
Once you have completed the sanding you have a perfect clouded surface, OP free.
Then its down to polishing out the scratches. It takes at least 3 different pads and 3 different creams to complete this process. This is an art and not to be taken lightly. You have to know you can get out what you put in. To correct paint you need to inflict fine scratches that cut at the larger ones. Micro abrasives work the best but are the hardest to find.

this sounds like the 3M system I use for my watersand/polishing Is that what you use to do this work, or do you go with another company? (3M is currently the only one I know that has 3000 grit)

I'm a painter for a GM dealer, and when I did my collage portion of my Apprenticship a few years ago, something that teacher told us was "Your paint will ALWAYS have Orange Peel, and if it doesn't you have done something WRONG!!"




this sounds like the 3M system I use for my watersand/polishing Is that what you use to do this work, or do you go with another company? (3M is currently the only one I know that has 3000 grit)

thanks for the input. I have always tried to update my system for speed and effectiveness. I have pretty much always used 3M but they fall short in many areas. My system for now at least is a combo. PM me and I can fill you in on a few products that will really impress you. maybe we can change GM's ways.....:judge::wink2:

But I d really like 3M's 3000 grit sanding discs with hook and loop attachment for DA polishers. It makes final stage WSing much easier. They are not the only one with 3000 though.

One 3M product that I have not found an equal for yet is 'Ultrafina'! Remarkable stuff.

thanks for the input. I have always tried to update my system for speed and effectiveness. I have pretty much always used 3M but they fall short in many areas. My system for now at least is a combo. PM me and I can fill you in on a few products that will really impress you. maybe we can change GM's ways.....:judge::wink2:

But I d really like 3M's 3000 grit sanding discs with hook and loop attachment for DA polishers. It makes final stage WSing much easier. They are not the only one with 3000 though.

One 3M product that I have not found an equal for yet is 'Ultrafina'! Remarkable stuff.

this is the Kit I currently use, 3M's Perfect-It 3000 kit (with the ultrafina you mentioned) http://store.goferauto.com/063mpafibepr.html

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=6591&BASE
the 3M reps constantly try to tell me that the 3000 is good for taking out 1500grit scratchs, however I feel thats :bs: I much prefure the method you use (when I can afford the time, as I'm not payed to polish my mistakes :slap: )


You have a PM :wink2: