New 2012 35d Orange Peel

We have had our 2012 35d for less than two weeks now and loving it. However, we have noticed that the paint has a really bad "orange peel" effect which I always equated to bad paint jobs. My $20K VW Jetta has smoother paint than my >$50K new BMW, which was kind of shocking. We have the black saphire and the "orange peel" effect makes it to where you do not even see the saphire specs in the paint. I contacted the dealer and they said to bring it and and they will assess it. I am just wondering if this is normal for a new BMW or in fact a defect that I should push the dealer hard to resolve? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

All 3 of my BMW's have the orange peel... It appears to be a BMW thing.. Luxury or not.. BMW paint sucks.

All of mine have had it as well, claying the paint and nice coat of wax will help. Some colors show more than others.

Mine has it as well... black sapphire too.

I always thought my GM vehicles had as much peel as robotically possible... wow was I wrong.

Jay

BMWs are notorious for the orange peel quality of their paint. They have the worst paint quality of all the cars I've owned and it kept me from buying them for years and years - cheap interiors and poor paint quality kept me away. Both of my BMWs a 2011 and a 2012 have lots of orange peel everywhere

sounds about right. lots of orange peel on my 2012 space gray 35d.

Man, you guys are scaring me. I've got a car at the factory that hits the paint shop this week. The paint on my 2008 X3 and 2000 323 coupe were both fine. I don't know exactly what you mean by "orange peel" but it seems to suggest rough and not glassy....which ain't good.

BMW paint SUCKS. The orange peel is shockingly bad. The dark colors are absolutely hideous.

Someone said 'waxing and claybaring'? What a joke...all that work to simply highlight the ghastly ripples in the reflections!!!!

My E39 M5 has far superior paint than ANY new bmw. They bellyache about new paint and environmental concerns, but that is BS- they COULD eliminate the peel but choose not to for cost reasons. There are many cars and painters that somehow manage perfect paint!

The biggest issue? American consumers are idiots and DON'T KNOW WHAT ORANGE PEEL IS!!!!

BMW has horrible orange peel as compared to almost anyone else. I attribute it to an obsession with being "green," causing them to use power-based clear coating. Very "Green," but the quality leaves a lot to be desired.

Even my Ford Focus has much, much smoother paint that BMWs.

Enemy of orange peel................White exterior. I'm trading a white 2011 X5 and when I was at the dealer I looked at other colors to have a change but went back to white again. Never obsess with rain, puddles, or dust and looks good when clean. Those dark color days are over for me, I enjoy it even more now, free yourself, lol.

By the way BMW paint finish does suck among other things but every competitor I look to sucks in other areas. It's all about give and take as well if you draw an ace or a deuce in each brand. God help me, I traded in a ace.

Ok, guess I am one of those idiot American consumers...can someone explain what orange peel is or show some pics?

My wife's 08 deep green metallic E70 has noticeable "orange peel" when looking at the car at an angle in the right light. My 03 titanium silver metallic E39 has near flawless paint. I had read that this may be due to the laws regarding the reduction of VOCs in paint.

Originally Posted by Tex94

Ok, guess I am one of those idiot American consumers...can someone explain what orange peel is or show some pics?

Its fairly self explanatory, picture the peel on an orange, how it has dimples over the entire surface, compared to say an apple peel. Now go outside and look down the side of your car in good sunlight, you'll see the same dimpled look in the paint. Now if you were to look at a restored show car, the paint/clear is wet sanded between each coat to ensure that all the dimples are removed and you have a glass like smooth appearance.

You can't feel it, it has to be seen. Some manufacturers are better then others, BMW sucks... oh well, I guess they don't call it the ultimate smooth paint machine

Jay

Excellent example photos of orange peel, particularly the one showing the "dimpled" house roof-line in it -- it is often hard to display in a photograph.

Based on this small sample, this is a common occurance afterall that I am not going to waste my time at the dealer pursuing any corrective action. Like someone said, it is all about compromise and we love the drive. Thanks for all the great feedback.

Originally Posted by blstanle

Based on this small sample, this is a common occurance afterall that I am not going to waste my time at the dealer pursuing any corrective action. Like someone said, it is all about compromise and we love the drive. Thanks for all the great feedback.

Good reasoning. I'm not sure if anything could be done anyway... it would involve sanding repainting the whole car :o

Enjoy your new X!

Jay

My DSB Orange peel was so bad I almost refused delivery. Since I lease I decided to live with it.

Besides, for the last month the Orange peel has been completely camouflaged by the pollen

Sent from my HTC Inspire using BimmerApp

Typical BMW...

Originally Posted by quackbury

My DSB Orange peel was so bad I almost refused delivery. Since I lease I decided to live with it.

You should have seen me at delivery...looking at the paint...just getting more pissed off. The wife said "Ard, stop...it's my car"



A

Originally Posted by ard

BMW paint SUCKS. The orange peel is shockingly bad. The dark colors are absolutely hideous.

Someone said 'waxing and claybaring'? What a joke...all that work to simply highlight the ghastly ripples in the reflections!!!!

My E39 M5 has far superior paint than ANY new bmw. They bellyache about new paint and environmental concerns, but that is BS- they COULD eliminate the peel but choose not to for cost reasons. There are many cars and painters that somehow manage perfect paint!

The biggest issue? American consumers are idiots and DON'T KNOW WHAT ORANGE PEEL IS!!!!

Count me into those idiots... I did not know what it is because I did not even expect something like that. BTW, here is a nice page on various paint defects. Question: what other problems with paint should one expect in their BMW (like from those listed in this link)?

http://www.briansmodelcars.com/tutorials/tutorial/30

Inclusions, fisheyes, scratches, dings....which ALL should be rectified prior to delivery. I have a micro-fisheye that I found at delivery, but said screw it. Given the orange peel I was fully disgusted. (as was Mrs. ard with the inspection.)

No dings, the 2010 had one at delivery.

Mind you, these are very hard to see- and I can understand why they were missed.

Orange peel is one of those that they will not fix.

Good info and thanks all for sharing. I feel fortunate that I'm less of an idiot after reading this thread :-) My '08 does have this...seemingly to a lesser degree than these photos though. We'll see how bad it is on the '12.

I am always conflicted when it comes to explaining orange peel to people, i.e. many people don't notice orange peel and think they have a perfect paint job until it is pointed-out to them. Since there is little one can do about orange peel practically-speaking, this truly is a case where ignorance is bliss. (Yes, I know one can get rid of it via wet sanding, etc., but for most people this is not a practical solution unless they are really into having a "show car.")