Orange peel
Orange peel turns up in 2 fields: powder coating, automotive. Here is what it means to the people in each one.
Orange peel in powder coating
A dimpled surface texture like the skin of an orange, the most common appearance complaint on powder.
Orange peel appears when the melted film gels before it can level. A certain amount is normal for powder and is graded against numbered smoothness panels from 1 (heavy) to 10 (glass smooth). It gets worse with film build outside the supplier's range, fast-gel powders, coarse particles, back ionization, slow ramp and old powder. Film build in range, better charging control and a matching gel time reduce it.
"Customer rejected the cabinets for orange peel, they want a 7 on the smoothness panels and we're at a 4."
Orange peel in automotive
A paint defect where the clear coat dries with a dimpled, uneven texture resembling fruit skin.
A textured imperfection in an automotive paint finish caused by improper atomization, incorrect spray gun pressure, or improper flash times between coats. The clear coat fails to flow out completely flat, leaving a bumpy surface. It is usually corrected by wet sanding and polishing the clear coat until smooth.
"The body shop did a decent job on the color match but there's a lot of orange peel on the new fender."