Paint: Orange Peel as it Applies to Corvette Paint Quality

Description:
Dan Stauft was a Paint Process Engineer at the Corvette manufacturing facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky back in October of 1995. At that time, he was a member of the ZR-1 Net - an online group of Corvette enthusiasts dedicated to the 1990 - 1995 ZR-1 Corvettes. A common complaint from many of the members was the amount of "orange peel" present in the 1984 - 1995 Corvette as compared to competitive European models. Dan was kind enough to offer the following explanation and we would like to thank him for his time in putting this response together:

Excerpt:
Orange Peel:  A paint surface with a texture of "hills and valleys" similar to the skin of an orange. Excessive orange peel is considered a paint defect. It can be reduced by sanding, compounding, and polishing.  Definition by 3M Corporation

Link:  Orange Peel as it Applies to Corvette Paint Quality