10/14/2026
It took 80hrs to peel an orange?
This ‘65 Mustang came with a respray that had plenty of shine, but the texture was keeping it from looking the way it should. There was heavy orange peel, dry spray, and not a single area on the car had been sanded. Looking down the panels, you could see how much the texture distorted the reflections.
With the paint already fully hardened, this was a slow process. Spent five days wet sanding every panel by hand, with no machine sanding. Working small sections at a time, checking the surface, and measuring paint thickness often was a big part of the job. A respray can give you a high thickness reading, but that doesn’t tell you how much of it is clear coat. You still need to be careful, especially around edges and body lines, because whatever you sand off isn’t going back on.
As the panels levelled out, I could start to see what the finished car was going to look like. But after five days of sanding, there was still plenty of work ahead. The next two days went into a three-stage paint correction, removing the sanding marks and gradually refining the finish until the reflections were clear and the colour had its depth back.
We spent the final day applying IGL Kenzo’s 10h Graphene ceramic coating (base and top layer) to protect the finish we’d put so much time into.
All together, this Mustang took over 80 hours, working 10–12-hour days. Seeing it outside when it was finished made those long days worth it. The same paint that came in textured and uneven now has the smooth, clear reflections that brings the whole car together. A beautiful fresh restoration finally wearing the showroom finish it deserves.
