orange peel, hopeless?

[Accumulator]

LT4- OK, just didn`t want you to be disappointed. I bet a little polishing and waxing will have it looking so good that the paint`s texture won`t bother you all that much.

[Older]

I`m in the "live with it" camp. You`ll see orange peel on cars in every price range. Just like the color differences between bumper covers and the body panels.

[LT4]

Just to sort of wrap up my dithering, here`s what I did:
I re-evaluated my priorities for this car. Wife`s car, and she leaves it outside almost all the time (unlike the ones I drive, which are always garaged). So paint protection leapfrogged smooth, shiny, show car look. Gave up any notion of correcting orange peel. Washed, clayed. Machine polished hood, tops of front fenders, rear quarters (Menzerna SF applied with PC/DA). Panel wiped whole vehicle. Applied spray coating (Mothers, which I had on hand). 24 hours later topped with Meguiar`s Ultimate Wax, which contains no wax. Applied Sonus Motor Kote to all the gray/black plastic. Have subsequently topped up shine with Glanz, which works nicely with the Meg`s. Dreadful orange peel is unchanged, but car is a great looking 10 foot car. I really appreciate everyone`s advice and needed the warnings about how thin clearcoat has become. I still may apply carnauba over everything else, but enough for now.

[Accumulator]

KT4- I`m glad your happy with the results, even if you couldn`t quite resist a final "Dreadful" regarding that orangepeel I bet it looks great, and now that it`s well-protected it oughta be easy to keep it that way. Hope your wife enjoys the car!