I want to know if i should take my truck back to get it repainted for orange peel? Its 5 months old. Oh, and Ive noticed a paint defect by the antenna and on the roof, and the pin stripe is messed up. Should i take it back?

 

You are under warranty man. It's no brainer.

Just put your thinking cap on and go to a dealer that's customer friendly. Ask around. If that means taking the advertising off your ride that you bought it from, then do it. If the subject comes up say you just moved to the area, heh.

 

You can try, but most likely they will “not” repaint it for the orange peel. That is normal and since it was already there when you bought it and looked it over they will be inclined to tell you that you bought it already knowing it so why should they repaint it. It is worth a shot but do know your chances of getting it repainted are slim to none.

As far as some defects you are talking about it is hard to say without pictures but it won’t hurt to try and get them fixed.

 

Just a result of mass production paint techniques, not really a defect. They dont have guys at the factory to go in and do the stuff to the paint after it's been applied to make it smooth like glass. If you want it orange-peel free you need custom paint.

 

yep like these other people said the orange peel in just part of the paint just how it is now days.

 

First of all, you'll need to prove that you have a defect in order to get anything done. A certain amount of orange peel is considerd to be normal. It's just normal production tolerance stuff. I doubt very much that your dealer will offer to repaint your truck for orange peel alone. What your dealer may offer you is to buff your truck out. Think carefully about this option. Buffing actually removes paint. Do you really want a thinner protective layer? I doubt it.

Now for a minute, let's assume that you do have defective paint and they offer to repaint the truck. Do you really want a dealer to repaint your truck? Nobody - and I mean nobody - can duplicate the correct finish as applied to a body in white at the factory. Just can't happen - for any reasonable amount of money. Besides, somebody will always be able to tell your truck has been painted. That means it's automatically worth less. Do you really want that?

My red 1995 F-150 had a true defective paint job. The red (they didn't use base coat / clear coat back then) was not fully cross-linked and therefore was soft. The smallest stone chipped it. After some effort, the dealer (general manger) offered to repaint it. Even the Body Shop manger admitted that he couldn't guarantee that nobody would be able to tell the truck had been painted - after only 2,600 miles. The solution? A long battle with Ford and eventually a new truck. All of that for an obvious defect. I'd just settle for what you've got and find a good wax.

 

Thanx for the replies. I see your points on the orange peel. The defect i have looks like they painted over a piece of tape and left it there. And int the grooves in the roof there seems to be little paint, but enough clear coat. But, you definately think they would re-stripe it?

 

I'd recommend at least trying, and be sure you try to find a good dealership too. At least try for the pinstripe, they might repaint the spots needed if the orange peel is in just a few spots instead of the whole truck...

 

I've been pondering the same question on my 2003. I waxed it for the first time nearly a month ago, since getting it Memorial day weekend, and I noticed the reflection of the house roof line was all fragmented from the orange peel on the hood. I hate when you can't get a true reflection, kind of like looking in a broken mirror, but I don't know if I'd trust the dealer to remove or wet sand my truck and put paint/clearcoat on the way it was applied at the factory....so I'll just have to live with it.

 

this is such an uphill battle it might not even be worth fighting.

and you have no guarantee that the paint will be better when they finish

 

Here is the problem you face, which I basically laid out in my other post. The orange peel effect is “inherent” in the paint process at the factory. This along with it is there to see upon inspection prior to taking delivery of your truck basically means you have little to no chance of getting the dealer to fix it.

You could “almost” translate that to “My truck is green, but I didn’t know it was green till I got home and now I want Red”. It is true the color is more obvious but it is still the same point which is the orange peel has been there since it was painted and when it left the factory. It didn’t get any better or worse sitting on the dealer lot, and has not changed since they day you brought it home.

Sure you can try to see if they will fix it but just have in your mind that most likely they will turn you down since you already accepted the truck “as-is” as far as the paint condition (orange peel).

 

I'm taking mine back if only to document my issue. I've got less than 2000 miles on the truck and now that I know it's there, it'll bother me. I put the bottle of wax on the hood and I can barely read the label in the reflection off the hood!!! That's not right! It should be like a mirror, I've never had this problem on any vehicle I've owned.

Looked on the net and found a couple of articles on Orange Peel. Unfortunately it's not too easy to get around.....but that's not my issue.

http://www.pcimag.com/CDA/ArticleInf...,72913,00.html

http://www.generalpaint.biz/refinish/orange.html ******There is a good picture in this link for those wondering what orange peel paint looks like

 

Is it just you're hood? If you're only looking at getting the hood repainted, you just might have a shoot at it, maybe they will go that extra mile so as to have a return customer...

 

No.... It's pretty much the entire truck. I suppose I just notice the hood the most. I was out looking again last night and we have electrical wires running along our street, so I looked at them in the hood reflection and there was not one straight line were they lined up. But if you step away from the truck the immediate surface looks very shiny. I guess if most everyone else has it I'll just live with it.

My finace's son's 92 Ranger was in the drive so I took a look at his hood and it also had orange peel!!! Not as bad but the power lines reflection was also fragmented. Unbelievable....

 

I know what you mean about the orange peel and looking kind of screwed up. From what I understand it is due to new processes years back, the type of paint and/or the way they apply it due to EPA reg's. Something like that.