Allright, I own a 97 f-150 XLT EXTcab, 4*4, black. the paint is so bad I haven't washed it, its got scratches all over the hood, as if someone threw some sand on the hood and rubbed it in. There is no way I did this. The paint is also got tiny little crackes in it, all over the place, they are kinda white coloured. But any ways I've tried everything to remove theme, with no luck, I'm so frustrated. what will get the tiny little cracks out of the paint, and what can I do about the scratches? What kind of warranty does ford give for paint, I realise, that they scrtaches are my problem, but the crackng paint? thanks guys for all the posts!!

 

i think a quick drive through the souther states will prove that ford couldn't care less about how it's paint holds up on the trucks. i owned a 93 lighning in black and sold it as it was such a pain in the rear. you'll just end up getting it stripped and repainted properly if you want it done right. sorry to sound so down on the whole situation but it's not like the truck is new and doing it where you'd stand a chance in court or something it is 5 years ago and ford can come up with a lot more reasons why it's not there fault than you could resonably do against them.

 

Colorsanding would be an option. If I were you, I would not colorsand the truck myself though. If you want to try it though I can give you basic rundown. First thing though, Go to a painshop and ask how much it would cost to repaint your hood. Just so you know how much damage you might be causing and if all else fails you know how much it'll cost to repaint.

You'll need a rotary buffer. I have a Makita 9227C. It is nice. Variable speed 300 - 3000 RPMs. I use it to buff out scratches all the time. Nice to have one of these.

You'll need a good rubbing compound and a wool pad. I would go for 3m Perfect it II rubbing compound. I use it on fresh paint all the time.

You'll then need three more FOAM finishing pads. One will be for 3m's Finesse it II, another for 3M's Swirl Mark remover, and then one for Maguiars Swirl Remover 2.0. Each abrasive is finer than the previous one. You'll also want a spray bottle with water and a something to scrape water away. A Waterblade or an old windshield wiper work great.

You'll need 2000 grit sandpaper. Go to a autostore and find 2000 grit sanding paper. You'll also need a sanding block. Get a bucket of water and your sandingblock with the sandpaper. Throw them in the bucket and let them sit for 30mins. This will make the backing of the paper soft so it won't bend and scratch the paint.

Now when you done you'll want to wet your hood down. Helps to strip the wax off so it holds some water when you start. Don't worry if you didn't though. You'll soon have all the wax off. Now just lightly sand. Your not sanding hard at all. Your basically running it over the surface to take the very top of the paint off. You should be taking off less that a mil when you sand. Just lightly do the whole hood in smooth back and forth motions. Be careful around curves and angles. The paint is VERY THIN there. If you want to spend the money you can get a magnetic paint thickness reader. They run about $40 and most autopaint stores will have them. Then you can tell how much paint you have and see how much you have removed as you sand.

Now after it is even get that wool pad, buffer, and rubbing compound out. Now just run it over the paint using smoother back and forth motions. Try to keep it at around 1000 RPMs. Slow it down around curves though. Keep it moving so it doesn't burn a hole in the paint. Also, Do small sections at a time. 2' by 2' sections. After a few sections you'll need to break the compound off your pad to keep it clean. A metal spur or a plastic brush will work. Just turn buffer so the pad is up and set it at its lowest speed. Run the brush or spur over it as you run it slowly.

After the Rubbing compound move on the the finesse it II and then on to the 3m Swirl mark remover and then to the Meguiars Swirl remover 2.0. As you keep going down the line you will see your gloss come back. With the Meguiars Swirl remover press firmly when you start out. That will help the abrasives break down quicker and bring a nice gloss back. It helps to use your water bottle to mist the area part way though. That'll also help the abrasives break down.

When your done it should be nice and glossy again. To take the final swirls out you can use an orbital buffer or do it by hand. I like Klasse All-in-one to take the final swirls out. Two or three applications will give you a nice swirl free finish.

 

Bought my Screw in Texas last year. It has about 20K on it.
I just moved to Hawaii. Will most dealers recognize that the
paint problem is related to defect and fix it for me?

 

I didn't wash mine for an entire year, and I went through mountain trails and everything, and the paint isn't perfect, but it shined up good when it finally did wash! Maybe the paint on some trucks is worse than others? I have no idea, I know that if it was black it would probably be bad, but where my truck is the Pacific Green color, it may just not be showing all of the problems in the paint?

 

the first thing would be to contact ford, and ask if they will fix it. the worst they can do is say no. my 90 got repainted by ford in like 96 i belive, so just ask, i dont belive you can cause those cracks

 

Well i guess I will phone ford, and see what they say, I'm probably wasteing my time...

 

Well i e-mailed ford, sunday, and they called me at home today but I was at work!! So I will phone them back tommorow. Will keep posted

 

gotta go to dealer tomorrow for estimate. (fri)

 

is it an estimate for them to do it and charge you or are they going to eat the cost?

 

Just got back from getting my estimate done, $2851.14. Just to get the black painted, its two tone paint. I'm not sure how much ford wll pay, the body man said they useually pay %75 of the repair, but now I have to contact ford again with this estimate.

 

that sounds about right, i feel now is when you are going to have the most problem with ford. good luck

 

Black is an awesome color, but it's hard to take care of........Ha, Ha

Daytona Turbo Z

 

Hey guys,

I'm in agreement with most of you that the paint quality on our trucks is lacking. I've owned three of the current style of F 150's ( '97, '99 and '01 ). All of them had or have disappointing paint jobs. Two were black, one blue/tan. On two of the trucks, I didn't even have full coverage in some areas. Meaning, the paint is so thin that I can see the grey primer through it! Anyone else have this situation? It looks like they turned off the paint sprayer when they were almost done. Pretty thin!

Swirl marks are a big pain as well. I've tried many quality products and just can't seem to get it right. I kinda like the whole idea of leaving the truck dirty to cover the lousy paint, but the black just looks so goods right after a washing. Of course, as long as it's parked in the shade and you squint a little!

Later

Clem