Clear Coat Failures

[BJClarke001]

I have been reading (and seeing) a lot about Clear Coat Failures on here. Are the failures minimized when someone maintains their paint regularly (polish, wax) or is it going to just fail no matter because the defect is embedded between the First Stage and Second Stage paints. I would like to think waxing and polishing aids in some form of retarding (or eliminating?) of a failure. Wishful Thinking?

[Mike Phillips]

Clear coat failure doesn't always mean the paint failed because of a formula or application issue, it's often times exposure to the sun without any regular care.

Out here in the Mojave Desert, we see a lot of cars driving around and the clear coat is missing on the horizontal surfaces, the car looks like it has a scabby disease. This is clear coat failure.

I'll take a picture for you in the next day or two as I'm out and about.

[BJClarke001]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
Clear coat failure doesn't always mean the paint failed because of a formula or application issue, it's often times exposure to the sun without any regular care.

Mike,

Well, that certainly is encouraging news to know. It's really good knowing that it can be minimized/eliminated through the continual maintenance (washing, polishing and waxing) of our paint.

[RLdetail]

Here's a few pics of my 89 Bronco 2 that demonstrate what Mike's talking about. I bought this for a woods beater from the original owner that apparently didn't take care of it at all. You can see where the clear is missing and where it is failing (actually flakes off). This is in Ohio not the Mojave!!!

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by BJClarke001
Well, that certainly is encouraging news to know. It's really good knowing that it can be minimized/eliminated through the continual maintenance (washing, polishing and waxing) of our paint.

Meguiar's products do more for the health of a car's finish than any other product(s) that I have tried so far.

[BJClarke001]

RLdetail,

Man-O-Man, that is some serious clear coat failure. Don't take this wrong on me here, but those pictures should be used as the Poster Ad Example by Megs saying: "This could Happen to Your Vehicle, Take Care of Your Finish using Meguiars". (I know it is a woods beater for you and I wouldn't have said anything if it was your daily driver)

An Ad almost like when I was a kid and the tooth paste companies (or was it in school, my mind gets fuzzy) showed a mouth snap shot with rotting teeth. Something along the line of "Brush Your Teath or Else Look Like This" LOL.

But seriously, thanks for that excellent example.

[The Dude]

RLdetail:
Ford had a problem with there paint adhering to their primer back then.I beleive the original paint on that Bronce would not have had a clearcoat. They recalled the paint ( kinda secretly) and when they repainted the trucks used a base clear. I had a 89 f250 and a 90 f350.Two years after I bought the 90 paint started peeling off the top and off the grill area. I don't care what brand of wax i would put on that truck two weeks later it was gone. When the paint started peeling I took it in thats when i found out about the recall.The two colors I had were blue and silver.

[Jay F-350]

I have a 93 F-250 that the same thing is happening too. What did they do for you or what did they tell you. It also is blue and silver.

[The Dude]

Jay F-350
When I took mine in the fight was on. They told me i was going to be getting a customer satisfaction card in the mail around december of that year, it was only june at the time. Ford told the dealer that since i was out of turn ( 6 months early) they would only paint the roof and front end. I asked about the side panels because the dealer body estimator said it would start peeling on the sides also soon.I was told I could only have the roof painted now and since they painted the roof , they would have doneall that was needed and if the sides came off ,well we all ready painted it so Ford's would not warrenty the sides. I decided to wait until december because if I waited I could get the whole truck done. I waited and my card never came.I called Ford and they informed me that the dealer was paid back in June( reason for no card) for painting the roof and it was between me and the dealer now, since Ford's part was done.I called the dealer and they informed me that they did paint my truck.Words flew and they had to give Ford back the money.I sold the truck and bought a custom crewcab that was aftermarket clearcoated. I could be wrong but ford didn't start clearcoating their pickup trucks until 95 and I believe this was the reason.I had a letter from Ford that whoever I sold the truck to was to be able to get it painted. Evidently if you were a second owner they would not do squat. My truck had only 17,000 miles on it at the time .I had a brother in law that had a chevy with over 110,000 on it and two years older.I showed him my paint and he showed me a 2" mark on his that looked like it had done the same as mine, he took his to chevy and was repainted no questions asked.Here i sat with my almost new truck and could not get taken care of. It seemed to be if you didn't know about the recall they were not going to tell you.

[rusty bumper]

Sounds like Ford and their dealers have some serious PR problems!

[RLdetail]

This is absolutely BC/CC!

I knew of the GM recall around the 1988-89 for the paint on the trucks but never heard about the Ford recall on paint.

It is clear with the blue and silver base as you can scratch it and get to the primer which is a grey-green color. It is very possible that it was repainted though.Some trucks were still SS paints but I'm unsure of when they actually quit as my dad's 1993 Ranger is BC/CC and I know the Explorer had a BC/CC which came out in 1991. It may also be that the larger trucks were SS paints as they were not "fashionable"( ) at the time and were used for work. If I had to guess the smaller trucks went to BC/CC around 1990 and maybe as early as 1988.

Originally posted by Rusty Bumper
Sounds like Ford and their dealers have some serious PR problems!

That's an understatment!!

You can call Ford about something and then call the dealer and get 2 different answers all the time. They tend to stand behind the products when forced to do so. We have a few good dealers around here that will keep you informed about recalls and TSB's if you ask about them or ask if any have been released. It also helps that you frequent them! They are more willing to share info if you share the money!


Not bashing Ford as I have been a Ford driver since I got my license but customer support is lacking to say the least.

I could go on and on but I will not!

[rusty bumper]

FWIW, Consumer Reports magazine has a section devoted to factory recalls of all types each month. They (CR) have also been instrumental in helping to bring about recalls as well.

It's worth the $26.00 (yearly subscription) just for that.

[gregcavi]

we have cracking in our 2000 ford f150's paint. THe CC is full of the little cracks. It was caused becuase of inproper prep before painting.. So in other words ford screwed up. The truck needs a total repaint costing 3500 bucks... Ford only gives a one year warrenty on there paint. After a long battel they offered us 500 bucks, the local dealer offered another additonal 500.

Bottom Line: No repaint.

LEsson Learned: I will never support, reccomend, or buy a ford in my lifetime.

Greg

[rusty bumper]

I hope I'm not getting too off topic here, but after examining this thread, I'm not sure if I'll buy a Ford either.

I was leaning toward a Focus for gas mileage reasons, but now I'm not so sure.

[RLdetail]

Find a reputable dealer in the area. Just because of negative experiences from others doesn't mean that you will have a problem. I have had bad experiences with GM but my wife bought a Saturn (which is GM) as the last 3 cars she has had.I don't like them but they have taken care of them and she likes it. (You all know about that!)

I love my Ford vehichles and would buy another one at any time. For some reason it seems that I usually buy used as the new models don't do anything for me. Well....it takes a while.