painting my truck

[Schmoe]

Well, after all I've read into, seems like the screwed up paint on my 01 F150 Supercrew is factory problem. There were some problems at the KC plant during the painting operations at that time and I think mine was one of them. Since I got it on 11/00, Ford won't touch it or give me the time of day. Soooooooo, I'm just going to have to paint the whole thing.
I was wondering, do I really need to strip all the old paint off? There are no dents or dings, just the paint job really sucks. I can paint it myself, but I'm not sure about the existing paint. Hopefully I can sand it all down and then paint over it. Sure would give it a super thick layer of paint, but I know from experience too thick will cause the paint to crack. If I'm advised to strip it down, how would I do that? Sandblast it? Just sand the #ell out of it?
Any thoughts would be appreciated as I gear up for this project mentally.

 

[Kestas]

What's wrong with the paint? Is it delaminating? If you're having a problem beneath the top coat or color coat, you'll have to sand through the problem for good preparation before repainting.

 

[Schmoe]

Be hard for me to post pics. Basically, it looks like splatter marks all over the body, or picture how a large spot of water would run down the side and stain but not go away. I've tried all the different types of waxes, hand buff, orbital buff, Meguiars stuff, 3M stuff, etc. etc., it just won't come off. I can live with it for a while, but eventually, I want it looking good.

 

[Bogatyr]

Schmoe,
Yeah, you would have to sand down to beyond where the problem is. Hopefully you have a compressor that can handle an orbital sander, you'll have a lot of sheet metal to sand.

When I painted my Rover, I borrowed a friend's turbine system. These go for about $600. The paint comes out warm and sets up almost immediately. The paint cost me $193 for a single stage urethane from Sherwin-Williams. The finish is really pretty good for the first vehicle I painted...So if you're going to do it yourself, consider this a positive review of the turbine system from TP Tools.

Bogatyr

 

[Amkeer]

You have got to be kidding right?

What the heck is up with Fords and their defective Chit! Then they don't honor their warrantys! Unfrigginbelievable!

You will need to prep, prep, prep. You will sand with an orbital and hand. Its best to just go to the place that supplies finish supplies and get all the spec sheets on the products. Its a huge job to do it right!

If it was me I would raise heck with Ford!

See this thread also:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=24;t=001196

Daily Drives:
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner XtraCab, 2.7 Liter , Mobil 1 Synthetic SS 5w30.
ODO 9800 Miles.
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner 3.0 V6, Mobil 1 Synthetic SS 10w30.
ODO 91800 Miles.
http://community.webshots.com/user/amkeer

 

[Whimsey]

Can you show us some pics of the paint problems? Is this the gutter caulk/paint problem? Many Ford trucks have this "problem". And trying to "fix" this problem sometimes causes more problems. Otherwise Ford trucks are known for their orange peel effect paint jobs. I have a 2002 and Mikep had a 2001 and both our Ford trucks had the Ford orange peel paint. My truck was made in VA.

Whimsey

 

[Schmoe]

I know it will be hard work, but just imagine the bucks I'll be saving. I've painted before, it's just been a couple of years and haven't painted a truck as large as this one. I mean, I'll have to set up a scaffold system just to get to the top of the cab to paint it. This is a 4x4. Wonder if I can find a blasting booth for rent around here like they use to prep all these military vehicles here on post. I did learn to use Sherwin Williams and not PPG. Also, I was following the V10 situation but IMO, she admitted not changing the oil as required, then her warranty is null and void. Should have kept the mouth shut.....
Ford, in the past 5 years, has really been hard on warranty claims.

 

[crashz]

My 01 F150 has decent paint, but is starting to rust at the door seams. Ford won't do anything until there is a clear hole in the door! Before winter I'll be sanding and painting the areas of rust (mostly just weeping orange around the under body seams) with the store brand bed liner coatings. Hopefully this will slow the other orange death!

 

[Whimsey]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Schmoe:
Ford, in the past 5 years, has really been hard on warranty claims.

---

Tell me about it

. I have a 2002 F-150 Supercab that has visible rust and bubbling paint on all the lower door seams. I'm still under the 3/36 warranty period and the dealer and the Ford area rep are giving me a hard time about correcting it. It's the usual responses from them...they all do it,...it's no big deal,...you must have driven it in the snow,....we don't see any rust,....it's you're fault,....it's only going to continue to rust anyway,....Finally they agreed to "fix" the rust but there is NO guarantee on the work, not even for 1 day. Customer service "ain't" it grand

. and I've purchased 5 new vehicles from these clowns over the last 14 years

! I unfortunately need a large truck with an 8' bed and the ability to carry 6 adults. So far that limits my choices to American trucks. And trust me GM and Dodge are no better.

Whimsey

 

[Schmoe]

Thoughts of such have been running through my brain since I decided that that's what I'm going to do. One thing I have come across are those vinyl "stickers" that cover the whole vehicle with some sort of design. Has anyone ever messed with one of those? How much do they run?

 

[Matt89]

Schmoe;

I see this as a golden opportunity for you to try a 'custom' paint scheme for this truck.
A relatively new vehicle with a cool, non 'factory cookie cutter' paint job is a beatiful thing...but nobody ever wants to paint a relatively new vehicle.

You have no choice though...this is your chance! GO FOR IT!

 

[AUG]

Is this thread a joke?

You are going to paint a 01 model F-150 yourself?

Do you have a down draft booth in your garage?

Most paint jobs under 4K done by "pros" look like crap. I can only imagine how bad the paint would look if the car was painted by someone without the equipment and expierence they have.

A high quality paint job (no visible flaws to a trained eye) will cost a minimum of 10K bucks and only about 1 in 30 shops are capable of such work on the east coast. The quality of aftermarket paint and body as a general rule is much better on the west coast.

Lots of folks think they have high quality paint but they don't.

For instance a restored classic car will have more money in the single color paint than the entire rest of the car and will likely still have flaws.

Anyway, I have seen a 90K dollar German car recently with orange peel so I guess paint quality is not high on the list of car makers these days.

If you paint the truck yourself I will promise you the truck will be worth less than it is with it's current problems.

 

[Matt_S]

AUG, while your point is well taken, I don't think he's looking for a million dollar paint job, just better than what he's got. For years back in the early 80's, my friend's dad supported his family painting cars out of his garage. He did very good work, certainly up to factory standards of the time. If Schmoe is considering doing this himself, he must have experience and equipment, otherwise I doubt he would consider it. I certainly wouldn't do it myself.

 

[ekpolk]

Long live Earl Scheib and the "perfect" $99 paint job. . .

I remember distinctly when car shopping back in 1984, a Ford salesman bragging about their "million dollar paint jobs." I didn't buy a Ford then; that sort of malarky, and the way they've treated their customers over the years since is why I'd never consider buying one now. At least the GM dealership I dealt with a few years ago really tried to make thing right.

 

[Schmoe]

Of course I got the equipment, well, access to. One thing about working for the military, you can rent out almost anything. They have a brand spanking new Binks paintbooth that I can rent for like 5 bucks a day. I'd do all the prep work at the house as to minimize the amount of time at the booth. The only thing I worry about is the roof and I have a fiberglass bed cover. The roof has those channels running through it and just getting into position to paint it will be a challenge. I'd like to keep it black, which is the hardest paint to perfect. Paint, wet sand, paint, wet sand some more. Even 4K is freakin' crazy.