Paint Defect

[Hypnotist]

Found a paint issue on my fender while washing it yesterday. It's along the fold at the top of the fender well on the driver's side front wheel. It appears as though the color coat was applied, then before the clear, some liquid/dirt of some kind was hanging on that edge. The clear went on and simply covered it up. Didn't notice it until the clear broke apart as I was drying it. What is left is in the picture below. The color coat is still intact, only the clear 'bubble' broke off...

This is the only place with such a defect. The rear wells have only one tiny bubble in a similar place, but they're still intact.

I am going to contact the dealer this week about this, but I thought I'd share and see if anyone else has had paint issues similar to this, and what was your resolution. I need this repaired, because it could spell disaster for the fender come winter!

(Sorry the pic is so big, I thought it important to show the detail.)

Thanks!

 

[bigcat]

hard to tell exactly, but it could be a run that collected on the edge of the fender.

 

[cowtown]

Yeah I agree. Dealer should warranty that though.

 

[anthony05gt]

hard to tell exactly, but it could be a run that collected on the edge of the fender.

That's what I see.

 

[DENVER05GT]

My 05 Satin Silver was exactly like that on every wheel well. It was oversprayed or something with clearcoat. II also had alot of the bubble your talking about as well.

I took it to several body shops. All of them told me they had to strip and paint the entire panel. I decided against that.

It is interesting that Ford is still having this problem in 06? I ended up trading the 05 for an 06 Tungsten and made sure before I signed the contract that the 06's paint was as perfect as it should be.

 

[Hypnotist]

I haven't spoken to dealer yet, but as I see it, this seems like a warrantied thing. HOWEVER, it looks like it could be quite a hassle to get repaired, and may be more trouble than it's worth!?

I don't think I'll be trading this vehicle in for a new(er) one any time soon, so some type of paint fix is my only option. Is this something I could do myself with a clear coat paint touch up (scratch repair kit) type of thing? Does anyone have experience with something like that?

I will update later with what the dealer/body shop says... it may not end up being such a big issue.....

 

[bigcat]

its not a big deal. i warranty worse than that all the time. there is no reason to strip the entire panel, just sand down the affected areas and prime. if its in the middle of the wheel well, it should be no problem to keep it within the fender. should be in and out in 2 days for a good shop.

 

[Hypnotist]

Good call bigcat. I spoke to the body shop today. He says the panel would have to come off, sand, prime, and color the affected area, then clear the whole fender. Two full days and it'd be done... Sounds like I'm getting my problem fixed! The only thing would be one fender with an extra coat of clear, but, if done right, I don't see how that could be a bad thing!

I don't know how prevalent this is on SN, but I'll post my thoughts on this body shop afterwards for the benefit of others in SE WI.

 

[bigcat]