Paint question

merc123 said:

Recently I took the car in to Ford for paint peeling on the bumper and a TOB. They are telling me it is a rock chip. It's still @ the dealer or I'd get a pic.

Anyway, when you look at it you can see the white/gray bumper where the paint came off. Around the spot the paint is coming up (peeling). I've had rock chips before and this looks nothing like a rock chip to me. What do you think? Just trying to get out of it? There are not indentations as if a rock hit it or anything.

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Bumpers are plastic and the paint is shot with a "flexitive". This makes the paint more pliable so it will not chip as easily. The disadvantage of a flexitive is that it can strip off easily if undermined by moisture, etc. Example: get agressive with a high power spray wand at the car wash and you can strip the paint from bumpers and soft areas; not so on hard areas which have a "catalyst" that makes the paint harder (more brittle too). I did this accidentally to my '98 Mustang's ground effects trim. You'd think I'd learn my lesson but no! I repeated the incident on the grille of my '03 Honda Accord. Fact is modern paints are good but not impervious to road hazards. You'll just have to do what the rest of us do...pop for a partial repaint once in awhile (gets rid of the bug smashes too)!

Jeff

I was cleaning the love bugs off the front of my 02 on Sunday with a high-pressure wand and it took a dime sized chunk of paint off the front of the hood - Nice! Their paint is paper thin.

Is this somthing that ford will cover? I recently just washed with a hose, not even a pressure washer and i flaked off an area over the size of my fist on the hood. I have also noticed paint coming off in area's not likely to be hit by a rock or love bug such as behind my hood scoop and the side of my front fender, is the only solution having the car repainted myself?

If I remember right the warranty on factory paint is 12,000 miles or 1 year I'm not 100% sure on this though I know some people who have had a car a few years old and had paint defects still get the car repainted through warranty.

It would be a PITA trying to get the dealer to cover a rock chip or paint that came off due to a high pressure wash, there would need to be inidications of the paint being defective or the application of it incorrect.

I guess ill try, i need to bring it in for some other thinge, but it's an 02 and i have 41k on it already, its the peeling behind the scoop thats really getting me though, it just seems weird.