Thin paintwork on the Au !

XR6-VCT-2000 · 13-08-2006, 02:12 AM

I dunno if its just my car ( if it was resprayed around the frontend before i bought it ? ) , but after giving the car a bit of tlc today i noticed i have copped a stonechip about the size of a 5 cent coin, right on the top of the front wheel arch :( . The paint looks extremelly thin ! , and was very easy to flake away until i had no sharp edges . I also noticed that on the roof / on both sides about an inch in from the doors, and about an inch away from the front windscreen , that there is like small rust patches building up under the paint ! - is this normal for the AU's ? , darn looks like ill be looking at a new paintjob sooner than expected at this rate..lol

JC · 13-08-2006, 02:16 AM

The paintjob on mine is crap too. I think Ford got a new paint plant/shed in around 2000, so anything up til then is typical (poor) quality.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 13-08-2006, 02:21 AM

bummer , mine must of been one of the last in the old shed ..lol , mine is a 2000 model ..... but yeah , gee the paint seems extremelly thin , even my rear spoiler is starting to faid/look lighter . Not picking the car itself though , other that the painjob its a darn fine car , i love it , and has served me well so far.

I was looking at painting the car black after a year or so when i bought it anyway , so it's no big drama i suppose. cheers.

I6corp · 13-08-2006, 03:37 AM

Yeah i noticed that on my front right guard, its **** poor condition (Faded, and worn)
But the rest of that car is A1.

But after all the mods are done, well external ones anyway the car will have a nice pearl through its paint anyway ;)

Casper · 13-08-2006, 09:02 AM

I have one of those "spots" on the roof too. Its not rust, just poor paintwork. I also have a section where the paint is so thin I can see the white undercoat through it.

S3SR · 13-08-2006, 09:54 AM

my whole car is 'sprinkled' with specs of tar.. every single panel including the front and rear windscreens i used kero to clean most of it... anyways i have few stone chips and when i was cleaning the car paint was a nice thickness so AU3 def got the better coat

Futura01 · 13-08-2006, 10:21 AM

Yeah same with the roof have a little patch where paint is starting to flake up a little ... the robots they use must really go back to painting school or something... or if they wanted to save money sell a robot and use a person to paint the cars in acrylic ???

Fairlane · 13-08-2006, 10:51 AM

Funny enough you guys are having bad paint (Mine is an 01 model though). I find the paint is pretty damn good compared to what Toyota Australia does.

Casper · 13-08-2006, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fairlane

Funny enough you guys are having bad paint (Mine is an 01 model though). I find the paint is pretty damn good compared to what Toyota Australia does.

As JC said, Ford totally upgraded all the painting in 2000, so anything after 2000 has a better quality paintjob by far.

SVR73 · 13-08-2006, 11:04 AM

Gee that's interesting, both of my AU1's had great paint
The XR is better quality than the forte was (RIP)

I have machine buffed the XR twice with medium paint leveler and a 2000 grit medium polish and then some ultra fine glaze to enhance it and there is still plenty of paint on there
Now I just use paint cleanser or the glaze to keep swirls under control as they do not remove paint

It has six coats of acrylic spray sealant and four of a special carnuaba wax to prevent enviro damage and resist stone chips.

PPG paint on falcons from ED to AU I found was always of nice quality,
Depth of my paint is superb

SVR73 · 13-08-2006, 11:07 AM

Yes I noticed that BF GT's have lovely paint, hardly any peel and plenty of wetness

XR6-VCT-2000 · 13-08-2006, 02:30 PM

Thanks for all the replys guys , makes me feel a little better to know that mine isn't the only one with a thin paint job.

Oh well , less to sand off when it gets the respray the start of next year ..lol.

cheers.

GlennBA · 13-08-2006, 02:43 PM

My AU has beautiful paint

I always wash it and polish it every 5 or so washes though.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 13-08-2006, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennAUII

My AU has beautiful paint

I always wash it and polish it every 5 or so washes though.

My paintwork still looks nice , although i didn't relize how thin the paint was until i got this huge stone chip. It had a few small stonechips and sandblast on the front end when i bought it , but i toutched them up / the paint also seemed a bit thicker on the front of the car.
But where i got the 5 cent coin size stone chip right above the right front wheel arch / the paint looks like its thinner than paper ! . Anyways , i toutched it up with the chip-stick and now its un-noticable and looks good again

/ the chip-stick saved the day again

.

SVR73 · 15-08-2006, 07:59 PM

Paint is really a plastic skin like coating, less than 600 microns thick and should be treated like you would treat your skin.

Cleanse, condition and protect at set intervals
I hope you mean wax or seal every 5 washes glenn, if you polish every five washes, your clearcoat will be gone soon

GlennBA · 15-08-2006, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVR73

Paint is really a plastic skin like coating, less than 600 microns thick and should be treated like you would treat your skin.

*washes car with clearasil*

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVR73

Cleanse, condition and protect at set intervals
I hope you mean wax or seal every 5 washes glenn, if you polish every five washes, your clearcoat will be gone soon

I use that meguiars gold class liquid wax or whatever. Turns out alright.

99FalconS · 15-08-2006, 10:40 PM

Mine is a late 99 model and the paint is not too bad but in some areas it could do with touching up. But i look after it the best i can with waxing etc.

Baboon_AU · 15-08-2006, 09:07 PM

if u polish every 5 washes your clear coat wont be gone! they dont spray a cleat coat over the colour anyway. its mixed in with the colour. my mate is a car painter and he has shown me how the whole painting process goes

XEESP_351 · 15-08-2006, 09:43 PM

talking about thin paint my EB2 xr6 was flaking down to primer around boot and started on B pillar was original paint due to still had original panel stickers..Panel shop was very surprised on closer inspecton at bottom of boot and around taillights very little paint at all, could see original undercoat have fixed now been repainted in those spots...The colour is cobalt blue if that may have something to do with it as i think its not a metallic but looked as if the body wass never sprayed properly..My AU XR8 III i cant faulter (yet) and i have one with painted engine bay some AU have black engine bay regardless of body colour...

rag top · 15-08-2006, 09:55 PM

Less paint, less materials = lighter car, and better power to weight ratio!