Question for White Platinum Tricoat UG owners.......

[Summers22]

So, I did my first full detail on my 2016 Limited White Platinum Tricoat UG Explorer today. As with any new vehicle, I payed special attention to the doorjambs. This is when I noticed on the inside of all 4 doors, it is NOT white platinum tricoat, but appears to be Oxford White. Is this just a cost cutting technique? Has any other white platinum owners noticed this? Thanks for reading.

 

[ExPlat]

My Platinum model is painted that way too, the body is WPMT but jambs and under the hood are Oxford White. My former 2013 Ford Fusion with the WPMT paint was the same way, Oxford white in the jambs, under the hood and inside the trunk. Seems that Ford paints the car Oxford White, then adds the last coat(s) of the shiny stuff only on the car's exterior.

My Toyota with Blizzard White Pearl is completely painted in the jambs, under the hood and inside the rear hatch with BWP, a different philosophy in painting a car I guess.

 

[Nasty]

Yeah I've always hated that. A lot of times you'll see door jambs with real thin paint on them.

 

[Summers22]

Thats what I figured, thanks! I didnt notice any "thin" areas of paint, just that it was Oxford white (which is okay, because I had 2 chips and had touch-up paint from my Superduty!).

 

[peterk9]

Thats what I figured, thanks! I didnt notice any "thin" areas of paint, just that it was Oxford white (which is okay, because I had 2 chips and had touch-up paint from my Superduty!).

There are similar posts here; http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/explorer-paint-quality.434650/

Peter

 

[Summers22]

Thanks Peter, I posted about a bubbly issue I just noticed on my driver side passenger door..........I wonder if a 2016 with 47K but CPO is covered still on paint defects?

 

[peterk9]

Thanks Peter, I posted about a bubbly issue I just noticed on my driver side passenger door..........I wonder if a 2016 with 47K but CPO is covered still on paint defects?

I don't see any mention of "paint" in the CPO document.

 

[Summers22]

I emailed the dealer/salesman I bought it from we will see. But you are correct, its not listed.

 

[Napalm]

bear in mind that tricoat system - the other part is a special mix clear coat that has tint and mica flake in it.

That's going to be hard to replicate fully in a single application brush on. Under that tint coat as it's called - is basic oxford white yes.

 

[Brad Baker]

I have a MKZ with the White Platinum Metallic Tri-coat. I was recently rear ended which required a new plastic bumper installed and painted of course. When I went to pick it up I noticed the color was off... The metallic sparkle wasn't even close to matching rest of car. Seemed like wasn't hardly any of the metallic sparkle that makes it look darker when direct sunlight. Made it appear more whiter and brighter. The advisor said it is because of the bumper being plastic. I left car there and he was going to have painter look at it to see what can be done. He mentioned trying to blend the paint up into the trunk lid and around sides into fenders to match better. My question is, Is he right that it is caused by the bumper being plastic? And could blending the paint into trunk lid and fenders possibly ruin the looks of the metallic sparkle on those parts as well????? Or should they be concentrating on just making the bumper match rest of car??

 

[FlyTyinFool]

Plastic has nothing to do with it except...
Bumper paint is different than body paint - Flexible to give (to a point) without cracking.

The recommendation to blend into the neighboring panels is complete garbage.
There's nothing wrong with the paint on neighboring panels - DON'T TOUCH IT!


MWS

 

[ExPlat]

I have a MKZ with the White Platinum Metallic Tri-coat. I was recently rear ended which required a new plastic bumper installed and painted of course. When I went to pick it up I noticed the color was off... The metallic sparkle wasn't even close to matching rest of car. Seemed like wasn't hardly any of the metallic sparkle that makes it look darker when direct sunlight. Made it appear more whiter and brighter. The advisor said it is because of the bumper being plastic. I left car there and he was going to have painter look at it to see what can be done. He mentioned trying to blend the paint up into the trunk lid and around sides into fenders to match better. My question is, Is he right that it is caused by the bumper being plastic? And could blending the paint into trunk lid and fenders possibly ruin the looks of the metallic sparkle on those parts as well????? Or should they be concentrating on just making the bumper match rest of car??

I had a 2013 Ford Fusion hybrid with UG paint and there can be a very slight variance between the plastic and metal parts of the car. That doesn't sound like what you are describing with this repair.

Not having the same sparkle as the adjoining body panels sounds like a poor paint job. In sunlight, does the rear plastic fascia/bumper paint repair look the same as the OEM front plastic bumper's paint?
Does the OEM front plastic fascia match the adjoining metal body panels and have less sparkle in it? I doubt it.
If you're not happy with what has been done why let them start spray blending the rest of the car? It's a tough call but don't accept the car unless you're satisfied.

 

[Brad Baker]

I had a 2013 Ford Fusion hybrid with UG paint and there can be a very slight variance between the plastic and metal parts of the car. That doesn't sound like what you are describing with this repair.

Not having the same sparkle as the adjoining body panels sounds like a poor paint job. In sunlight, does the rear plastic fascia/bumper paint repair look the same as the OEM front plastic bumper's paint?
Does the OEM front plastic fascia match the adjoining metal body panels and have less sparkle in it? I doubt it.
If you're not happy with what has been done why let them start spray blending the rest of the car? It's a tough call but don't accept the car unless you're satisfied.

Thats kinda what I thought. They shouldnt have to make rest of car match what they painted. What they painted should match rest of car.. By the way this was done by local Ford dealers body shop. I thought they may have had more experience with their own paint colors.

 

[Napalm]

I have a MKZ with the White Platinum Metallic Tri-coat. I was recently rear ended which required a new plastic bumper installed and painted of course. When I went to pick it up I noticed the color was off... The metallic sparkle wasn't even close to matching rest of car. Seemed like wasn't hardly any of the metallic sparkle that makes it look darker when direct sunlight. Made it appear more whiter and brighter. The advisor said it is because of the bumper being plastic. I left car there and he was going to have painter look at it to see what can be done. He mentioned trying to blend the paint up into the trunk lid and around sides into fenders to match better. My question is, Is he right that it is caused by the bumper being plastic? And could blending the paint into trunk lid and fenders possibly ruin the looks of the metallic sparkle on those parts as well????? Or should they be concentrating on just making the bumper match rest of car??

How old is this car? if you get far enough in age - and it's not been polished well etc - then remember that clear coat - is a TINT coat and it can degrade over time too. THus it color shifts. so even if the paint on the bottom was spot on - the newer tint coat on top might not match the surrounding because of that difference.

I would say if it was 3 years old and hasn't have a good buff pollish job on it since - this might happen.

But I'd throw another issue out - angles and lighting. ONe you you need to do to match up something like a tint coat is look at it in bright sunlight - and dead on - then move around. Tint coats shimmer in the light - because of the refraction and the tint - so you have to look at spots dead on. YOu also need sunlight to best match a color. Otherwise you need actual white light - like they use in the spray booth (provided they care) so you can ask then to give you a white light to check it - ideally they did before they brought it to you.

and again you need to be dead even to the suspect panel - then move around a bit and see how it matches to the adjacent panels.

 

[Napalm]

On the plastic bit - while there are differences in the primers and base coat paints so as to make them flexible. this is true and should be done.

some shops put the additive in clear coats and it occasionally doesn't work well. A painter worth their salt would have that figured - but sometimes it need to be re-cleared. Since the clear coat layer for you is the tint coat layer it could make the issue worse. Since then however most paint companies have a flexible clearcoat system that is made for this.