ford paint

[xplrsport01]

i just want to no y the newer fords have shiaty paint my 01 sport the paint has gotten alot of tiny chips in the hood and this is b4 for i started to take it off road its from normal everyday driving and my gf has a 03 mustang and it had no chips on it until she came back from North Carolina and there are like 4 chips on the hood and 1 or 2 tiny chips in the rear why is the ford paint so cheep these days? ne one else notice this?

 

[Mike 92 XLT]

It's not just Ford. In, hmmm, the late 90s I think the paint industry went water based. As a result, it chips more easily. Lots of people have had this complaint with all cars, not just Fords.


Mike

 

[xplrsport01]

is there ne thing i can do to prevent it from happening?

 

[unclemeat]

Paint it yourself and then park it in a garage.

 

[Flounder]

To avoid hood chips, consider a bug deflector. They're not the cure-all, but they can help.

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

It's not just Ford cars. Our 2 Honda Accords ('90 and '98) both have the same problem, same with our late Chrysler Town & Country. Paint chips on the hood are inevitable. You can't avoid them.

To prevent it from happening again, either park it in the garage and exercise by riding your Schwinn or you can get a bug deflector. If bug deflectors aren't your style (I know your g/f won't like that at all if you install one on her Mustang), 3M makes clear bras. It's basically a sheet of flexible plastic that is applied on the front edge of your hood and bumper to prevent your paint from damages by rocks and hard bodied bugs. That stuff is fairly expensive (for a college student's budget) but it's well worth it.

Here's what you shouldn't do. You shouldn't get a conventional bra. The dirt and whatever that is trapped under the bra will cause premature wear and tear on your paint and will eventually lead to major damages. Hope this answers your question.

Oh...here's the 3M's site for the clear bra:

http://cms.3m.com/cms/US/en/2-168/clelFFC/view.jhtml

 

[MONMIX]

I hate, hate, hate hate, bug deflectors.
But more than that I hated my hood getting it's butt kicked
So I reluctantly got a bug deflector
A recent trip down to Richmond ( about 160 miles or so )
I got a zillion bugs on my deflector
a zillion on my windshield
zero on my hood

Not bad

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

Haha...someone has joined the dark side!!

 

[98 mounty]

I like the look of the bug deflector that came on my white Mountaineer. Its a factory part with the merc logo stamped on the right side of it. It breaks up the white bit. Although my hood still has a good number of chips in it, and most of them are close to the bug shield.

 

[MONMIX]

Well mine is AVS ( Auto Vent Shade ) it rolls perfectly with the shape and lines of the hood.
I got the clear and painted the back side black to match the rest of the truck.
It is almost invisable !!!!!!!

 

[gdh]

What do I do with the clearcoat whitening, I have a dark green '96 and it has all these ugly white streaks where it looks like the clearcoat has gone bad.