USFbulls44

Quick question for you guys. I am a week old owner of a new 2017 F150 xlt 4x4 sport. When I purchased the truck it was evening time so it was hard to see any imperfections. Well a couple days later after looking at the truck in direct sunlight I am noticing swirl marks in the paint. The truck is shadow black. I know It’s going to happen but it should be this quickly or why would it already have it? I told The dealer and the buffed it and it helped ALOT but it’s still there if you look hard enough. What should my nex approach be? They said they would re buff again but I’m not sure if it will do it

flywithgz

The paint and build quality on the newer aluminum body trucks that I've seen, including my own 2017 Lariat FX4 SCREW, is pretty bad. I've got mis-aligned body parts and paint flecking off the leading edge of the hood. I complained to the body shop at my dealer and the manager took me out to the parking lot and showed me all kinds of similar build quality issues on new trucks waiting to be sold. Beds not mounted straight, door gaps not consistent, and paint quality problems.

So far, this is the thing I'm least happy with on my truck.

Sonic04GT

Quality decreasing, price increasing.

Truckin

iTrader: (4)

Swirls are from the idiot that prepped the truck. They can easily be buffed out but do yourself a favor. Do not let the dealer do it. Even if they have a body shop. Mine has been painted 3 times. Dealer tried buffing out swirls they did at prep.... that lead to paint jobs. The first two they messed up as well so I took it to my own shop at dealers expense to have it done right. Turned out good as new!

chickenwire

Mudder speaks the truth. These are DIS - Dealer Installed Swirls. Last year I bought a '17 Explorer brand new and the salesman apologized that they "didn't even have time to wash it" when I picked it up. I told him that was okay, I'd prefer they didn't as I'm pretty particular with my vehicles and their finishes.

He picked it up 2 weeks later for some minor fixes and told me upon returning it "I see what you mean."

If you're into it, go to autogeek.net and check out some of their "how-to" videos. You can take care of it yourself (but you might get addicted to it - ask me how I know!) Or, as Mudder said, find a shop with good references and have them do it.

Exhibit "A" regarding dealer prep. My niece got her first job ever at age 16 a few years ago as a "hydro-technician" at a dealership - washing new vehicles. She'd never washed a car before in her entire life.

SCrewYou

swirls come from improper washing and drying. you need to have the truck properly washed, using the 2 bucket method (google it), clay it to remove contamination and rail dust fromt he finish, then buff the truck out and lastly apply a good wax and sealant or ceramic coating. use the two bucket method and a foam gun/cannon to wash the truck from there on out. drying the truck with a blower will also help, the less you touch the paint with anything (aside from waxing every few months, if you go that route over the coating), the better.

WestOGuy

Speaking of swirls...quick question - In cold winter climates, it's way too cold most days to wash the truck in the driveway. I would never run my truck through a wash with the brushes, but would it be considered "acceptable" to run through a touchless wash, and wave off the drying guys (with their towels), and just touch up/dry at home in the garage?

If not, what do you cold-climate guys do to keep your trucks clean when it's really cold out?
Thanks!

p.s. Moving to a warm climate isn't the answer - at least not yet!

SCrewYou

they will strip wax because of the strength of the detergents they use, if you have ceramic pro, its supposed to be durable enough to withstand it.

16Caribou

Paint quality on these trucks is terrible. I bought my truck in Mid February 2017 and have had the roof repainted 5 times. No joke

JerseyGray

Exactly why I won't buy black