Geez, you guys don't know how to haggle.

Im not going to turn this into a Lariat VS FX4 thread but a friend of mine just bought a FX4 and shes got some rust on her bumpers. She said they were rusting on the back. I haven't seen it so I don't know what it really looks like.

 

good point Fx4, If I only knew now what I should have known then.

 

I tend to disagree.

I wanted a XLT because I wanted chrome because in Clevland painted bumpers dont last worth a ****. A winter on pothole roads filled with salt rocks does not do good to painted bumpers.

Its the crappy chrome they used, my 97 ranger and 01 F-150 have no issues. Hell I dont see any rust on our 04 XLs chrome.

I think my bumpers are defective or something.

 

I think it might be the salt from the roads. My bumpers are perfectly fine however they have never seen any salt.

 

Then how come our 01 has no rusting, or my 97 ranger. Nor did my 95 f-150 before it got totalled, or the 96 my uncle had, the 95 my grandpa had, the 91 my dad had......

We have had a LOT of ford trucks, and lived in cleveland since my grandpa came to america in the 50s. This is the ONLY one that has ever had rusting like this.

OK, Ill give you the salt does not help things, BUT if it looked like this after only one winter, something is phucked up and I dont want to know what it will look like in 5 years.

 

yeah, but your truck's a piece of ish.

 

Have you seen what the prices of quality chroming has done in the past few years? Right now, it costs over a hundred bucks to get ten pounds of parts chromed. While this is far from an excuse for Ford to have shabby chrome jobs on their bumpers, wheels etc, it may be the reason...Kevin

 

Could be new bodystyle design related.
Here is my hypothoss:
I have three vehicles with hitches.
They all sit in the same driveway exposed to the same elements.
I bought Reese chrome hitch plugs for each of them.
I wash/clean all three vehicles the same way.
The 4Runner plug sticks out more than the F150 or the Windstar.
It rusted badly while the other two did not.

So, I think OK maybe it's defective. I clean the rust off and swap it with the one I have on the F150.

Six months later, the plug on the 4Runner is rusted and the other two are fine.

The only variable in the situation is that the 4Runner plug is completely exposed while the other two are even or recessed under the bumper.

I had a '66 Plymouth with chrome bumpers. the chrome completely dissappeared where rain ran forward from each side of a hood indentation. There was no way to stop this other than never leaving/using the vehicle in the elements. The design caused it,
even though it took 30 years to remove the chrome

 

ummmm i have a lot of chome on my truck ...bumpers bullbar the chrome surround and i live in nj (snow/ road salt ect) and all my stuff is shiney like day 1....i wax em an polish them to protect them... dont be a fool, wrap your tool!

 

Really...I just think it's something to do with how much chrome/paint is applied to the surface of the metal in the application process. It's possible Nico's bumpers may have just received poor coverage in the chroming process. There's probably a lot of variables that can effect the chrome/paint application and how it holds up. Just guessing here. A paint or chrome expert would probably know more on this subject...which i'm not.
I think as long as they're using metal on vehicles...there's going to be rust when exposed to the elements. Whether it be one or ten years down the road. Paul's got a good point though about keeping the surface protected from day 1.

 

What I learned was the level of care I was willing to do was good enough for pieces partially covered but, not good enough for pieces compeletely exposed.

I could either increase the level of my effort or live with it.
I had two different plugs rust on one vehicle that did not rust on another during the same timeframes.

The answer is found when you look within yourself, grasshopper.

 

The front one has no rust specs at all, just the rear. The truck sits in the garage every night and the two nights it did not I parked it in the corner of the warehouse under the heaters.

The wheel inners are painted black, chrome fronts, but all the edges around where they paint if factory and the chrome ends is rusting and rust is staining the chrome.

The rear bumper, well I scrubed it, I even used CLR and there is still rust spots on the chrome.

The rear wheels dont look as bad as the fronts, the brake dust is distroying the fronts, a complant I here alot of people make. I think when I get the wheels/bumper issue resolved Im going to get bosch ceramic pads to get rid of the dust.

I just think my bumper must be defective, theres no question in my mind. It must have been the last one made before the shift ended on friday or something and they pulled it early to go home or something.

I guess its just up to what the dealer says now.

 

No.7 Chrome Polish

 

Use a Brillo pad and hose it off.

 

umm dont use a brillo pad....ever