Hey All,

I did not do a search on this issue (being lazy) but wanted to know if anyone with a new 2006 has noticed this yet. I bought my truck about 3 weeks ago and love it. I decided to wash it this weekend since the weather was great. I am drying off the hood and noticed tons of orange spots on the hood. I thought to myself, s**t I missed the hood. I got out the cleaning stuff and washed the hood again and it did not come off. Being really picky about my vehicals, I did not try to rub it off.

I got on the phone with the service guy I always deal with and let him know while I was drying my truck after a wash, I noticed little spots that looked like rust all over the hood. He said, OK now you need to get in the bed and look on the roof and see if they are up there also. I did and there were tons of them up there too.

This is what he told me: When they truck is at paint at the factory there are bits of metal (in the air?) and it lands on the clear coat. Once you get it wet, they start to show up. He is calling it "Fall Out". He said I will need to bring the truck in and they have to send it to a shop to be detailed to ge the marks out. I have an all white truck so you can really see them. I was pretty pissed off with the answer.

You would think that if Ford knew this was happening, that they would look at the trucks BEFORE they went out to the dealerships or FIX THE PROBLEM that is causing this. Of course it is going to take a whole day to get this resolved. I am just afarid that it is going to come back in the future. Anyone have this problem or heard anything about it?

 

Most likely it is not a factory defect. Meaning the fallout he is referring to may be contanimants from sitting outside. For example, rust spots like you are describing are a result of train rail dust (iron) floating around and falling onto the truck. As a result, the iron particles oxidize with exposure to water. Not much the factory can do about that.

Really, the only way around it is to clay the truck as it arrives at the dealership and protect it by either waxing, or storing inside. Dealers don't do either.

Sounds like the dealer is taking care of it, it's not much effort to get rid of the rust stains out of the clearcoat. Just be sure to protect it in the future after you get it back. Check out the General Care and Detailing forum of this site for some excellent advice.

 

I also have a white 2006 and when it came off the truck it was like sand paper. I used a whole bar of clay on it the first time, but a night and day difference!! You can buy a simple clay kit from most auto stores for around $20. It takes a little time (30-60 minutes), but well worth it. After completing the clay you need to wax or seal the paint to protect it. I prefer to use a sealant as it lasts longer. I would prefer to do it on my own as i am very picky!!

my thoughts

Nebraska

 

KSUWildcat,

Yes, the dealer said they will send it out and they will clay the truck to remove the problems. He said this is happening at the factory. You would think after the truck is painted and baked to dry the paint and clearcoat, that this would not happen. I guess I am just frustrated because I have had many Ford's and this has never been an issue before.

 

Nebraska,

I had thought about it but because it is all over the Hood, Roof and Bed, I am going to let them deal with it. I do not want to spend hours in the Bed trying to get it all out. Since Ford said they would handle it, I will let them going through the fun of getting it resolved. Thanks for the Info.

 

My brother has noticed the same problem with his '02 FX4, it is also white and shows tons of little rust spots. He bought it used with 30K on it and noticed it about a month after he bought it. It is still like this since he is too lazy to clay it down to remove the spots.

And don't feel bad about having to loose your truck for a day while it is getting detailed. Mine spent 2 weeks(!) at the dealership getting the hood, front fenders, and roof repainted as well as having the windshield replaced because of acid rain damage that I noticed the first time I washed it. I had only had it for 2days and had 50miles on it but noticed spots all over that wouldn't come out with buffing, waxing or claying. The worst part about it was they gave me some crappy Dodge Ram with a 4.7 in it as a loaner while they painted my truck.

 

actually your dealer will cover rail dust removal, for 12 months 12k miles... take it to their collision center or service dept and they can schedule it to be taken care of.