rusty not to offend you...if its factory paint its has orange peel, and if its ford its bad. if you cant see it you dont know what to look at, not the shine but the "texture" of the sureface...look at the surface inside of 5 foot focus on the surface not the refection. if yours is a facorty paint your must of been a test truck that got hand painted and then hand finished. all paints will have diffrent levels of orange peel from a $10 gun at at swap meet to a $2000 digital sata. EVERY PAINT JOB HAS TO BE HAND FINISHED, EVERY ONE, TO REMOVE ORANGE PEEL.

 

I have to agree with him, Rusty. I bet you have OP... and probably a lot of it. I've never seen a single factory FoMoCo finish that didn't have it.... that's not to say that I'm the end all on Ford factory finishes but, the bottom line is that they install it as standard equipment on everything that they build.

Further though, qadsan brings a very good point in talking about the long term effects of pulling several mils of clear off of your paint (see post three or so back). The UV effects and the lack of really being able to remove other problems that may occur with the paint down the road (deeper scratches, etc) are very important considerations before tossing several hundred at a body guy to crack it all down with 1000 or 1500.

-RP-

 

exactlly rockpick....it would be crazy to try and tackle a factory paint job with a colorsand..you would need more clear laid down first, or a repaint...the deepth of the peel is greater than the deepth of the clear (the base coat has peel in it and each additional layer adds more peel to the layer below. several layers then followed by clear makes the highs high and the valleys low, to make it smooth the highest point in the orange peel now needs to be sanded down equal to the lowest point. to sand it completly flat would most certainly "bust" through the clear to base from most factory car companys.

 

We'll have to agree to disagree then. I do know what orange peel looks like.

 

Yep. I believe we will.

I'm sure there's a couple out there that didn't get it standard and got the optional 'premium' paint job... I don't think there's more than three though. You need to go buy a lottery ticket, man!

 

I have an 06 FX4 in Dark Shadow Grey. No matter what I do I can't get a satisfactory look out of it. Maybe it's the color or maybe my technique and/or products.

I generally use Klasse All In One after washing. I leave it to cure for 12 hours or so then follow up with a couple coats of P21S carnauba wax. Although the finish looks good and shiny it doesn't really seem to have a lot of depth.

I will leave it to you guys to shoot me down as far as what products I am using etc., but I think they are good products. I do it all by hand, using good quality microfiber towels. I guess I might be happier with a solid color like black or red etc.

Colin

 

It's really tough to get DEPTH out of silver, white and beige. I personally think that a little better route is to try to pull the flake out and exemplify it...

That said, I'd toss in #7 as a pure polish. Lock with Klasse. Top with the P21 or S100 or #26.

 

RockPick- are you a professional detailer? you really know your stuff

 

I'm what you might call an obcessive compulsive.... I detail on the side though.

 

I think one thing you're forgetting RockPick, is the fact, I have a Flairside. It does not have a metal box or bed. It's plastic composite material. The painting procedure for Flairside trucks very greatly, VS. the Styleside.

Take the Ford factory tour at the Rouge plant in Dearborn sometime. It's an enlightening experience. Especially where the paint shop is concerned. It's a whole different ball game when they roll in the Flairsides. Check out your buddies yellow Flairside when he brings it around. I'll bet my lottery winnings you'll find the paint job on it is nothing at all like the Styleside.

 

So in your opinion would you say the paint process on the flaresides is better (so to speak)? Im curious about the difference.

 

they way the bed is sprayed may be different, but the truck is painted then put together...i dont think they mark doors and hoods or front fender to be sprayed in a different booth from a flare to a style (i bet a flare side looks better than a style side (bed only), paint will lay down smoother on a curved surface than a more flat one....look for orange peel on corner edge of front fender then go out towards middle of the hood, but the truck still has peel in it)...i would be willing to bet that the guns that spray the flare and style are identical. this would need to be dont to keep consistency in color. very important when spraying a flake color car. too much or too little pressure will make the flake "lay down" diffrent and alter the color in sunlight....i know everyone out there has seen a car that has been wreck, then repainted with a factory color, and then you can easily tell what door or fender was repainted...yes the color is the same as original factory but the primer was not, the size tip on the gun was not, and or the air pressure was not the same. most shops just find it easier to tell the customer that the body pannels next to the one they painted are faded, and the one they painted is what thier car used to look like.

 

Explain.

So, they use a different paint? Different mechanical robot? Different gun? Different prep?

I don't know that much about paint application and it sounds like PPG put you through the ringer when you were at the plant. I'd be interested in hearing why it would lay down better on a Flareside vs. a Regular cab. Also, how would a composite box make any difference over metal? I know that my 01 had a composite box and it was OP'd in a big way.

Enlighten me...

...and I don't say this to be a smart **** or a know it all... I'm not. I've told several here that I don't know that much about paint application. I just don't see how it can be 'THAT' much different without a substantial price increase from Ford being shown on the sticker. I mean, if they're retooling, using different products, and making a big hub-bub about a Flare vs. Style, it sounds as though it would be hitting it for a mark-up. *shrugs*

I hope your lottery winnings work out... when they do, remember us 'little guys' who helped you get your paint in shape.

 

I don't know all of the logistics myself other than what was being said during the tour. And the Rouge plant does not in fact retool per-say but changes the complete painting process and type of paint used for the Flairside. And it is indeed because of the plastic composite box--(likened it to a similar painting process of the rubber bumper cover.) I know some of the engineering process procedures are patented and no cameras or video is allowed during the tour.

Anyway, I wasn't all that enamored over the curb appeal of the Flairside, but it just so happened Ford was tooled up for Flairsides the day I had taken the tour. The assembly line tour guides were very quick in pointing out some of the major differences between the two trucks and the painting process just so happened to be one of those differences. It takes Ford like a week to switch over to Flairsides also. Some of those differences are why I chose a Flairside over the Styleside. That and I know the bed will never [notoriously] rust.

Again, all should make it a point and take the Rouge plant tour and see where your truck was born. It's very, very interesting how they build these things, save the IMAX theater. It's awesome all on it's own and full of history of Henry Ford. The Ford truck Rouge plant is HUGE beyond belief and should be labeled a city unto itself.

Believe what you will... I have no orange peel, anywhere on my Flairside. I take that back. I do have it on the very bottom of the sill where it rolls under the truck--out of site really. So yeah I guess if that's where you are talking about--that's pretty nit picky.

 

That's an extra thick textured layer of some sort to (supposedly) prevent stone chips.