i was outside washing my beauty today, and i found 2 tiny nicks, i guess from a rock on the road, and a nick on the passenger door in the beige area. it never ceases to amaze me how cheap Ford has gotten with their parts over the years. my truck before this one that was totalled, never got any nicks from anything...it was a `97 XLT Longbed. I washed it every week for 5 years, and never saw any nicks!! with this truck, it's been not even 2 months, and i've already found 3 or 4. it just pisses me off sometimes. when i have about 20 of em, i'll take it to the body shop and have em fix it!! this is rediculous!

 

3M makes a product called clear bra (There are three other names for the same product). It is suppose to protect the front of autos from chips. It is priced around $300 to $1000 just for the front hood (3/4 way up) and headlights. I guess you could wrap your truck in this and never worry about a nick again.

I look at it this way ... it is just a truck and it will get nicks and dings if you drive it anywhere. I know I have to park carefully ... it is amazing how careless people are with car doors. You can control who you park next to, but you cannot control who takes that spot when the first person leaves.

I have always been extremely careful when I get in or out of my autos, but I will admit accidents do happen. I was driving a 92 Civic VX (two long light doors) and the wind was gusting up to 35-50 MPH. I parked at the Mall and opened the door real carefully (a lady was sitting in her Benz SL) the wind gust ripped the door out of my hand and slammed it into her door. I have never felt so embarrassed in my life. There was not a rock too small for me to get under ... Luckily I talked her into believing that the white paint left by my door could be buffed out. I did feel really bad, but I did not want to pay to have a Benz's door painted.

 

I agree...I hate chips...although the green hides chips well with touch up paint too...

Steve

 

yea, well the ford touch up paint sucks, cause i had a nick on the corner of my door, and i used it, and it is a totally different color, though the color codes are the same, etc...b.s. i asked them about it, and they said they couldn't do anything, what kind of CRAP is that. anyone have this happen? any ideas?

thanks

 

My Chestnut touch in paint stick from Ford works really well.
Any small nicks and dings become almost invisible.
Very happy with it !

 

Yeah, I know a guy named nick.. he pisses me off too... but, none the less...


Paint chips are a bitch but, you can take care of them in pretty easy manner fixing them yourself. I fix mine (which I need to do again) all the time and, like Lent said, the color match on the Autumn Brown with the Chestnut is 'right on' in my opinion. Also, my arizona Beige touchup paint is an identical match. (both from Ford).

Follow this link:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...ferrerid=18896


I've used this method probably 20 times and it works wonderfully. One thing, when you do the sanding portion, DO NOT PRESS DOWN HARD, it will make your life difficult when it comes time to polish out the scratches that you're making with the 2000 grit. Also, like he says in that post, the paint brush that's in the paint is worthless. Don't use it.

Please feel free to post questions about this process... I feel like I've gotten pretty good at it and I might be able to help.

Also, I should say, you're going to be using 2000 or 3000 grit sandpaper on your paint. You are doing this at YOUR OWN RISK. I'm not responsible for what you do to your vehicle.

All I know is that I do it on a semi-regular basis for rock chips and I've managed to get decent enough at the procedure that you can't tell I ever did a thing to it; nor can you tell that there was EVER a rock chip there.

Good luck if you dare try it. Sandpaper and my paint didn't sound like a good match but, I bit the bullet and did it... it worked out wonderfully.


RP

 

i'm going to ford on tuesday to complain...everyone i've talked to that has used the touch up paint has had perfect matches!! this sucks! okay...i've gotta go. thanks guys!

 

Of course the touch-up paint will be a slightly different color... it's not clear-coated!

Clear-coat is typically "clear" though it does DRASTICALLY alter the appearance of the finish. (Anyone who has ever worked in a body shop can verify this) Standard touch-up paint doesn't have the clear-coat on it after you apply it, so naturally, it's gonna stand out a bit.

The only way to avoid nicks is to not drive the truck.

-Joe-

 

your old truck never had any nicks at all??!!! every vehicle i've ever owned developed some nicks...some were worse than others but all developed nicks....i just trade for new and that takes care of it...

keep in mind that some colours are more nick resistant. i believe white is a tougher colour than say black...cousin who owns a body shop told me that once.

 

yeah, i heard thats cuz they put the lighter colors on thicker to get coverage, and dark colors like black they don't need to put on as thick to get coverage. make sense

also, with white, you get some wax in the chips, and it'll be harder to see also, where as on black it stands out like crazy.

 

it was a red truck with gray 2-tone. it did have a few dings from door hitting a post, and from truck hitting a post, but other than that, no nicks at all! so the clearcoat makes the difference, eh? well...what good is touch-up paint if it doesnt match. i am gonna take a pic tomorrow and show you guys how big of a difference it is. i'll post a pic tomorrow. talk to ya'll lata...

P.S. - Harley#356, awesome truck! looks great in every new updated sig pic

 

Thanks KingRanchSC02. I'm going to a show today and just zainoed my truck yesterday for the 1st time so it looks even better than before with the liquid glass, so by the time i get back on here tonight, i'll probably have a new sig pic....again And then again when my hood's painted...and again when i get my 02HD headlights....and again....

wish me luck!


you guys all have awsome KR's by the way. If i had the money, i'd probably get a charcoal blue(?) extended cab one

 

Harley,

Good luck and I hope you win something...

I'm looking forward to your next photo.

~DM~

 

didn't win anything today. i didn't figure i would though, cuz it was put on by nostalgia nights, so ALOT of old cars. My truck was the newest one there by about 10 years at least. And the other 97% of the cars were classics. And they didn't have classes, so it was the top 40 cars out of the 150 there, so very slim chances. but i dont mind. The show's themselves are fun.

loading pics now... new sig pic should be up by tomorrow

 

Probably saw some great looking cars/trucks if it was primarily an 'oldies show'. That's a passion of mine. I really love the old car look and, some day, I will own a 67 Vette' Stingray. Grrrroowl!!

My next door neighbor where I grew up restored 67-69 Vettes' and I helped him out quite a bit. Incredible machines.

Too bad you didn't place but, like you said, the shows are a blast just to be at.... the folks there all have one huge common thread. Vehicles.


RP