Aluminum Ford's and Paint

[mwilson]

It seems like the Mexican built trucks in my experience exhibit better paint than the N St Louis ones. Could very well be enviro regs.

The new Ford aluminum bodies that are peeling got contaminated with iron somehow somewhere in the construction process. It's literally bedded into the alloy.

Paint adheres to aluminum just fine. Ask Boeing, or most every other aircraft builder. Just gotta be put on correctly. Peterbilt, too.

My Saltillo built '06 has fantastic Inferno Red paint. I have long attributed the finish to the difference in regulations.

Freightliner also used aluminum cabs on many models until 2004. If they didn't treat it properly there were problems, especially around the rivets.....note the rivets above the red line on this salvage cab picture I found...

 

[Wayne M.]

We have Alum Reading utility bodies that are withering away around gaps and seams behind the rear wheels.

 

[Dl5treez]

I haven't looked hard at the 'military grade' aluminum but chances are it's similar to 'aircraft grade'......might hold the paint on the edges better. Hard telling, from about 1990-2005 good ol Murica wasn't so great at painting automotive anything.

If they're still dropping primer/base/clear in a 1 mil thickness, nothing will last on the edges.....