2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission paint job!

[bschmidt]

Hey guys just wondering how many of you a seeing problems with your paint?I have a 02' red sport pk. and the clear coat is bubbling or lifting. It started on the roof and now the rest of the truck is following. The part that drives me crazy is I try my best to keep a clean truck, putting a good coat of wax on at least three times a year. Once before winter, again after, and one or two in the summer. I owned a 97' red sport and I know the paint on that truck was much better than this one. The bubbles start out real small,but continue to grow as time goes on. The bubbles on the roof are starting to join together and crack. I brought the truck to several dealers and told me basically good luck trying to win that one. They said DC will just blame it on acid rain, lack of maintenance, etc. Did the good old boys at Dodge just cut corners with are paint jobs, I think we should be seeing more than 5-6 years on a paint job from the factory. Just wanted to see if anyone else is having problems and what their doing about it? Since I plan on keeping her for a long time I guess I will start getting estimates to get her painted. It just really hurts to spend that kind of money on a truck that is only 6 years old, when I look at older trucks and see their paint looking better than mine. #@$%!

 

[WestTN]

I'ts just a matter or water based paint, heat crital primer, and a few years of sunlight.

 

[Kissfan113]

i've noticed a progressive dotted paint surface... . looks like overspray but continues to spread, it's all over my hood and cab roof... . drivin me nuts to be honest.

Kevin

 

[Davcruz]

My roof and hood are doing it, to the point now that the clear is cracking and coming off the roof very badly. I just got an estimate to paint the entire truck and a separate estimate to paint only the hood, roof and pass door.

Entire truck = $3000
Hood, roof, door = $1500

 

[TMilliard]

Not to rub it in but ive had my truck since 02 and have washed it maybe twice, and only with a hot water psi washer, it has been coated ing hydraulic oil, mud, fuel, brake fluid(oops!), everything doing heavy equipment road service can throw at it and the paint looks great. No wax soap or anything the I should have. Just my 2 cents

 

[bschmidt]

$3000. 00 sounds pretty good compared to what some people are telling me. I was told that the whole truck should be stripped to do it right. Around $4000-$5000 is what I have been hearing, I hope this is not true. You would think that with todays technology we should not have to deal with this. I guess they did not learn anything from the terrible paint back in the late 80's. Out of all the problems that I have had with this truck this one is the biggest let down. Just when it seemed I had all the bugs worked out.

 

[bschmidt]

TMilliard, I wonder if you gave that work horse a bath, if you would notice anything wrong with the paint. Your reply sounds all to familiar, I have friends who dont believe in any kind of maint. and it seems like their stuff almost never fails. Not me though, I go above and beyond, and I am always fixing something. I guess the saying could be true- if its not broke dont fix it

 

[Eric Lee]

"don't wear it out washing it".

The Dutch have a saying "don't wear it out washing it".



I wash this truck maybe once a month - (8 years x 12 = 96 times) My last work truck I washed once - the day I put it out on the street for sale. (I never loved her



Rubbing the dirt in with the coin-op brush has taken it's toll. I'll have to get a paint job sooner or later because the rest of the truck is better than new. (and cheaper to keep her). I'll probably get the $4k-$5K job though - it'll be cheaper than 2 $3k deals.



Another good Dutch saying - 'use it up, wear it out, make do, or do with out"



-Eric

 

[Davcruz]

So a $3000 paint job is not as good as one that you paid too much for?

FYI, the paint job I posted about included stripping the problem areas of the vehicle, but not the entire vehicle. I cannot see it only costing $5k to strip and paint an entire truck.

 

[Eric Lee]

"If you buy the best........."

Another saying goes something like this - "If you buy the best you might lose a little - buy the bargain you could lose it all".



For the most part I don't 'price shop'. You won't find a China tool anywhere in my shop. There are so many hacks out there, I look from the top down to save my time. So do my customers.



LEE CUSTOM IRON



-Eric

 

[Davcruz]

Well, I did not price shop either. I went to one shop that is close to my home and that is the quote I was given. Kinda hard to tell the difference from the "hacks" and the "non hacks" sometimes, I had some extensive work done to my 92 25th Anniversary Z28 by one of the most reputable body shops in town and they did a horrible job.

 

[Eric Lee]

I've only had one whole vehicle painted ever and I was highly disappointed. But since then I had my trans shop mess my bumper up in their lot and their sister shop next door repainted it and it's factory good. I mean perfect, obviously flawless and tightly adhered. It's either done right or not - if not, a shop like that would sand it down and redo it before you even knew it happened.

I have higher expectations from a shop with the right equipment sitting around. A well lit paint booth with the heaters and a clean floor is what I'd probably look for.



I'll probably look to book a slow time of year so I can possibly ask for an appropriate discount for the time consideration.



-Eric

 

[DSeamans]

Sounds cheap

$3000 sounds very cheap. I used to paint for a living and now do just a few vehicles a Year. Ask them if they plan on taking the clear off, down to primer, or down to metal. At a minimum, they need to go down to the primer. Clearcoat pealing is usually due to the color coat, not the clear. Taking it to metal is only necessary if there are enough rock chips that rust could be starting. Sometimes, taking the color off can let very small rust spots start growing. I am getting ready to redo mine, and I'll have over $2000 in materials. That is primer, sealer, color, clear, all reducers,hardners, catalysts and sand paper. That doesn't include the new tailgate and doors I need. #@$%! Red is the most expensive factory color. Make sure they use name brand: PPG, dupont or Sherwin Williams. I have tried their "economy" brands(omni,nassin) and did not like them. They didn't cover as well and did not wear well. The only place I'd never darken the door is maaco. Their price is cheap and quality even cheaper!



Good luck and make sure they do it right! I have many horror stories I could tell you.



Dave

 

[Eric Lee]

Wow - I knew automotive paints were expensive but I had no idea there could be $2K in just materials.



What ballpark do you think it should cost to prep a QC Sport down to primer and paint? Could a novice do the sanding? I would guess all the lights, mirrors, bumpers, trim etc would all have to be taken off? Any body panels need to be removed? (hood - doors - box - glass)



Pretty major stuff - I'm gonna look at maybe... ..... good paste waxes. :-laf



- Eric

 

[DavidC]

When I painted the 70 roadrunner back in 1986 the rallye red lacquer was 65. 00 a gallon (I bought 4 gallons), they had to pick me up off the floor after just painting a plymouth satellite black lacquer at 19. 00 a gallon. Today that same lacquer red is 450. 00 a gallon. When the roadrunner was painted it was completely dissassembled, hood,fenders,doors,windows removed from everything. The engine compartment, hood, trunk lid and anything on that car was painted. That paint job today I would imagine is at 10k. The final paint job is 99% of the effort during the prep work.



Dave

 

[bschmidt]

In the case with are trucks what do you think the problem is- Why is the clear bubbling and cracking? What is the correct procedure to fix it? How far down does it have to be stripped, to insure it does not happen again.

 

[Davcruz]

The quote I got was for PPG paints. The shop I got it from is close to my home but not particularly a nice looking shop or spotlessly clean either. I would actually think twice about taking my truck there, but I did get numbers from him. He also estimated $2K in materials and being that he is slow right now I guess I got a good labor rate. He said the job would take him a week plus.

bschmidt- My truck came from Arizona where it spent the last 7 years and I think it just literally got cooked. The areas on mine that are cracking are all areas that would take the most direct hit from the sun. I had a 2000 before this one that was also black and it had none of this clear cracking going on at all.

 

[surfbeetle]

You get what you pay for with paint. I paid 2,000 for my repaint. I told them to strip the roof and hood down to bare metal. They didn't and I found this out when I pulled a long hill with the fifth wheel. The hood over the turbo got warmer and you can see the primer shrink in the paint only when it has been that temperature. They screwed up my doors, I had them repaint and now they don't quite match the rest of the truck. So, remember the prep work is what you are really paying for.

 

[bschmidt]

Davcruz, that is the case with mine also. The roof and hood starting first and now being the worst. But, I see the rest of the truck following, all except for my dually fender flairs and my mopar brush guard. With those two being plastic, I wonder if they dont absorb as much heat? Same paint-same age?

 

[SHobbs]

I got a friend of a friend deal on my truck, complete strip and repaint plus body a few body changes for 4k. The towing mirrors replaced the non towing ones as well. I had my aluminum running boards spayed with Line X xtra, guaranteed shiny for life for $450. You can see there is no antenna and no tailgate handle it was moved to the inside. The bed will get sprayed next.



Its not the typical Driftwood though. The Driftwood color has two components from what I am told, one is metallics the other is pearl. I had the pearl enhanced and left the metallics alone so what I have now is not the silverish blue/grey instead I have a more tan or bronze effect when light hits it in just the right way. It's hard to see it in these pictures though.