2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Somebody's Gonna Get a Beating...

[Mike Ellis]

... just as soon as I find out who vandalized my truck.



I have had the famous "paint pimples" for awhile, but overall my truck looks pretty good and had no major damage. I take pains to keep it clean and in good shape.



Went to fill up and wash the truck today, having had it coated pretty thick with caliche back before the rains, and noticed as the mud came off that my hood had been scratched up BIG TIME. There are four spots, symmetrically spaced along the centerline, two close to the windshield and two a bit further back. They are oval patches, looks like somebody with gravel in their boots just stood on the hood and ground their feet around - the deeper scratches go through to metal. The scratches go every which way, not like a typical keyjob. I can't figure out how anybody could have stood on the tinfoil hood and not bent it up though. What makes things worse is the paint is so worthless, it just flakes off in hunks in between the scratches.



BOY this has me smoking hot mad. Over the last several months I have also lost 3 of my Ram hubcaps, they are $$$ to replace too. Miserable no good worthless vandalizing scum... . better hope I don't get my hands on 'em.

 

[pwerwagn]

I feel for ya.

One of my friends just got a 2000 3500 dually, cummins, 5-speed, quad cab, all black, sport package. it was immaculate, had like 19,000 miles. He came out from work and it had a great big key mark all the way down the side. To the metal. And It looks as though they had a brake fluid soaked rag or something and wiped part of the hood and bumper down, as the paint is bubbling.

damn vandalists. It should be legal to shoot them if caught. Or at least beat em' pretty good.

 

[DPelletier]

Sorry to hear it Mike.



Reminds me of trying to catch the kids that threw eggs at my car one halloween, but that's a different story.



Dave

 

[Jim McCarty]

Man, that would really burn me. As far as the hub caps go, try Ebay. The dealer is just ridiculous and the hub cap shops want $25 each and they might not even be in very good shape. Good luck.

 

[jimk]

hub caps

... just as soon as I find out who vandalized my truck.



I have had the famous "paint pimples" for awhile, but overall my truck looks pretty good and had no major damage. I take pains to keep it clean and in good shape.



Went to fill up and wash the truck today, having had it coated pretty thick with caliche back before the rains, and noticed as the mud came off that my hood had been scratched up BIG TIME. There are four spots, symmetrically spaced along the centerline, two close to the windshield and two a bit further back. They are oval patches, looks like somebody with gravel in their boots just stood on the hood and ground their feet around - the deeper scratches go through to metal. The scratches go every which way, not like a typical keyjob. I can't figure out how anybody could have stood on the tinfoil hood and not bent it up though. What makes things worse is the paint is so worthless, it just flakes off in hunks in between the scratches.



BOY this has me smoking hot mad. Over the last several months I have also lost 3 of my Ram hubcaps, they are $$$ to replace too. Miserable no good worthless vandalizing scum... . better hope I don't get my hands on 'em.

Mike I may have some hub caps in my 40" box in Bowie. If I do you can have them. Sorry about your paint also, I have 3 Masiff and a Rottey. I dont like to be crossed. I work for what I have and I intend to keep it one way or the other. Jim K

 

[Dartman]

People don't have any respect for other folks property. Sorry about your hood. I also keep my truck immaculate. Always park in BFE in parking lots to avoid door dings. only got 37K on my truck and looks good.



About one month after I bought it, a car side-swiped the right rear quarter just abouve the exhaust as they backed out or pulled in the parking spot beside me. Didn't leave a note or anything. Found it the next day.



Shortly after, someone in a black truck opened their door into my driver's door just forward of the jamb. Hand buffed the other truck's paint out, but have a one inch tall ding.



Somehow got a ding (no paint removed again, thank God) below the body line in the middle of the right rear wheel well.



Just today, found a verticle scratch on the black paint between the driver's side windows from top of the door to the bottom of the paint. Had to have happened yesterday at work. And we park in a secured area! Maybe I p***ed someone off. F@&%ing pr*#ks!! P*&$es me off thinking about it! Shouldn't have posted!! Would like to beat some a** myself now!!





Just need to calm down and get it fixed. Out of sight, out of mind. Feel your pain, Mike. Still p**sed!!!!!!!! #@$%!



Hell with beating them, Mike, find 'em and shoot 'em!! I've always had a bad temper.

 

[rmrc]

Justice, one way or another!

Sorry to hear about your truck. Like others, I also take great pains trying to maintain my truck! I know that if I ever found any SOB's vandelizing my property, I'd beat the living crap out of them! Damn the consequences!!!!



If you don't find them,, keep in mind the saying,, "What goes around comes around". I've seen it happen many times. Justice, some how, usually prevails! It might take longer than we want, but at least they finally get whats called for!

 

[tURBOdIEZEl]

sorry to hear about your truck, its really a shame. it just goes to show you what type of person they truly are. i'll never forget the time i was sitting out in my truck (restraunt parking lot) waiting for my gf, when some snot nosed pimple faced kid pulled into the parking spot next to me and just throws open his door right into my bedside. he didnt even take one second to look and see if he had scratched my truck. he then non-chantley walks away. he seemed pretty startled when i jumped his a** for not being careful. sorry to rant.

 

[Mike Ellis]

Thanks fellows, sure hate to hear that so many of us have been vandalized.



Looking at the damage and where I have been, it seems likely that it happened during the weekend of a Boy Scout campout we had up near Lake Bridgeport. I had hauled several boys up there in the truck, due to detours we had to "wagon train" on a bunch of gravel roads and the truck was coated thickly with caliche that weekend.



Last night I had several of the guys at our Scout meeting look at the damage, and everybody was WTFO? How could anybody inflict that many cuts and gouges in those small areas? Opinions ranged from somebody standing on hood with gravel in shoes (like I originally thought), to cats, to Boy Scouts slapping the hood with mesquite branches to get the dirt off. The last one would seem more probable, except there are just the 4 areas on the hood (not like they raked a branch all over it dusting it off) and also the truck was thickly coated - no evidence of hood cleaning or I would have noticed.



One of the guys, when we were discussing the "standing on hood" theory and wondering why somebody would do it, suggested that maybe somebody had stood on the truck to take a whiz on the windshield like one of those little Calvin stickers people put on their rear window. I sure don't remember coming out to the truck and seeing any evidence of THAT, or smelling it either, but it sure fits the damage on the hood. Miserable, low down, no good POS vandals #@$%! #@$%!



Sure am glad I bought that locking fuel cap when I got the truck, no telling what the scumbags would have done to my fuel if they could access it.

 

[Mike Ellis]

Update

I had a buddy who was once a professional paint and body guy look at the truck, he now is in charge of painting our F-16s, and he said that it might NOT have been vandalism! According to him, the millions of little pimples in the paint lift up the coating enough where it can crack and it is then like falling dominoes - the spreading crack reaches other lifted areas, which crack, and reach other lifted areas, which crack, etc.



I asked him how the damage could happen so fast, and he said that he had seen heavy caliche dust result in paint damage before Asked him how the primer got scratched under the cracks, and he said that the primer is damaged too and that cracks let the metal underneath rust.



I don't know boys, sure looks like vandalism to me but the guy knows his business. He told me it would cost a couple of thousand $$$ to take the truck down to bare metal and do a good paint job, all the old primer has to be removed because that is what is causing the pimples in the paint to start with. He suggested I start sanding it in small sections and spraying it with primer myself, and when the whole truck is primed taking it in to the body shop for a quality paint job - said I might save a couple thousand in labor this way. I said, "Why not have the body shop do both?", and he said $$$$ but also the average body shop guy won't put in the effort to get all the old primer off.



Looks like me and the old DA sander will be getting closely acquainted over the next few months. I was hoping to do my '72 Jimmy first, but I guess the truck needs attention first. Thanks for that great primer job DC #@$%!



Hmmmm wonder what it would cost to have the whole truck coated with Line-X

 

[GWDiesel]

Vandalized Trucks/Cars

Why never A Dirty truck or car is messed with? only

the clean well kept up vech. I have been trough this

also! Jerry

 

[DBogo]

some punks in my neighborhood shaving creamed and chocolate syruped a 04 black dodge 2500 4x4 CTD and the worst part is the windows were open a little bit they squirted chocolate syrup inside the truck all over the cloth seats now thats bull**** they are just ruining halloween and im sorry to hear bout your truck i would be ****** and i have seen a whole car covered in line-x it was pink though

 

[DPelletier]

Hey Mike,

Further to your paint guys line of thinking, how do the spots on the hood line up with the bracing? Do you have a matt? I'm wondering if the mud on the hood could have trapped heat, thereby exacerbating the paint/primer problem culminating in the alarming paint failure. Just a thought.



I just had to do the same thing with my '93 GMC diesel (yeah, I know!). Anyway it is a white truck and the paint was flaking off all over it due to poor primer adhesion. I had a good bodyshop that I regularly use, strip it down to bare metal and reprime and paint. Cost me $2,400. 00 Canadian.

Unless you've done paint and bodywork before, realize that the prep is what determines how good a paint job looks when done, not the final spraying. Personally (given my love of sanding and dubious talent) I would remove all trim, flaps, etc. and have the body shop deal with the rest. If I REALLY wanted to economize I'd perform the paint stripping, but not the filling, priming and sanding.



Good Luck Mike,

Dave

 

[Dartman]

Mike: Might want to check your warrenty for the body. I thought DC had galvanized coating on the medal and warrentied it for 10 years against rust. Could be wrong, but remember reading this somewhere. If your paint is cracking and the medal is rusting underneath, sounds like the prep work wasn't done right at the factory and should be covered. Good luck, Tony.

 

[dodge cummins]

i am sorry to hear about it also. but i must say it must of been one of those ford powerstroke owners. keep a eye out for them they usually walk around and keep to themselves like outsiders mumbling amongst each other about lack of reliability. :-laf