2 days old and all 4 doors have paint peeling….unbelievable

[PaulNY]

So, pulled the truck out of the garage yesterday to spend a little time with it. I purchased the day before and while I did a decent walk around inspection, I initially missed paint peeling at the bottom of all 4 doors. Yes, paint peeling on all 4 doors….I still can’t believe it when I say it. So, the dealer is willing to reverse the deal and cancel paperwork and give me back my trade as though this never happened (Back to the drawing board). The alternative is the G.M. stated the body shop “would make it right” if I wanted to keep it. Oh, there are also tons of rail rust spots once I get close enough. I assume those can be removed? I’m so bummed. This has taken all of the excitement of the new purchase and shoved it down the toilet. Thoughts?

 

[BlueToo]

To me this looks like damage that occurred during transit. They look a lot more like a scrape than a peel. I’ve only seen one other complaint about paint peel and that person said theirs was on the hood near where the black portion met the hood. The rust colored spot probably are not actual rust, but that’s impossible to tell from a photo.

I can definitely emphasize with it taking all of the excitement out of the new purchase, especially one as expensive as this. I had two deer run into the side of my last truck causing $5k damage when it only had 200 miles on it. With how difficult it is to get these trucks, or just vehicles in general, if I were you I’d see what the dealership is actually willing to do for you to “make it right” and then go from there. I’d be curious to see what they do for you since every dealership varies so wilidly in their customer service.

 

[PaulNY]

To me this looks like damage that occurred during transit. They look a lot more like a scrape than a peel. I’ve only seen one other complaint about paint peel and that person said theirs was on the hood near where the black portion met the hood. The rust colored spot probably are not actual rust, but that’s impossible to tell from a photo.

I can definitely emphasize with it taking all of the excitement out of the new purchase, especially one as expensive as this. I had two deer run into the side of my last truck causing $5k damage when it only had 200 miles on it. With how difficult it is to get these trucks, or just vehicles in general, if I were you I’d see what the dealership is actually willing to do for you to “make it right” and then go from there. I’d be curious to see what they do for you since every dealership varies so wilidly in their customer service.

Thanks for the reply. I haven’t entertained yet what the dealer is willing to do, but obviously body shop work is inevitable. Based on what you see (it’s actually worse and runs along the majority of the bottom of the doors), how would the repair happen? I have no knowledge of paint work. Would the doors have to come off? Would they have to disassemble and reassemble the door panel after door removal, etc? And, how much of the doors would they have to paint? These answers could sway me to consider letting them repair it. Ironically, the rest of the vehicle is in great condition, as it should be. They do have 3 ZR2’S sitting in 3000 status currently and the GM stated he would be happy to offer me one of those. Of course, it’s probably 2 months before they arrive.

 

[Scavenger]

100% shipping damage. get your trade in back and get details on receiving one of the other 3 they have on the way.

I personally wouldn't deal with that level of repainting, and I'd just let the dealership deal with it and having to resell it. It's likely they'll do an insurance claim to recover the cost from the carrier.

 

[franky16]

agree. definitely freight damage or damage from the plant/port. id get your money back and wait for 1 of the other 2 he has coming

 

[BlueToo]

Thanks for the reply. I haven’t entertained yet what the dealer is willing to do, but obviously body shop work is inevitable. Based on what you see (it’s actually worse and runs along the majority of the bottom of the doors), how would the repair happen? I have no knowledge of paint work. Would the doors have to come off? Would they have to disassemble and reassemble the door panel after door removal, etc? And, how much of the doors would they have to paint? These answers could sway me to consider letting them repair it. Ironically, the rest of the vehicle is in great condition, as it should be. They do have 3 ZR2’S sitting in 3000 status currently and the GM stated he would be happy to offer me one of those. Of course, it’s probably 2 months before they arrive.

So I showed these photos to my dad whos done bodywork and paint for the last 40 years. He said that this is actually the paint peeling / chipping. It’s due to the doors being aluminum which are a lot harder to paint correctly than traditional doors. He said Ford is running into this problem a ton right now and he’s been respraying a lot of them. I asked him how the body shop would most likely handle fixing this and he told me they would just respray that part of the door. They wouldn’t have to take the door apart, and probably wouldn’t even remove the door to fix it. Here’s where your big problem lies, he thinks the “rust spots” are places where the paint is starting to bubble from underneath and most likely will begin to chip sooner than later.

You’re in a tough spot because it’s an easy fix on the chipped parts with just a quick respray, but you obviously had someone who did not quite know what they were doing or having an off day when they sprayed your truck and you will most likely run into future problems. Especially where the “rust spots” are.

 

[PaulNY]

So I showed these photos to my dad whos done bodywork and paint for the last 40 years. He said that this is actually the paint peeling / chipping. It’s due to the doors being aluminum which are a lot harder to paint correctly than traditional doors. He said Ford is running into this problem a ton right now and he’s been respraying a lot of them. I asked him how the body shop would most likely handle fixing this and he told me they would just respray that part of the door. They wouldn’t have to take the door apart, and probably wouldn’t even remove the door to fix it. Here’s where your big problem lies, he thinks the “rust spots” are places where the paint is starting to bubble from underneath and most likely will begin to chip sooner than later.

You’re in a tough spot because it’s an easy fix on the chipped parts with just a quick respray, but you obviously had someone who did not quite know what they were doing or having an off day when they sprayed your truck and you will most likely run into future problems. Especially where the “rust spots” are.

Thank you so much for this very valuable info. That’s exactly the intel I’ve been looking for. Now, it reinforces my decision to take the truck back in the morning and get my trade back. The GM started the reverse back out of the deal process yesterday. However, part of me has thought a couple of different times about maybe just keeping it and letting the body shop try and fix this. But, your dad’s info helps me feel good about getting rid of this truck as inevitable future problems lurk.

 

[BlueToo]

Thank you so much for this very valuable info. That’s exactly the intel I’ve been looking for. Now, it reinforces my decision to take the truck back in the morning and get my trade back. The GM started the reverse back out of the deal process yesterday. However, part of me has thought A couple of different times about maybe just keeping it snd letting the body shop try and fox this. But, your dad’s info helps me feel good about getting rid of this truck as inevitable future problems lurk.

Glad I could give you a little more info. You’re definitely in a crappy spot but I agree that taking it back and waiting for another one is probably the best bet. This is almost guaranteed to be just the start of your paint issues. Hopefully another one arrives soon for ya.

 

[GearheadSS]

Rail dust can be removed with a clay bar. Super easy and very common on any white vehicle that is shipped by rail.

I'm guessing that these are peeling due to them now putting the rougher texture farther up on the doors for protection. You would think they would have that figured out by now.

 

[ZR-Too]

100% shipping damage. get your trade in back and get details on receiving one of the other 3 they have on the way.

I personally wouldn't deal with that level of repainting, and I'd just let the dealership deal with it and having to resell it. It's likely they'll do an insurance claim to recover the cost from the carrier.

That's pretty extreme for shipping damage. It takes way too long to get these things, and there's no guarantees the others will be better. If the dealer is paying for it, let them do the job. Just my 2 cents.

 

[GearheadSS]

100% shipping damage. get your trade in back and get details on receiving one of the other 3 they have on the way.

I personally wouldn't deal with that level of repainting, and I'd just let the dealership deal with it and having to resell it. It's likely they'll do an insurance claim to recover the cost from the carrier.

If they didn't catch it when the truck was dropped off then they can't make a transportation damage claim. Dealers are screwed if they don't catch it when it's unloaded. It has to be noted with the driver standing there.

They will likely get it touched up and sell it as is.

 

[PaulNY]

Update: dropped the truck off this morning. The GM and salesman both tried to down play the damage and said they see this all the time. I assume this was their last attempt to make me feel warm and fuzzy about the damage and hope I would keep the truck pending repairs. However, I stood my ground, retrieved my trade in, and left amicably with no harsh words from either side. The GM did say he already had it sold, which could be true….I hope he communicates the damage and repair to the new owner.

Luckily, I was able to secure another ZR2 today by reaching out to many dealers via Autotrader and Cargurus leads. So, it should land by middle of next week, if not earlier after my salesman says he will put a hot sold ticket on it (does that really get it on a carrier quicker)? Currently, it sits awaiting a delivery truck in 4800 status. This one is black, my preferred color but a pain in the arse to keep clean. Hopefully, this one is damage free and I can enjoy the experience of ownership. Fingers crossed.

Thanks everyone for your responses.

 

[44sixpack]

Looks like damage to me but hard to say.

As far as the aluminum painting goes I think the problems are way over blown . yes the paint companies have a lot of different procedures for aluminum but real world experience says, whatever.

I have several heavy trucks and I've done most of my own body work on them for decades. Peterbuilt has used aluminum hoods for decades , nobody told me it was a problem so I used the same materials and process as I would steel for decades. NEVER A PROBLEM . I have an '92 Pete I repainted the hood on 20 years ago and it still looks good today. the only place the paint is missing is where rocks chipped it off. I'm not alone on this

I think the aluminum paint hype is more just poor paint work than anything else.

 

[franky16]

Apparently this is actually a known issue with only the white trucks. It’s not freight damage

 

[Stacy T.]

Apparently this is actually a known issue with only the white trucks. It’s not freight damage

Please don't tell me that.

 

[franky16]

Please don't tell me that.

don't worry man i have the red hot and its flaking off around the hood insert. i already have a warranty claim with gm

 

[wutang61]

Definitely not freight damage. That’s absolutely peeling. The gravel guard is peeling right off the E coat. Probably due to the GG still degassing when painted over with waterbased base coat. You add urethane clear over the water base and it will absolutely cause adhesion failure.

Doors are hung and sprayed on the cab as in assembly. Along with the hood and tailgate.

That’s growing pains of a new vehicle running down the line.

I will tell you, that because the e-coat is intact, factory corrosion protection isn’t compromised.

A proper repair would require the fender being blended as a minimum for color uniformity. In reality, the bedside should be painted as well due to the fact they almost wrap around the cab now and the gaps can’t hide a color shift like they used to. But your insurance company will tell you otherwise.

 

[PaulNY]

So, is it fair to say that based on @Wutang61 and @franky16 comments, we have a paint adhesion issue with the ZR2 paint process in Mexico? If this is indeed growing pains of a new vehicle, I wonder if a majority of builds since the first ran off the assembly a few months ago will have paint problems until fixed?

 

[GearheadSS]

So, is it fair to say that based on @Wutang61 and @franky16 comments, we have a paint adhesion issue with the ZR2 paint process in Mexico? If this is indeed growing pains of a new vehicle, I wonder if a majority of builds since the first ran off the assembly a few months ago will have paint problems until fixed?

Possibly on the door but definitely not on the hoods. I do find it odd that we're in the 4th year of them using that coating on the rockers of these trucks. Now they're having adhesion issues now because it's now up on the door of the ZR2?

The hoods are peeling because of those stupid hood inserts. If you look at one when it's dirty, water and dirt just pools up at the front the insert. It also seems like there's no insulation underneath to protect the paint from the hard plastic of the insert but I haven't removed one to see.

That hood insert was a poorly tested design decision, imo. If you're off-roading it really blocks your view.

 

[ZR-Too]

Possibly on the door but definitely not on the hoods. I do find it odd that we're in the 4th year of them using that coating on the rockers of these trucks. Now they're having adhesion issues now because it's now up on the door of the ZR2?

The hoods are peeling because of those stupid hood inserts. If you look at one when it's dirty, water and dirt just pools up at the front the insert. It also seems like there's no insulation underneath to protect the paint from the hard plastic of the insert but I haven't removed one to see.

That hood insert was a poorly tested design decision, imo. If you're off-roading it really blocks your view.

I'll be first in line when the aftermarket inserts show up that are functional (I know, cutting the hood to make it functional sucks) and are integrated with a good CAI kit.