Was looking at the roof of my 2002 Excusion yesterday and was horrified to find that the paint in the center of the roof was cracking and peeling away in large patches. This is not just the clearcoat flaking but the entire finish coming off right down to bare metal. Took it to the dealership bodyshop and was told that the paint was cracking and peeling due to an excessive thickness of paint being applied when the truck was built. The service writer and one of his paint men measured the paint thickness at 18 mils versus the 6to 8 mil that they said should have been applied. Both indicated that they thought this was an issue that Ford should address so the sent me over to the Service Manager who looked over the truck and told me that any compensation would be beyond what he could authorize due to the age of the vehicle. He then proceded to write up a notice to Ford regarding the problem and requested that they look into the issue. The Service Manager said he should have a response from Ford in a couple of weeks as to whether or not they would accept any responsibility for the problem. Does anyone have any expieience in these matters or am I going to be out the $1200 plus dollars it will take to completely strip the roof of the truck and repaint?

Thanks for any insight anyone may have.

 

I had the same thing happen to my 88 F-150 that I bought used a few years back. Be patient, Ford is usually pretty good about responding to paint problems. The only problem I had was the communication between Ford and the dealer. I had to accept a $100 deductable so we called it even when I had them tape over the side stripes. Keep on top of it though. If Ford does not respond to the dealer file a complaint with Ford yourself. The dealer tried to make me go away so I went directly to Ford and got a new paint job.

 

What year did you take your 88 in for the repaint? Was it younger than his truck or older?

Aeronaut, if they doesn't help why don't you spend about half and get the top of it Rhino lined? Much stronger, reduced interior noise, resist fading & can be top coated any color.

I was quoted $600 to do mine.

 

I agree Bed Liner is some awsome stuff! I have line-X and love it....would be cheaper than paint too. They can spay anything and everything with that stuff!

 

Please keep us updated. I'd really like to know how it goes for you since my Excursion has spots on the roof that are rusting and peeling just like yours is.

Monsta, will Rhino Liner look like paint or is it going to look like a bedliner on top of the roof, is it going to be smooth?

 

The paint on the roof of my 04 is doing the same as others describe here. Some of you have mentioned finding resolution with Ford directly, can you give some insight as to who you wrote / contacted and what the process was? Any help would be appreciated.

The Rhino idea is actually a good one (short of having Ford foot the bill for a decent paintjob like they should have done the first time around). I too am curious what that looks like, if anyone has photo's would appreciate. My truck is black so the color isn't an issue.

Thanks.

 

not to mention it would be like completely hail-proof

 

My truck was about 5-6 years old. It was reported to be a problem with the gray paint in 1988. I sprayed it with a water hose one day and gray paint flakes flew everywhere. I bought the truck used with 5000 miles so the dealer did not want to do it, so I went to Ford customer service and they agreed to paint it. Be polite and persistant.

 

Uhhh...well since it's bed liner it's gonna look like bedliner.

The Rhino lining is more pliable than Line-X and can be top coated with any color you like. My particular plan is to have it done and then get a couple of spray cans of my paint color and paint it. I would only do that to reflect heat since I don't want a black roof. I'm not too worried about the aesthetics of it since it is the roof. I only plan on painted the area where the roof "ribs" are and to go all the way to the windshield. Basically the area between the roof rack.

Masking it off it the largest part of the cost. Guy said it would take him less than a half an hour to actually apply the Rhino lining material.

 

I'm going to try to schedule a local Rhino guy to look at mine tomorrow. Reading their site, it appears they make this stuff in virtually any color now and in differing finishes....smooth, skid proof, etc. I had never thought of it as anything other than a bedliner. In fact - I have a leaky balcony and they even show it as being a good for residential applications....so hopefully I get a reasonable estimate.

 

Just a note on the how the peeling paint problem on my Excursion was resolved. After contacting both the local dealer and the Ford Customer Assistance hot line, Ford has basically offered to pay 1/2 the cost of stripping and re-painting the roof of my Excursion. The bad news is that it will cost me about $600.00 dollars out of pocket to repair my truck. The good news is that it could have cost me $1200.00 out of pocket. I suppose if I kicked and screamed I could probably get Ford to cover a larger percentage of the bill but I am not sure if it would be worth the time it would take or the aggravation that I would have to go through to save a couple of hundred dollars. All in all my experience with Ford Customer Assistance was a positive one as the individual who helped me was pleasant, courteous and prompt. Hope this helps anyone else who may be having the same issues.

Aeronaut

 

My 99 250 has this problem. Mainly on the roof but also a few small places on the hood have surfaced. I plan to replace the hood but the roof is not a big deal to me I just lifted the truck so high so you couldn't see it anymore LOL. But being that I paint I'll take care of it just not worried about it at this time...

And yes the paint is to thick in these areas as opposed to the sides of the truck. Only fix is stripping and that is a major pain!!! Monsta, your idea sounds like my kind of fix!! Especially since my truck is already black

 

Since it seems like you got somewhere with Ford, I'm going to try and give them a call about my 2000 Excursion since its rusting in 4 different areas on the roof. I just updated my gallery with pics of the rust, here are the pics.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#dfdfdf colSpan=2>Description: This is right above the C-pillar on the passenger side of the roof</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle bg*************** colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#dfdfdf colSpan=2>Description: Same area above the C-pillar</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle bg*************** colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#dfdfdf colSpan=2>Description: Passenger side roof rail towards the rear of the vehicle</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle bg*************** colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#dfdfdf colSpan=2>Description: At the top of the lift gate opening. Lift gate opened</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle bg*************** colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#dfdfdf colSpan=2>Description: Same area with lift gate closed</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle bg*************** colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

DU-AMM! I would certainly pursue for what you can. It's only 8 years old.

 

I noticed the other day I have a 4" diameter spot right above the passenger front door where the clear is pealing.