Ruby Red Repair
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Junior User
Joined: Jan 2016
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Ruby Red Repair
So unfortunately while plowing in a snowstorm this winter a tree jumped out behind me!
....we'll leave it at that! 
Anyway, I took it to a local Ford dealer that also has a bodyshop onsite figuring the best place to get a quality repair would be a dealer. I got the truck back yesterday and I'm really not happy with the quality of the paint job. The color matches well, but the factory paint is like a mirror!! The repair does not show a reflection like the rest of the truck. From an angle, I can see some orange peal which is what I think is causing the lack of reflection. The reflection almost looks blurred. When hitting the interweb, I'm seeing plenty about how Ruby Red is the hardest color to match if not nearly impossible. Am I being unrealistic to expect perfection? Part of me says, "it's a truck, and will not be new forever", and part of me says, "It's a $70K truck, not a Fiesta, so yeah, it better be perfect!!". Looking for some advice on this!! Below are some pics, but it doesn't really show well. You can easily see the difference in person.
....we'll leave it at that! Anyway, I took it to a local Ford dealer that also has a bodyshop onsite figuring the best place to get a quality repair would be a dealer. I got the truck back yesterday and I'm really not happy with the quality of the paint job. The color matches well, but the factory paint is like a mirror!! The repair does not show a reflection like the rest of the truck. From an angle, I can see some orange peal which is what I think is causing the lack of reflection. The reflection almost looks blurred. When hitting the interweb, I'm seeing plenty about how Ruby Red is the hardest color to match if not nearly impossible. Am I being unrealistic to expect perfection? Part of me says, "it's a truck, and will not be new forever", and part of me says, "It's a $70K truck, not a Fiesta, so yeah, it better be perfect!!". Looking for some advice on this!! Below are some pics, but it doesn't really show well. You can easily see the difference in person.
More Turbo
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 610
Likes: 8
Ouch, sorry to hear about the damage, and on such a new truck, too!
Matching the original color is a completely different story from the level of gloss your paint has. Matching the paint involves mixing different colors together to get the exact same color paint your truck has. Your paint is probably very complicated to mix from scratch, and it looks like the body shop did a good job with that. They really should have wetsanded and buffed the paint more than they did to achieve that mirror-like finish.
I would bet you could use some Meguiar's Compound and a buffer to make it glossier.
You could also take it to a reputable body shop and have them wetsand and polish it for you.
Matching the original color is a completely different story from the level of gloss your paint has. Matching the paint involves mixing different colors together to get the exact same color paint your truck has. Your paint is probably very complicated to mix from scratch, and it looks like the body shop did a good job with that. They really should have wetsanded and buffed the paint more than they did to achieve that mirror-like finish.
I would bet you could use some Meguiar's Compound and a buffer to make it glossier.
You could also take it to a reputable body shop and have them wetsand and polish it for you.
New User
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 13
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Ruby Ref is a nightmare to try and repair and more than likely will need the whole tailgate repainted. We have a 2014 expedition in Ruby ref and got some hail damage took it to ford dealer that has a body shop.... they had to paint the entire vehicle. They tried to blend and it simply wouldn't work - $15k in hail Repairs
More Turbo
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 610
Likes: 8
If the color already matches the rest of the truck, then the paint matching nightmare isn't even a factor in the OP's case.
All it looks like it needs is a good sanding and buffing. It almost looks like the dealer skipped that step. It isn't a big deal, just something that needs to be finished.
All it looks like it needs is a good sanding and buffing. It almost looks like the dealer skipped that step. It isn't a big deal, just something that needs to be finished.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 1,304
Likes: 177
From: Vancouver, BC
The issue being most people don't care or even notice things like this. In turn, the bodyshop doesn't fix things like this until the owner complains. Think of the time/money they save not doing "unnecessary" work. Take it back and ask for it to be fixed, I'm sure they will do it with no questions asked.
Elder User
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 772
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From: wi
My factory ruby red has major orange peel. Dull as hell. Just sucks quite frankly. But what can you really die about it. Have it repaired and get worse that what I have. Best of luck. I would have thought would have painted whole tailgate. If they didn't.
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From: wi
If the color already matches the rest of the truck, then the paint matching nightmare isn't even a factor in the OP's case.
All it looks like it needs is a good sanding and buffing. It almost looks like the dealer skipped that step. It isn't a big deal, just something that needs to be finished.
All it looks like it needs is a good sanding and buffing. It almost looks like the dealer skipped that step. It isn't a big deal, just something that needs to be finished.
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