Not sure where to post this - here or on the F150 truck board.

Anyway, after washing my truck today I noticed that there is a speckled pattern of surface rust on the tailgate & rear bumper - and when I started searching, I found rust on every single panel on the truck except for the hood (which isn't steel). The truck was built in April of 2002, so it's only 9 or 10 months old. The rust has actually been there for a couple months (I've noticed it before), but it's been spreading pretty quickly and in the past 4 weeks the number of spots has about doubled - probably because of the salt on the roads. At this point you can see the spots fairly easily from about 50 feet away...so it isn't like they are just tiny specks. I used my fingernail to scrape at one of them, and it appears to go right through to the steel.

My question is this: I'm going to take the truck back to my local Ford dealer and have a 'discussion' with them about the rust - the truck is under warranty, and one way or the other they are going to fix it. But, what 'fix' would be acceptable at this point? I'm not very familiar with bodywork and painting, and am not sure what they'd have to do to get the paint back to the point where it should have been when I bought it (I don't want them to repaint it and have rust start again next winter).

My last F150 didn't have this problem, though that one was Highland Green and this one is white (Oxford White, I think). I know that white has been a problem in the past, but I thought that by now they had all the problems worked out...and I've seen white F150s that were on their 5th or 6th winter and looked far better than my '02. I drive this truck quite a bit in the winter (though I wash it relatively often when it gets near freezing), but I've driven all my vehicles a lot in the winter and never had a problem to this extent. Maybe Ford had a problem with the paint or the primer, and it's not as thick as it should be - I didn't have any paint chips or scratches in the areas that rusted, so it seems like it rusted right through the paint.

As you can probably tell, I'm a little annoyed - I love the truck, but I'm a bit ticked off about the paint.

LK

 

The rust pits you describe would only develop if the surface of the paint is broken. If that is the case there are under coats that would protect the steel. You said the year is 2002 so I cant see rust developing in such a short time. I would be very surprised if this was rust. I think without seeing it that the surface is contaminated with industrial fallout (IF). Do you live in an industrial area? IF can mimic rust and stain the surface of the paint a rust color. You can run a test. Find a small area and rub it with tooth paste (use a 100% cotton cloth). The paste will act as a rubbing compound. If you can reduce the rust color then it is not rust but a surface condition.

 

Have seen new Rangers with the paint eaten off on the inner fenders, from batter acid (the truck came off the ramps coming off the AutoTransporter Crushed the whole front end, they replaced the parts, threw on some paint, Spraybombed the core support and inner fender, and sold as new). No tellin what they truck was put through before you bought it. Take it back to the dealer, and have them inspect it, Get their answer in writing. Then goto a few reputable bodyshops, ICAR certified, or at least ASE certified and have them inspect, if their answer is different from the dealer, then get their diagnosis in writing and take it to ford, sorry to say may take a lawyer..

If it is rust, needs to be Stripped to bare metal and refinished.

 

I saw this same topic on another Ford truck site. Most people agreed it was "Rail Dust". The truck may have been transported by train and tiny particals of metal comes off the wheels and settles on the vechiles.
They talked like a good buffing would take care of the problem! Try to do a search at f150 online.I think thats where I saw it!

Johnny

 

Before you do anything, take some good pictures, than visit a reputable body shop. The shop will probably have seen similar stuff before and recommend the BEST course of action. Any dealer is going to push it off as your fault and try not to help as best they can. If the shop says I.F. or rail dust, get an estimate and check with the dealer on warranty claim, If he says rust, Contact Ford directly and not an authorized dealer.

 

Thanks for all the replys and info - it's been helpful.

After reading the replys here, talking to a few friends of friends who do bodywork, and looking at the truck again, it appears that industrial fallout or "rail dust" are likely culprits...and since I don't really park near an industrial area, I think rail dust is probably the most likely. My guess - and I'm just throwing out a guess - is that the truck got covered with rail dust during transport. Then, when the truck was sent out to be prepped before I picked it up they waxed the truck...and if they didn't clean it properly first, perhaps the metal dust got trapped in the wax coat. While I've washed the truck a few times since then, I haven't waxed it - so maybe the dust is still there, and the salt spray from winter roads has caused the individual particles to rust. I'm not sure if this is a good theory, but it would explain both why I can't just scrape the rust spots off with my fingernail and how the dust stuck around since shipment.

If this is the case, it seems to me that this should be a warranty issue - because anything relating to the prepping or delivery of the vehicle should be covered. There were also a couple black grease/oil stains on the front seat when it was delivered - and I had those fixed before I picked up the truck.

So, basically I just have to see if I can get the dealership to buff the paint - and if the spots come out that's great, and if they don't then it's a more serious problem (and still a warranty claim). From the attempts I've made to get rid of it, it looks like it'll be a major pain...so I'm perfectly happy to let the dealership do it.

Edited to add: I found this site about "rail dust" -
http://www.sherwin-automotive.com/re...dust/index.cfm

This sounds like what I've got, and photo #2 looks EXACTLY like what I'm seeing on my truck. I'm going to keep that page for my records. I also sounds like the wax didn't have anything to do with it - because the dust becomes embedded into the surface.

Thanks for the help,

LK