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A friend of mine has a 1996 Ford ranger that is a non metallic red. The paint has the same milky color of the first photo of the blue truck above.
He wants me to buff it out. I am wondering if that paint is clear coated. Is it a single stage paint being it is not metallic? If it has a clear coat and is milky like that, I am afraid buffing will not help as it has clear coat failure. Any thoughts on this ?
1996 is probably clearcoated, Ford was changing over those years to StainGuard III acrylic clear. You can test it by lightly sanding a small spot, if it is red then there is no clearcoat.
My thoughts exactly. I have heard that Ford does not clearTake any type of paint cleaner, compound, cleaner/polish or ever a cleaner/wax and apply some to a section of the hood with a white applicator or even a piece of white cloth and work it in for a few seconds and then turn the cloth over and see if there's red pigment transferring to your applicator cloth, if there is then it's a single stage finish and it will be and easy fix.
If you see no color and likely a little gray or brown color which would be dirt build-up, then it has a clear coat and you're correct in that the clear coat is failing or on it's way to failing and there's no honest fix for it.
The problem with clear coat failure is that it's not a topical problem like oxidation, but instead the entire matrix or thickness of the clear layer is deteriorating so working on the surface won't fix the problem.
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My thoughts exactly. I have heard that Ford does not clear
coat non metallic paints. I had a detail on a green metallic
Mustang that exhibited the milky color. I knew the clear coat
was failing and told the owner that before I started. I was able to bring the shine back on the sides of the car. The hood was the worst from the heat of the engine and could not be
corrected. The truck lid came back pretty good but not like I wanted. Fortunately it was a convertible and the roof was not an issue. Thanks for the advice Mike. :dblthumb2:
Thanx mike for Info,
for me this is the end of the long Going debate on 5.5" 6.5" which one is better Question ,, ,
off topic a bit , Why you call it a BMW Truck since its a Datsun LOL
Didn't mike just get done saying how everything is now clear coated? I have three fords that all are non-metallic and have worked on countless others that all have clearcoated paint.
Not 100% of everything is clear coated but upwards of 99% of new cars, trucks and s.u.v.s are clear coated. There's a few cars here and there that get a single stage paint finish but it's still a modern paint system, not an old solvent-evaporation lacquer or enamel paint like came on a 1965 Mustang. Then there's a few car companies that spray a tinted clear but again, it's a pretty small percentage.
Clearcoat paints tend to last a long time which is something consumer's like but don't confuse last a long time with look good a long time as a swirled out clear coat can still last a long time but it sure doesn't look good. (At least to our standards)
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I believe Toyota's white is not clear coated.I've heard of a couple of Lexus models have the tinted clear coats? It seems like an interesting idea. Are there any cars coming from a manufacturer that are not base/clear?