Platinum White Tri-Coat color inconsistency

[Joe Sofia Sr.]

Just purchased a 2014 FFH with the Platinum Tri-Coat option. I gave it it's first wash today and noticed that the door jambs are not the same color but appear to be rather a non metallic white (Oxford White)?

 

. Does anyone besides me think this odd? It's almost as if the car was painted initially in the Oxford White and then the exterior painted with metallic omitting the jambs.

 

What are my options? Only had it a week. The colors are so close it's difficult to spot at the onset but I noticed it when washing it!

 

Anyone else spot this on another car or production run?

Any other owners with the platinum white color care to chime in as to whether your car is painted the same or differently?

 

Thanks

Edited April 27, 2014 by Joe Sofia Sr.

[SteveB_TX]

That is normal. (Both our 2013 MKZh and FFH are the same way) Only the outside surfaces have the pearl metallic clear. All door jambs and under the hood and trunk are non-metallic white.

 

As for your options:

 

a. Take it back to the dealer and trade it for a non-pearl metallic paint,

b. Take it to a body shop and have the pearl-metallic added to the jambs and under the hood/trunk.

or

c. Enjoy your new FFH and smile as others around you point in jealous wonder at such a beautifully painted car.

 

:)

Edited April 27, 2014 by SteveB_TX

[Joe Sofia Sr.]

That is normal. (Both our 2013 MKZh and FFH are the same way) Only the outside surfaces have the pearl metallic clear. All door jambs and under the hood and trunk are non-metallic white.

 

As for your options:

 

a. Take it back to the dealer and trade it for a non-pearl metallic paint,

b. Take it to a body shop and have the pearl-metallic added to the jambs and under the hood/trunk.

or

c. Enjoy your new FFH and smile as others around you point in jealous wonder at such a beautifully painted car.

 

:)

Phew.....thanks for putting my mind at ease.

 

I think I'll just keep it!

 

Can't wait to get a few coats of Zaino on it!

 

Again.....Thanks.

Edited April 27, 2014 by Joe Sofia Sr.

[inco]

That is normal. (Both our 2013 MKZh and FFH are the same way) Only the outside surfaces have the pearl metallic clear. All door jambs and under the hood and trunk are non-metallic white.

 

As for your options:

 

a. Take it back to the dealer and trade it for a non-pearl metallic paint,

b. Take it to a body shop and have the pearl-metallic added to the jambs and under the hood/trunk.

or

c. Enjoy your new FFH and smile as others around you point in jealous wonder at such a beautifully painted car.

 

:)

Yeah - what Steve said! :thumbsup:

[GrySql]

Well, my door jams, trunk and under the hood are Tri-white metallic. Odd.

[acdii]

Easy way to tell, Look for a distinct edge between the door jambs and outer panels. You can usually feel this with your fingers. It will be a sharp edge that you can feel, This is the tape edge that happens when they repaint a car and don't jamb it. My 2010 had this that I discovered a year after having the car, yet Carfax claimed no accidents or body work was done. Apparently it was done between the Factory and delivery.

 

In your case though, without seeing it, best guess is the jambs are base coated, the exterior panels are tri coated, then the entire car is clear coated. Tri coat paints like this and the Ruby Red are done in 3 steps as opposed to the 2 steps for all the rest. The base coat is applied, then a pearl coat is applied on that, then the clear coat to seal it all in. Why some cars are all pearled and some aren't, dont have a clue.

[hybridbear]

I finally got around to looking this afternoon. When you open the doors and look at the inside portion of the door and on the door jams there are definitely less sparkles and in some areas there appear to be none. The same is true around the trunk lid. Mostly it's inside the drainage path around the lip of the trunk that there appear to be no sparkles. There is no clear line of demarcation as if part of the car was purposefully painted with Platinum White and another part not. My guess is that when they do the pearl coat they don't put a lot of effort into making sure that it gets on the inside parts of the car. The base coat has to go everywhere, but the pearl coat is less vital to the protection of the paint. If you car appears to be glaringly different then you may want to go to the dealer and show them and ask to look at another Platinum White vehicle. If you find that your car does not have as much coverage with the pearl coat as the other vehicle(s) on the lot then you have a cause for complaint.

 

I would have taken some pictures, but since the car is dirty and parked underground it is hard to do so. I had to shine a flashlight at the paint to be able to spot the differences.

[GrySql]

I finally remembered to look real close at my paint in the bright sunlight and I think HB hits the nail on the head.

My sparkles slowly disappear as the nooks and crannies get more difficult to spray.

However, they gave my car a good try because in all the major visible areas it's Tri-White.

[acdii]

Pearl is the hardest thing to do, so to be consistent and smooth, it usually isnt applied into the jambs, and what HB observed seems on the money. If Pearl is applied in one direction(side to side) on one panel, and in a different direction(up and down) on another, it would be glaringly obvious the difference in the panels. To do a jamb, you usually have to move up and down, which would lay the pearl opposite of the panels and any over spray from jamb to panel would stand out like a sore thumb.

[Joe Sofia Sr.]

All great and very informative responses. Thanks.

 

But as of this afternoon, the inconsistency in my cars paint is the least of my worries as some a$$hole keyed my car today in a sparse parking lot at an area shopping mall. After owning the car for less than two weeks, I am now the disheartened owner of a 6-8 inch gouge on the plastic nose that is deep enough for the black plastic color to accentuate the scratch. It's repairable but I am so disheartened to be on the short end of such a senseless act.

Edited May 3, 2014 by Joe Sofia Sr.

[SteveB_TX]

I hate losers like that! Did the mall have security cams you could ask to see?

Edited May 3, 2014 by SteveB_TX

[hybridbear]

All great and very informative responses. Thanks.

 

But as of this afternoon, the inconsistency in my cars paint is the least of my worries as some a$$hole keyed my car today in a sparse parking lot at an area shopping mall. After owning the car for less than two weeks, I am now the disheartened owner of a 6-8 inch gouge on the plastic nose that is deep enough for the black plastic color to accentuate the scratch. It's repairable but I am so disheartened to be on the short end of such a senseless act.

I'm sorry to hear that! I agree that it's senseless disrespect. ;( :cry: :redcard:

 

My wife and I do a lot of volunteer work where we have other ppl riding in our cars and it really bugs me how many ppl show a complete lack of respect for the personal property of others. My wife and I were both taught by our parents to treat other ppl's stuff better than you treat your own. It's a shame to see that most ppl don't behave that way.

Edited May 3, 2014 by hybridbear

[acdii]

Mean people suck

[Joe Sofia Sr.]

Got my "baby" back after three days under repair for the deliberate keying of my month old car.

 

Seems they had to remove the entire plastic front nose piece as well as fill and repaint the entire front fender.

Three stage process with the Tri-coat.

 

Very very pleased with the work done to repair it! It might be just an illusion but I actually think the shade of paint on the repainted nose matches better now than when delivered new.

 

Now to get some Zaino on the new paint!

Edited June 4, 2014 by Joe Sofia Sr.

[mwr]

>Now to get some Zaino on the new paint!<

 

You might want to check with the paint shop first to see if they recommend waiting a certain period before applying wax or sealant. I've been told that factory paint is heated to high temps after application so no waiting is required, but body shops can't use as high temps so waiting is recommended.

[Joe Sofia Sr.]

>Now to get some Zaino on the new paint!<

 

You might want to check with the paint shop first to see if they recommend waiting a certain period before applying wax or sealant. I've been told that factory paint is heated to high temps after application so no waiting is required, but body shops can't use as high temps so waiting is recommended.

Thanks mwr. I had the same concern. I did find out the manufacturer of the paint was PPG and that The body shop did bake the paint. But I still wanted to be sure so I emailed Sal Zaino, the inventor of the Zaino product line and he was gracious enough to reply.

 

What follows is Mr. Zaino's response:

 

 

"There's alot of misinformation about waiting three months for the paint to

cure.

 

I am a custom painter by trade. I am very familar with Dupont, PPG and

all the other paint manufacturers.

 

The most I personally would wait on fresh "aftermarket body shop" paint

before

polishing with Zaino Show Car Polish is 1 week. That's more than sufficient

curing time.

 

Zaino contains no wax, silicones or abrasives.....

 

The new paints are catalyzed. A chemical reaction cures the paint. The

older lacquers and enamels needed time for the solvents to release. This

is not the case anymore. Believe me if that paint need 3 months to dry

than it will never dry.... Just the facts "

 

.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Joe Sofia Sr.

[acdii]

Thats true, between the catalysts and baking, it cures quickly, however, I found out the hard way that if flex additive is added to the paint, the paint will never be hard and scratches very easily. When I painted the grand Marquis, instead of just shooting the bumpers with the paint blend, I shot the whole car, and now regret it since it doesn't take much at all to scratch it. If I have to do it again I will not be doing that!

[Joe Sofia Sr.]

Thats true, between the catalysts and baking, it cures quickly, however, I found out the hard way that if flex additive is added to the paint, the paint will never be hard and scratches very easily. When I painted the grand Marquis, instead of just shooting the bumpers with the paint blend, I shot the whole car, and now regret it since it doesn't take much at all to scratch it. If I have to do it again I will not be doing that!

 

 

Great info acdii. I looked at the materials list and indeed they used a flex additive, presumably on just the plastic front bumper?

In any event, I will give it a month to harden before applying anything to the newly repaired/repainted section of the car.

 

Thanks

[acdii]

 

 

Great info acdii. I looked at the materials list and indeed they used a flex additive, presumably on just the plastic front bumper?

In any event, I will give it a month to harden before applying anything to the newly repaired/repainted section of the car.

 

Thanks

Most likely that is all they use it on. Thats it's sole purpose. Well if I have to re clear the car, I will not use additive like that except for the bumpers and will do those last so as to not contaminate the rest of the paint.

[Joe Sofia Sr.]

Most likely that is all they use it on. Thats it's sole purpose. Well if I have to re clear the car, I will not use additive like that except for the bumpers and will do those last so as to not contaminate the rest of the paint.

 

I hope your right acdii as I know they also painted the left fender where they had to repair the keying damage.

My concern would be whether they just shot both the bumper and the fender with the same paint mix (with the additive).