Paint problems on '91 Explorer
Question:
I have a 91 Explorer sport, and the paint has developed a noticeable peeling problem. Mostly, the clearcoat peels off, but on the roof some paint layers are peeling, too. The top surfaces are faded. My dealer claims that the paint is not original (I bought it used) and that there are no problems whatsoever with paint on Explorers. I’m not so sure; while it looks like the back was repainted (paint on the tailpipe!), most of the peeling is in the front, where the paint seems to be original.
Response:
I have noticed no paint problem (yet) with my ‘91. I have a black Sport with 84,000+ miles. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I have a 91 Explorer sport, and the paint has developed a noticeable >peeling problem. Mostly, the clearcoat peels off, but on the roof some paint >layers are peeling, too. The top surfaces are faded. My dealer claims that the >paint is not original (I bought it used) and that there are no problems >whatsoever with paint on Explorers. I’m not so sure; while it looks like the >back was repainted (paint on the tailpipe!), most of the peeling is in the >front, where the paint seems to be original.
Response:
> I know that late 80’s Ford trucks had a lot of paint problems. I was just > wondering if anyone else has experienced similar problems on Explorers and > if anyone knows of Ford having one of thier famous ’silent’ recalls on this > subject. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
I sure have the problem in spades (also a ‘91), and nothing I do seems to slow the deterioration. If there’s a "silent recall", I’d sure like to learn of it.
Response:
I’ve got a ‘91 Eddie B. edition. I’ve got zero fade/oxydation. I keep a good base of wax, and wash it weekly. But bottom line is, the paint stilll looks fresh. Michael
Response:
;> ;> I know that late 80’s Ford trucks had a lot of paint problems. I was just ;> wondering if anyone else has experienced similar problems on Explorers and ;> if anyone knows of Ford having one of thier famous ’silent’ recalls on this ;> subject. Any information would be greatly appreciated. ; ;I sure have the problem in spades (also a ‘91), and nothing I do seems to ;slow the deterioration. If there’s a "silent recall", I’d sure like to ;learn of it. Pealing clear-coats have been a known problem with most all motor vehicle manufacturers (who’ve used it) for over 25 years. It’s a cheap way to get a "deep shine" on the paint job, as long as they can make it outlast the warranty. :-) Ed
Response:
>My ‘91 explorer is showing much more oxidation than I would have expected >by this time. I used to do some auto painting so I am speaking from a >little experience. I have also noticed that bird droppings must be cleaned >off immediately (within one day) or I risk the color coat bubbling and >flaking off. This has happened since day one. Mine is a Cabernet Red but >I have seen a few with other colors having the same problems.
I know Ford had problems with paint all the way up to about 91-92 on their full size pickups. I seem to remember a while back hearing about Explorers/Rangers being afflicted to. I know for a fact though that the Metallic paints that Ford uses last MUCH longer than the standard paints. Paul O’Gorman | 93 Explorer 4×4 (daily driver) Montana State University | 81 Bonniville (the BONNABOAT) Department Of Electrical Engineering | 79 Monza Spyder 327 (weekend screamer)
Response:
My black paint started "spidering" (small dime-sized areas of flaking) in early 93. I took it to the dealer’s body shop where the diagnosis was "Birds and attmosphere". Well, I park mine indoors at work and home and wash it weekly. I knew there were no bird droppings that had been left for long periods of time. I asked them to ask the factory to pay for repainting. The word came back: "factory will pay 100 %". This seems to me to be a silent recall, or they wouldn’t have agreed to it. Good luck.
Response:
: My ‘91 Explorer’s paint is peeling on the roof. Over the rest of the : car it’s quite dull. (Black/gray two tone.) I called Ford because I’d : heard rumours of a silent recall, but they said I was too late. I’ve noticed in this thread that all the ccars are black/dark emerald green vehicles. My parent’s have a ‘91 that is dark grey and maroon and to the best of my knowledge they haven’t had any problems. I know that the darker colors are much more sensitive to light as black and emerald green absorb almost all the light they come in contact with. If you go to an aftermarket paint place, they usually charge more for a black or dark green paint job (in my experience). Ford may just have had a problem with their dark colors and had to go with an inferior paint to get the desired color without raising the price significantly. If this is the case, I’d really take care of those darker colors!! BTW — since 1990, the explorer has spent its life outside under an enormous Modesto Ash tree with sprinklers hitting it every day expect Sundays and wintertime so its not because of great care of the vehicle we don’t see these problems. Take care! — * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * | | * Jody E. McClellan * | | * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – *
Response:
Mine is red and peeling– and when I complained to my dealer, they said that my explorer had too many miles on it for them to do anything– which sort of implies that they have been dealing with the problems on some explorers, though exactly what mileage has to do with paint wear is something I’ve never figured out. . .
Response:
My ‘91 is grey (‘platinum’ Ford calls it 
and it developed this problem at about 3 years old and 65k miles (maybe fewer miles). It was already out of its extended warrantee (that was ’til 50k miles). When I took it to my Ford dealer, he looked at it and immediately said, "we’ll take care of it!" I was floored! But, I guessed (and then heard) that they’d had this problem with a lot of their vehicles. I had it painted at a nearby body shop – although the peeling was just on top, they painted it from the top down to the bumpers, since it is a single-color car and stoping the paint job higher than that would’ve looked bad. I was satisfied. One year and two weeks later :^) I noticed peeling again. This time even worse than the first time! I took it back to the Ford dealer who sent me back to the body shop. The body shop has a 1 year warrantee (you know, it always seems to happen this way, dosen’t it… just *out* of warrantee). BUT the guy who owns the body shop, seeing that this obviously started peeling before the 1 year had passed said he’d repaint the top, again. Which he did. I was satisfied until I noticed some bubbles in the paint. One more trip back and he painted it *again*. The bubbles were in the outermost "grooves" on the roof. He pointed out to me that the bottom of those grooves were not metal, but putty. The paint was bubbling ‘cuz it’s hard to get a good, solid coat of paint on putty! Made sense. Anyway, I’ve been happy with it for about a year now. Just noticed, though, that the clearcoat is beginning to peal a bit by the third brake light. <sigh> Peace, greg economides — Greg Economides, Trans-Texas Videoconference Network Texas A&M University "This is Unix…I know this." College Station, Texas
Response:
;>Mine is red and peeling– and when I complained to my dealer, they said that ;>my explorer had too many miles on it for them to do anything– which sort of ;>implies that they have been dealing with the problems on some explorers, ;>though exactly what mileage has to do with paint wear is something I’ve never ;>figured out. . . Moral of story… DON’T buy "clear-coat" paint colors! :-( Ed
Response:
My ‘91 explorer is showing much more oxidation than I would have expected by this time. I used to do some auto painting so I am speaking from a little experience. I have also noticed that bird droppings must be cleaned off immediately (within one day) or I risk the color coat bubbling and flaking off. This has happened since day one. Mine is a Cabernet Red but I have seen a few with other colors having the same problems. I know that late 80’s Ford trucks had a lot of paint problems. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced similar problems on Explorers and if anyone knows of Ford having one of thier famous ’silent’ recalls on this subject. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Dave McQuitty Benbrook, Texas
