Dust particles in factory paint

[davey g-force]

Re: Dust particles in factory paint

^^ That Festool looks interesting!

[tguil]

Re: Dust particles in factory paint

OK...lub for the Unigrit blocks? I have both Deep Crystal and ONR on hand. Which to I use with the water to add lubricity? I also have various QD's.

Tom

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Dust particles in factory paint

Tom, soak the blocks in water overnight, then tape off around the dirt nibs, and use just a little more plain water for lube. You're barely going to touch the surface when knocking down a dirt nib and we have a feeling that when you're done you're going to chuckle a bit because it was so easy.

Sorry, no good suggestions for a therapist

[tguil]

M105 vs. Ulitimate Compound, etc.

M105 and Ultimate Compound are darn close in cutting ability, right? Both work better than #83, right? By the way what do I do with my old diminishing abrasive stuff?

On close examination, most of the nibs are very small and most are on the hood. They probably can be taken out quite easily as you have suggested. It makes me wonder that if the dealer prep guy had noticed them, would he have sent the truck over to the body shop for a quick wet sand and buff of the whole hood? I'm sure that they wouldn't level each nib one at a time. Also in a case where a body shop is doing some of this type of leveling (nibs) might they attempt leveling using just a rotory buffer with no wet sanding.

I know that on one of my trucks (black), the dealer's body shop did some buffing before the truck was delivered to me. They removed a big scratch on the hood and smoothed a panel that had some major orange peel.

Tom

[Michael Stoops]

Re: M105 vs. Ulitimate Compound, etc.

It makes me wonder that if the dealer prep guy had noticed them, would he have sent the truck over to the body shop for a quick wet sand and buff of the whole hood? I'm sure that they wouldn't level each nib one at a time. Also in a case where a body shop is doing some of this type of leveling (nibs) might they attempt leveling using just a rotory buffer with no wet sanding.

Any body shop that looks at this sort of situation should do so from a couple of perspectives: a) what's the fastest way to remove several nibs from a panel (because time is money) and b) what's the least invasive way to removal all these nibs (because there's no need to sand areas that aren't impacted by the nibs). In both cases the answer is spot repair, whether with a sanding block or a 3" sanding disc via pneumatic DA sander. In fact, that's one of the main reasons why we put together our Professional Spot Repair Kit a couple of years back.

[tguil]

Re: M105 vs. Ulitimate Compound, etc.

Got all the nibs leveled...99-100%. I couldn't get Unigrit Blocks to work for me. It seems that I was working on on a lot of surfaces with just a slight curve. I glued small round pieces of 1500 and 2000 Unigrit paper to the ends of new lead pencil erasers. I found the the 1500 grit paper worked the best to knock the nib down. Then I leveled the areas with small rectangular pieces of of Unigrit 2000 paper using a 3/4 inch by 1 inch rubber eraser. The leveled areas buffed out just fine with Ultimate Compound and a four-inch cutting pad on a Porter Cable 7424. No changes in the surrounding surfaces, just the usual Dodge orange peel.

I appreciate the help/suggestions that I got from lots of folks on several forums.

Looking back on it, I should have had the dealer's body shop "make it right". The shop manager talked me out it saying, if they worked on it it could come out worse. As was mentioned above "time is money", right? I spent over four hours leveling 34 dust nibs by hand. It would have taken a good tech with the right equipment less than an hour...but then I'll bet that the guys in the shop aren't anywhere near as "particular" as I am.

Thanks again.

Tom

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Dust particles in factory paint

Nice to hear it all worked out for you, Tom.

But 34 dust nibs in a factory paint job?

[tguil]

Re: Dust particles in factory paint

Nice to hear it all worked out for you, Tom.

But 34 dust nibs in a factory paint job?

Yep...34, and now I have found the one of my factory polished aluminum wheels was not polished correctly or perhaps the clearcoat was not applied right. There is a haze under the clear coat on three of the five polished spokes. For sure it is not on the surface. I really like most of the features of the Dodge Ram. This is my third Hemi. However, I may change brands next time around.

I'm not even going to ask others on this forum about the "hazy" wheel. I know the problem and I know the fix. The fix is to refinish wheel or a install new wheel. As far I am concerned "refinish" is not an option.

Tom

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Dust particles in factory paint

Nice to hear it all worked out for you, Tom.

But 34 dust nibs in a factory paint job?

Holy smokes...I'm with Michael on this... 34? Did you take any macro shots of these by chance? I am curious to see what they looked like.

How is the texture of the paintjob otherwise? (In terms of orange peel, consistency, etc). Something seems off here...

[tguil]

Re: Dust particles in factory paint

I don't have a camera that will take good macro shots, especially on a white truck. About a half dozen were quite noticeable, but not "boulders". When I picked up the truck I didn't think to look for paint nibs. Lesson learned. I actually didn't notice the majority of them until the first detail. None appeared to be dirt, just small flecks of dust. Eighteen of the nibs were on the hood. There is another small flaw in the paint in the hood...not a dent. It will show up only under lights and then only if I am really looking for it. Maybe the truck had a bit of repair done at the factory....Lucky me.

I haven't had a truck with this many "nibs" since the early 90's. I was sort of used to it then. American cars until the late 80's were a mess paint-wise. My wife's last three Tacomas have had no nibs or paint flaws. My 2007 Dodge Ram had maybe a half a dozen very small nibs. My 2003 Dodge Ram had considerable work done on it before it was delivered. My 2003 which was a mess came from the Warren Michigan Assembly Plant as did this 2012. My 2007 came from the now closed Fenton Missouri Assembly Plant. Maybe there is more dust in Detroit. (Imported from Dusty Detroit)

As far as the rest of the paint, it is OK. Not concours, but OK. Orange peel is consistent panel to panel and is about average for recent vehicles. No paint runs that I can find. No thin paint. The panels all line up well. It actually is a very nice looking truck....now that it is "nibless". Also I'm sort of fond of the 390 horsepower and 3.92 rear end.

An important thing for folks to know....dust nibs can be taken out of factory paint...but it takes time, patience and a bit of skill. The dealer's auto body shop should have been able to do it. However, an obsessive detailer would probably do a better job.

Tom

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Dust particles in factory paint

I have never seen an issue with dust nibs to that extent on factory in my life - which is why I have to wonder if something happened to this truck.

I know that dealers are allowed to do repairs on vehicles up to a certain % of the vehicle's value without having to disclose it... I almost wonder if this truck was re-painted? If they used the same factory color it would be very hard to find the usual evidence. Either way, glad you got it taken care of... but wow, that seems absurd.

I had 1 imperfection on the hood of my Focus that seems to be from some ultra small pin-like raised spot in the metal, and 1 nib on the panel between the roof and window, but otherwise no factory flaws. I think 1-3 minor imperfections is to be expected on just about any car if you look closely enough - but 34? Egads!

[tguil]

Re: Dust particles in factory paint

Any work done on the truck was done at the factory. I checked out the truck for the first time right when it came off the transport. I picked it up the next afternoon. No time for paint work at the dealer. Yep, as I think about it, it is absurd. When I first noticed the nibs, I thought I had about a half a dozen or less. Then I went over the truck literally inch by inch to find the rest. 21 on the hood, 4 on the roof, 3 on the right front fender, 1 on the right rear quarter panel, 1 on the left front fender, 1 on left rear door frame, 3 on the left rear quarter panel. I marked them all with blue tape and actually thought about shooting a pic, but I just as soon not be visually reminded of them. It's not good for my OCD (obsessive compulsive detailing) syndrome.

Tom

[BlueZero]

Re: Dust particles in factory paint

Tom! I'm afraid to go look at my truck now! lol

I just picked it up last week Thursday but have been too busy or sick with the flu to do much to it. I did a quick rinseless wash but didn't notice any then. Mine came from the Warren plant also. It will be interesting to see what mine has, being the same color and just a few weeks apart off the assembly line.

[tguil]

Re: Dust particles in factory paint

Well, if you have a few dust nibs, I know how to take them out. I can find absolutely no trace of nibs in/on the paint. The orange peel remained the same and the sanding "marks" came right out with Ultimate Compound on a 4-inch cutting pad. I don't think that my method should cause any "worry" with white or black trucks. Post your findings when you have a chance to really go over your new truck. They are darn nice trucks. Mine's "runner"...strictly stock.

Tom

[tguil]

39 more nibs

Yep, I was at it again. The first time around I did not pay all that much attention to the sides of the truck. A couple of weeks ago I was using Ultimate Wash and Wax for the first time so I was really looking the truck over carefully. 39 more nibs all on the sides of the truck. All but maybe five or six were pretty tiny flecks. Those five or six were not all that bad. This time I used my Meguiar's Unigrit Blocks. They worked great. I started with a few strokes of the 1500 block and followed up with the 2000 block. Again Ultimate Compound on a four-inch cutting pad took the sanding marks right out.

Lesson Learned: Even though I really like Ram Hemi's, I think this will be my last. I found a total of 79 dust nibs in this truck. (I took out a few between the last time I posted and now.)

As it is, even the most obsessive compulsive detailer would have a hard time finding evidence of those 79 nibs....thanks to the advice I got from this forum and a couple of other forums and thanks also to Meguiar's products.

Tom