Issue with Paint - scratches

[SD Rebel]

I do think this paint is very soft and easy to damage. I was checking my fender flares just as mentioned from another thread and noticed some scratches on mine ( I literally had it a month) and I do not live in salt/crappy areas. I live in dirt and some debri's, but not like stoney/pebble gravel for sure and already noticed some nicks and dings.

I also put a few computers in the bed of my truck which completely scratched the paint till there's nothing left with very little force. It's just.... very soft and easy to damage in my opinion.

I want to get mine PPF'd, but I don't want to spend that extra money and feel I shouldn't have to on a 50K truck....

The RAM will get nicked up on the rear fenders/flares regardless of how good the paint is because of the inherent design of the RAM. Those front tires will throw up rocks on those wide hips no matter what. The only fix is either front mud guards and running boards or you can PPF the rear fender and flares. But rocks are going to fly and they are going to hit those painted flares.

 

[Slumlord]

It's not the paint, it's thin clear coat. Chances are the trucks are only getting 1 coat of it at the factory. Most youtube rebuilder guys I watch do at least 3 coats of clear on their rebuilds. They constantly mention how today's manufacturers don't use enough clear coat on the factory paint jobs. I had a 2016 Camaro SS that had really thin clear coat, so I bit the bullet and spent $1200 on XPEL on the front clip A-pillars and rocker panels. XPEL is great stuff, it's just expensive as hell...

 

[NFL0109]

I have a 2019 ram and about 12k miles and I have a bunch of chips on my front end also. Idk what they did with the paint or clear coat... I think they screwed up with the clear coat or paint. Idk if they would ever do any kind of recall which I doubt I know Honda I believe did but there paint was fading on hood roof and trunk. I doubt ram is going to do anything but I hope they do. If they leave me hanging I’m going to fix it and clean everything and try and sell my 2019 ram this spring... I will never buy a ram dodge product ever again. I was a Ford guy and had 3 f150 never had this kind of issue on any of them I’ve had some but it was over time. All these happen since my last oil change which is crazy!

 

[scottmoyer]

Going back to Ford isn't going to resolve your issues. I had a 2017 Mustang GT that Ford bought back because the paint was so thin on the lower doors, you could see the primer color. Then after they attempted to fix some of the paint issues, it started flaking and chipping at the hood vents. Due to the amount of time it spent in the shop, they did a buy back. I decided to buy an F150 as a replacement. This was another mistake as I had so many issues with the 2018 5.0 F150 that I went thru lemon law to get rid of it. My son has had Mustangs, but these were my first car and truck under the blue oval, and will be my last.

 

[NFL0109]

Going back to Ford isn't going to resolve your issues. I had a 2017 Mustang GT that Ford bought back because the paint was so thin on the lower doors, you could see the primer color. Then after they attempted to fix some of the paint issues, it started flaking and chipping at the hood vents. Due to the amount of time it spent in the shop, they did a buy back. I decided to buy an F150 as a replacement. This was another mistake as I had so many issues with the 2018 5.0 F150 that I went thru lemon law to get rid of it. My son has had Mustangs, but these were my first car and truck under the blue oval, and will be my last.

That sucks idk why these company are doing this but it’s garbage. If I knew I would have gotten something done to prevent this extra coats or something but it **** me off. I didn’t have this kind of chipping on my 2012 f150 and I had that for several years this has about 12k and witching a couple thousand miles all these chips appeared. Garbage... they need to fix this or hopefully do some sort of recall... I’m very pissed and if they don’t do anything at the dealership I’m done with ram. I’m hoping whatever vehicle I go with won’t have these issue but if all the company decided to cheap out I might get a beater that I don’t have to care about...

 

[BowDown]

I'm not exactly sure that's accurate. I have a 2016 Mazda CX-5 with just as many scratches and dings in 3 years than my truck does in 3 weeks. Surely paint has not changed that much in 3 years. Paint today is supposed to be better and longer lasting than paint from 10-20 years ago.

This paint just cannot take a beating and it worries me for the long haul.

Where was your Mazda made, where was the Ram made?
Its absolutely accurate, the change began in the US around 2010-2013 from solvent based paints that used a hardner to waterborne paints that do not. That missing hardner is the difference.
Hardner used without a respirator crystallizes membranes in the lungs, the solvents in the solvent based paints were also toxic and the reason for the change.

Europe has been water-based since the lat 2000's, Japanese manufacturers only switched recently

 

[BowDown]

I highly recommend a good quality paint protection film like Xpel. Had mine done within a few days of purchase...learned my lesson a long time ago!

As did I, 400 miles after purchase, went in as soon as they could get to it

 

[RRRAAAAMMMM2020]

I had Suntek PPF added to the front end of my 2020 Sport just in case as I have suffered from too many rock chips in the past with other vehicles

 

[PM-Performance]

My opinion is the paint in these trucks are weak. Hyundai is the same way.
My F150 went 38 months without a single rock chip or scratch. My new Ram made is a total of like 48 hours before getting a decent chip on the hood.
Trust me, plenty of stones hit my f150 as well as birds abs whatever over road debris

 

[securityguy]

I highly recommend to everyone to get the front of your vehicles covered with PPF, if you can afford it. I have done this on every vehicle I have purchased for over 15 years and your truck will look like new even after a ton of miles driven and whatever the road throws your way. I am a big Xpel fan as they have the best PPF on the market.

 

[Biga]

I had the PPF put on the bumper a week after I bought the truck as I know any painted metal bumper is going to chip. I'm not sure about Ford but I do know owners of GM, Nissan, and our Ram trucks all have the same issue. When a rock hits a steel bumper at 70 mph it is an extremely hard impact as steel does not give like a plastic car bumper would to absorb some of the impact.

 

[scottmoyer]

The US moved from solvent based paints in the mid 80s. That's why the GM cars of the late 80 has the paint falling off in sheets. That's why I'm kinda proud of the finish on my '87 IROC-Z. 1986 was the first year for base coat/clear coat finishes and my car was manufactured in Van Nuys, CA. The California factory started using the water based paint system in '86 and the paint finishes were very questionable.

I see newer cars all the time in FL with paint damage. A bird craps on the car, hours later, there's an impression of the bird crap after it was removed. The paints are so thin and so soft these days that I think the manufacturers have found ways to get color on a new car at a cheap price and just let the consumer deal with it after the sale. I think I've heard of this with all manufacturers. My 2018 F150 was the Sport model with painted bumpers and grill and I had stone chips all over it in the few months I owned it.

 

[BowDown]

The US moved from solvent based paints in the mid 80s. That's why the GM cars of the late 80 has the paint falling off in sheets. That's why I'm kinda proud of the finish on my '87 IROC-Z. 1986 was the first year for base coat/clear coat finishes and my car was manufactured in Van Nuys, CA. The California factory started using the water based paint system in '86 and the paint finishes were very questionable.

I see newer cars all the time in FL with paint damage. A bird craps on the car, hours later, there's an impression of the bird crap after it was removed. The paints are so thin and so soft these days that I think the manufacturers have found ways to get color on a new car at a cheap price and just let the consumer deal with it after the sale. I think I've heard of this with all manufacturers. My 2018 F150 was the Sport model with painted bumpers and grill and I had stone chips all over it in the few months I owned it.

GM used solvent based paints up til 2013, I used to paint cars. The significance of that is that you can't spray solvent paint over waterborne paint so we had to know what was on the car. Everyone used solvent based paint right up til the EPA change.

 

[BowDown]

Best thing you can do is have PPF applied, I have the entire front end done, the hood, headlights, front fenders and flares, a-pillars and a strip on the roof above the windshield. As well as the door handle pockets and b-pillars on the doors. Any paint on the front of my truck has PPF on it

 

[RamCares]

I have a 2019 ram and about 12k miles and I have a bunch of chips on my front end also. Idk what they did with the paint or clear coat... I think they screwed up with the clear coat or paint. Idk if they would ever do any kind of recall which I doubt I know Honda I believe did but there paint was fading on hood roof and trunk. I doubt ram is going to do anything but I hope they do. If they leave me hanging I’m going to fix it and clean everything and try and sell my 2019 ram this spring... I will never buy a ram dodge product ever again. I was a Ford guy and had 3 f150 never had this kind of issue on any of them I’ve had some but it was over time. All these happen since my last oil change which is crazy!

We certainly understand how this would be disappointing, @NFL0109. If you decide to address this with your dealer in order to determine any solutions to this concern, please know that our team would be happy to offer additional support via private messages. As your advocate, we will gladly ensure that your concerns are fully addressed during your servicing visit!

Kathryn
RamCares

 

[RedRaider_84]

I know this is an older thread, but I’m getting really sick of this paint job. I have a 2020, and after the first couple scratches I have babied this thing, and still, if you look at this paint the wrong way it scratches….so frustrating. Any resolution??

 

[securityguy]

I know this is an older thread, but I’m getting really sick of this paint job. I have a 2020, and after the first couple scratches I have babied this thing, and still, if you look at this paint the wrong way it scratches….so frustrating. Any resolution??

Ceramic coat it with real ceramic upon purchasing, not the spray on type, and you'll be far happier!

 

[scottmoyer]

I agree. My paint is scratch/swirl free. I did paint correction in December and applied a ceramic coating and it's still scratch/swirl free today.

 

[securityguy]

I agree. My paint is scratch/swirl free. I did paint correction in December and applied a ceramic coating and it's still scratch/swirl free today.

Yep...THIS^^^