stone chips

banshee42096 · October 29, 2004

i have a 2004.5 d/a cc 4x4 white i dont know if

it is just my truck or does everyone else see it.

i have stone chips all along rocker panel and

chips out of my wheel flares only have 6000

miles on the beast but i thought its happening to

easy.i did install mud flaps it helped alot but does

happen?

Whopper809 · October 29, 2004

Yes this does happen and it is classified as normal wear and tear to GM. I found that the best defence is to put on the clear 9" wide 3M tape front of hood down the lower kicks and in the front edge of the wheel flares. You need to get the clear tape that is a bit thicker the thin stuff is garbage. Using this stuff has cut down on this type of damage on my trucks and keeps them looking NEW longer. Protects from all chips and blends in very well that unless you know it's there you would never see it. I hate running boards and anything else that takes away ground clearance so this works best.

h8dviks · October 30, 2004

Yes. Seems to me that the paiont on these trucks chips way too easy. I am always finding new chips on the hood and rockers all the time. I have found some black powder coate rocker panels covers and am thinking of trying them. Just doesn't seem to me like the paint is very durable. I have some touch up paint I bought from the dealer and everytime i wash the truck I go around and hit all the new chips.

Whopper809 · October 30, 2004

The thing with stick on panels like the stainless steel ones and so on is that the road grime gets behind them and you can't wash it out and then the paint damage starts there to. Not a big deal if you buy a new truck every 2yrs.

gnutruk · October 30, 2004

Road chipping happens to every vehicle throughout its entire life. Just be thankful you don't have a Ferrari -- imagine the cost of re-painting one of those babies!

Oooops. I meant; My condolences that you don't have a Ferrari.

Anyhow, GM trucks seem to come out the factory gate with very soft paint. After 6 months or so, especially after it goes through its first hot summer, the paint toughens up a little bit.

Almost all modern vehicles use plastic (epoxy) paint. These sorts of paint continue to cure for years. Almost all of that curing takes place in the first few weeks, but a miniscule degree of chemical process keeps on happening. Eventually it slows down to where it almost totally stops, but never completely. Color fading is one manifestation of that process. Also, environmental conditions have some influence on the rate and nature of the curing.

Perhaps the only comprehensive solution would be to have the entire truck Line-X'ed. I'll bet that has been tried, probably by someone who owns a Line-X franchise. But I seem to recall reading posts here and elsewhere about folks who have had specific parts of their trucks Line-X'ed -- namely, the rocker panels, wheel wells, etc.

gnutruk

DotNetReloaded · October 30, 2004

i have a 2001 dually. few weeks after i got it i started noticing light scuffs on the upper portion of the flares and small chips on the lower section. I was very curious as to how in hell this happens. Well i realized that some of that s**t comes from other cars to the left and right of the truck. Because i am mostly in the left lane, so most of the scratches apper on the passenger side. But then i says to myself how can so many scuffs be caused by other vehicles? Then i realized that i do not have front mud flaps. So i did a little test, i sprayed tire shine all over the front tires including the grooves. I drove around the block and what do you know. My flares were covered with tire shine in the same manner as the scuffs and scratches appered. On top i had spread out drops and on the lower section i had nice fat spots from shine smacking into the flare. I installed the mud guards on the front and big ass ones from the rig in the back so that people behind me dont suffer the consequences of travelling behind the dually. The front mud flap install defenitely cut down on the scratches and chips. But other vehicles on the road still pose a threat because flares stick out. I am going to order the 3M 8mm tape myself to gover the hood and flares. There are guys outhere selling precut kits. Fortunately for me the scuffs are not that deep and when i wax the truck, they are practically invisible.

A little secret, try some pledge. Spay it on the light scratch, rub it in, let it dry for about 10-15 minutes then polish it dry. My truck is red and it works like a charm for me.