I got my 05 GT way back in Sept 04.

It's been my daily driver every day - don't have another car.

I was washing it today and noticed that the paint is looking kind of old and beat up. I see blemishes, chips, swirl marks, orange peeling, and a few little bubbles. I know that we didn't get great paint to begin with but I'm a little dissapointed by it's durability.

How's your paint lookin?

 

Well they have orange peel when new, its not a condition of wear. Everything else listed is dependent of elements and how its cared for. Except the bubbling

 

chips, swirls, and dings are just life............The bubbles concern me.

 

I waxed my 05 ten times more than my 06 and the paint held up better. Also the head lights too.

 

salt air doesn't help either

 

Yeah it really depends on the envornment. The paint on my '05 is nearly perfect but it's not a daily driver and it gets parked in the winter.

 

Paint chips here. They are coming on fast! Must be aerodynamics. Everything else is OK.

 

The environment where I live is harsh.

Your car is like filthy in one week after you wash it - i dont even know why I bother.

 

Maybe you should look around for a cheap beater. It will be a lot easier on your nice Mustang.

 

The bubbles are most likely corrosion on the alluminum there is a TSB for it and im actually having my hood repainted because of this right now.

 

Had my car since 12/15/04 and the paint looks fine. yea I have rock chips and a few spider web thin scratches here and there but I just recently got a compliment how the car still looked brand new the other day.

If the paint started bubbling or flakeing I'd take it to the dealership.

As far as orange peel is concerned, I think it may be worse in some colors. But all cars with factory paint have it to some degree, yes even more expensive cars. Just the nature of the type of paint they use now days.

 

The bubbling would certainly concern me. Take that to the dealer and see what they can do about it. Hopefully you have a real good dealer that will take care of you.

My only concerns with my paint in the numerous chips that I have acquired. I drive mostly interstate and have had quite a few chips in my paint. For the swirls and such, try using Meguiar's Color-X to see if you can fix them yourself. I really liked the way it made my paint look. Still a few blemishes here and there, but that stuff worked really well for a dark car. Best of luck.

 

I know a bit about car care, so I'll add my two cents:

If all you do is wash your car weekly, you're really not doing anything to preserve the finish and it will deteriorate. This is true for ANY car finish, whether it's a Ford or a Lexus. If you are serious about maintaining a good-looking finish, you need to spend some time at the Meguiar's (or similar) car care forum.

Bottom line is that your clearcoat probably isn't as clear as it should be. You could take it to a professional detailer and you'd probably be amazed at what they can do. But if you don't periodically clean (with a paint cleaner, NOT just wash) the paint, polish and wax, it will just happen again.

Think of wax as a sacrificial coating protecting your clearcoat.

Chips are another story and, if you use your car regularly, pretty unavoidable. Swirls are almost certainly a result of how the car has been washed. Orange peel should NOT have just "developed". If it wasn't there in the first place, I don't see how it would just appear.

Hey, you need to come down to Mustang day at Meguiar's in Irvine on July 12: http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/thread/5128.aspx

Also, I think this thread should be in the "Car Care" forum.

 

Ive got chips all over the hood, 1999 and 04 never had so many.

 

I have chips on the hood, pillar, roof, bumper...but I did get some touch up paint to fix the larger chips.