>>My 97 is brilliant blue pearlcoat. I have read a lot on the various
>>newsgroups (e.g. rec.autos.chrysler) about the bad paint jobs in the
>>early 90's (not just by Chrysler, either). A lot of the problems were
>>in the blue/black colors, although other colors are problematic.
>>It is my understanding that the primer changes of the early 90's
>>have been corrected.
I think those problems were due to developmental problems with the water-
borne paints that were mandated about 1992-93. They were very sensitive to
the temperature environment during application, I believe. Seems they've
solved the problem, for the most part.
>>If I really clean/glaze my dak, I see the same swirls in the sunlight.
>I, too, have noticed this on my BLAK DAK. I have also noticed that my
>truck has some pretty bad "orange peel." I have several friends that work
>at the Corvette plant, one of which works on the finishing line. All he
>does is inspect paint jobs all day and reject the ones that don't meet
>certain requirements. He looked at my paint and said he had NEVER seen a
>factory paint job like that. He said that if it were a corvette, it never
I've seen some pretty shoddy paint jobs on GM trucks. The Corvette is
the General's prestige product. I would expect a fine finish on a 'Vette,
a Cadillac, a Lincoln or a Chrysler LHS. We own TRUCKS. TRUCKS go to work,
play in the mud, parked outside while the wife's car sits cozy in the
garage. I know it'd be nice to get an A-#1 paint job, but it takes time
to do that, and time is money. How much more would you pay for a perfect
paint job? Now ask the whole Dakota customer base [this is a list full of
enthusiasts].
Dakotas and Rams already cost a fair premium over equivalent (sic) Fords
or Chevies. Eventually, there's a cost item that gets compromised.
I'm lucky - I can't see the factory swirl marks anymore due to all the
"desert pinstriping" my truck has received. I'm happy that 4 years out of
warranty, I haven't had any peeling. I'm still disappointed that my truck
didn't get a gravel-guard coating on the rockers, whereas I've seen many
2WD Dakotas WITH that treatment. Go figure.
Jim
'93 4x4 V8
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