I noticed one small spot on the top of my cab when I first bought the truck; however, I wasn't too concerned as it was in a spot no one would notice. Unfortunately, 1 year later, I have multiple orange peel spots on the top of the cab, one on the side pillar, and one my right front fender. It seems that every time I wash my truck I notice a new orange peel spot. This is getting ridiculous! Not to mention that it seems if I just look at my truck a new scratch appears! I guess I'm stuck with a crappy paint job. If anyone else has/had the same issue and could offer advice- I'd greatly appreciate it!

 

Orange peel does not magially appear, it is there from the start. As for scratches.... There are ways to avoid them.

-Use HIGH quality car soap, there is a BIG difference. I find Maguires Gold Class to be one of the best. You can actually feel the difference with your hands.
-Do not use the same wash rag on your paint that you use to clean wheels or wheel wells, also do not use a wash rag for more than one season. Never use a "towel" as a wash rag.
-WAX WAX WAX. A smooth protected surface is less likely to have issues as when you pre-wash (wet down) the truck the abrassive stuff rolls off. I have found using Turtle Wax wet spray wax when drying makes a BIG difference. Ever since I started using it my truck beeds water all the time, only have to wax twice a year.
-And, most importantly for those that go though a car wash.... Stop. Only safe car wash is ones that only use pressre and do not have people outside waiting to run a towel over a poorly washed truck. And those car washes do not get the job completely done, so why bother unless it is the dead of winter.

I had someone make a comment about my "new truck" a couple weeks ago at a gas station... My new truck is now over 2 years old with 40+K on the clock.

 

Took my truck to the dealership today. They took pics of 5 different spots and will wait from word from Chrysler.

 

Do you have pics? I'm curious to see how bad the areas are.

Rob

 

What color is your truck?

 

My truck is mineral grey. I'll try and get some pics tomorrow during the day.

 

Orange Peel doesn't magically appear or "spread". It's a result of an improper paint job, either by using an improper mix, wrong nozzle or a poor environment during the drying process (too humid, etc.) If it's truly orange peel, it was there from the start.

My one and only trip to the dealer for a free oil change (initial one, way back in June of '04) someone "bumped" a standing toolbox while pulling a car into a stall and knocked it over on the side of my truck, scratching the hell out of the side of the bed.

They had the entire side of the bed re-painted and it came back with orange peel. I wouldn't accept it and made them order me a new body panel. They got it in and had it painted at the same place so I was afraid it was gonna be orange peeled, but it wasn't. Was a few swirl marks, but at that point I was tired of dealing with them.

Just like scratches, you can take out swirl marks if you work at them. For ones confined to the clear coat, those over-the-counter scratch fixes usually work just fine. Deeper and you gotta do the wet sand/compound thing.

I've taken that spot down as far as I am brave enough to go and I still see a slight swirl when the sun hits the side of my truck just right, but most people don't see it and tell me I'm nuts or being ****. But it's there...

 

I've never seen a factory finish without orange peel. Some are a little worse than others, but I find it completely acceptable. Whatever the OP is describing doesn't sound like orange peel.

 

I'm sure the orange peel doesn't magically appear, but I am VERY meticulous about my truck and I can say for certain that I have never noticed the orange peel on my driver's side door pillar (which is quite obvious now) or my right front fender until now- and I've had my truck for over a year. Further, I now have 4 additional peel spots on the top of my cab that I KNOW were not there when I purchased my truck (no one in their right mind would purchase a NEW vehicle with this many paint flaws). I'll call it like I see it.

However, if they were there to begin with, then maybe they were unnoticeable at first and progressively got worse?

I can live with minor scratches/dings- yes they are irritating but I use my truck as a truck, and will wax/compound as needed. However, I have a hard time accepting a crappy paint job.

 

Also have to mention that my truck is always parked in a covered area, AND I rarely park under trees (can't stand bird poop or tree sap).