Paint scratch touch up on back hatch

[kamorela]

Long story, short question:

My 2024 is in the body & paint shop for some scratch repair. In typical-for-me fashion, I opened my garage door with the hatch fully open (please don’t ask how I managed to do that, it’s embarrassing). As the door opened, the bar attached between the door and the opener rail dragged itself over the hatch, removing color paint down to the black undercoat at the contact points. Just paint removal, no physical damage.

So I took it into the only local Ford dealer in my area with a body & paint shop to get an estimate. During the walkaround it was explained that the procedure was to remove all of the back hatch panels and parts, including the back glass, and then prep and paint ALL the panels of the hatch on the bench, then reassemble. (Huh?) I had to ask, "So you don't just mask and touch-up in place?" No, I was told, the procedure is to do as described above.

Well the shop just called to say their technicians have cautioned that they've had zero success removing the spoiler without breakage (replacement cost: USD $1300.00). While there IS a procedure to remove the spoiler, they’ve personally never had success with it, i.e. one or more clips remain attached to the body which either cracks or breaks the spoiler. They called to suggest they do a mask and paint-in-place instead, to avoid the potential extra cost and wait time for a new spoiler. So of course I said fine, do that.

But I was wondering, has anyone here had to have the spoiler removed for any reason, without breaking or damaging/ruining it? Just how problematic is it really?

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[Paul H. Martinez]

I drove into the garage with the hatch up leaving a couple of bad scratches. Funny how you can't select Drive Mode with any of the four doors open, yet you can with the hatch open.
You may want to get several estimates from other body shops. Much of what you describe sounds excessive. My solution was to ad an additional after market spoiler right on top of the OEM. $50 DIY

 

[Wallie]

Long story, short question:

My 2024 is in the body & paint shop for some scratch repair. In typical-for-me fashion, I opened my garage door with the hatch fully open (please don’t ask how I managed to do that, it’s embarrassing). As the door opened, the bar attached between the door and the opener rail dragged itself over the hatch, removing color paint down to the black undercoat at the contact points. Just paint removal, no physical damage.

So I took it into the only local Ford dealer in my area with a body & paint shop to get an estimate. During the walkaround it was explained that the procedure was to remove all of the back hatch panels and parts, including the back glass, and then prep and paint ALL the panels of the hatch on the bench, then reassemble. (Huh?) I had to ask, "So you don't just mask and touch-up in place?" No, I was told, the procedure is to do as described above.

Well the shop just called to say their technicians have cautioned that they've had zero success removing the spoiler without breakage (replacement cost: USD $1300.00). While there IS a procedure to remove the spoiler, they’ve personally never had success with it, i.e. one or more clips remain attached to the body which either cracks or breaks the spoiler. They called to suggest they do a mask and paint-in-place instead, to avoid the potential extra cost and wait time for a new spoiler. So of course I said fine, do that.

But I was wondering, has anyone here had to have the spoiler removed for any reason, without breaking or damaging/ruining it? Just how problematic is it really?

Would you mind sharing a picture of the damage? Removing the window seems absurd..

Isn't this damage covered by your insurance?

 

[Mach-Lee]

Yes, I've also heard the spoiler clips like to break because it won't come off easily. Probably best they don't try to remove it.

They should be able to mask and blend it in place, and that will probably be good enough. The only time that doesn't work is if the scratch is close to an edge (like less than 4").

Keep in mind body shops are an organized racket designed to extract as much funds from your insurance and wallet as possible. They will say you need all "X" done to maximize labor and material charges when often less can be done for a similar result. Half the time they don't even do everything they quoted and take shortcuts to maximize profit.

I had a small door scratch and they charged my insurance for debadging and painting both side doors. I asked if they could just blend on the one door, but "NO, IT WON'T LOOK RIGHT if we only do one door!". Well guess what, they ended up just blending it on the one door (like I originally thought) and it looks fine. $300 job, billed for $1300.

 

[kamorela]

Would you mind sharing a picture of the damage? Removing the window seems absurd..

Isn't this damage covered by your insurance?

Unfortunately I can't find the few photos I took of the scratches, I must have deleted them, but the attached photo is a fairly accurate representation of the scratches. The lower longer scratch is sort of 'feathery' looking (not strictly linear) as the garage door lift bar has some side-to-side 'wobbly' motion so it 'leaned over' back and forth in that area, creating a wider, uneven scratch. The top scratch is a smaller straight line scratch.

I didn't go through insurance as the cost is less than my deductible and I hate dealing with insurance.

Removing the window - as it was explained to me - is to ensure the repaint covers the ENTIRE surface, even under the window edge. And yes, it seems absurd to me too, but that was the procedure they told me. I'm much happier with how they're proceeding now, i.e. mask and paint.

 

[kamorela]

Yes, I've also heard the spoiler clips like to break because it won't come off easily. Probably best they don't try to remove it.

They should be able to mask and blend it in place, and that will probably be good enough. The only time that doesn't work is if the scratch is close to an edge (like less than 4").

Keep in mind body shops are an organized racket designed to extract as much funds from your insurance and wallet as possible. They will say you need all "X" done to maximize labor and material charges when often less can be done for a similar result. Half the time they don't even do everything they quoted and take shortcuts to maximize profit.

I had a small door scratch and they charged my insurance for debadging and painting both side doors. I asked if they could just blend on the one door, but "NO, IT WON'T LOOK RIGHT if we only do one door!". Well guess what, they ended up just blending it on the one door (like I originally thought) and it looks fine. $300 job, billed for $1300.

Another reason I didn't go through my insurance...save the BS and hassle.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Luckily, it’s all plastic, so take your time picking the right shop as nothing will rust.

 

[RickMachE]

Many people have had this issue, including me when the car was new and it opened on its own. Go cover the bracket with foam right now, AND limit the opening height.

My dealership touched it up with touchup paint and it was hard to find. Free.

 

[kamorela]

Many people have had this issue, including me when the car was new and it opened on its own. Go cover the bracket with foam right now, AND limit the opening height.

My dealership touched it up with touchup paint and it was hard to find. Free.

I've already put foam on the bar. See? I can learn! As for adjusting the height, I did that but kept bumping my head while loading things so said the heck with it, I'll just be careful, and readjusted to full height. I'll need to re-think my head-bumping lift height strategy.

 

[RickMachE]

I've already put foam on the bar. See? I can learn! As for adjusting the height, I did that but kept bumping my head while loading things so said the heck with it, I'll just be careful, and readjusted to full height. I'll need to re-think my head-bumping lift height strategy.

Follow these steps:

1) set lid to lower height.

2) wear this. Problem solved. Why do I have to figure out everything?

 

[MoonRiver]

I drove into the garage with the hatch up leaving a couple of bad scratches. Funny how you can't select Drive Mode with any of the four doors open, yet you can with the hatch open.
You may want to get several estimates from other body shops. Much of what you describe sounds excessive. My solution was to ad an additional after market spoiler right on top of the OEM. $50 DIY

You sure can move your car either forward or backwards with door or hatch open. It does show a red warning: door ajar or hatch ajar. You can step on the accelerator and go. It doesn't stop you.
I just tested after read your above reply.

 

[User100723]

I drove into the garage with the hatch up leaving a couple of bad scratches. Funny how you can't select Drive Mode with any of the four doors open, yet you can with the hatch open.

Now now, you know what that’s for! Extending the tailgate with a full-sized mattress for hauling them Sheetrocks and studs.

or if you really have the dimes:

Your new pick up truck with a fully enclosed. bed.

 

[Paul H. Martinez]

You sure can move your car either forward or backwards with door or hatch open. It does show a red warning: door ajar or hatch ajar. You can step on the accelerator and go. It doesn't stop you.
I just tested after read your above reply.

Huh
I can’t. Won’t go into D if even one door is ajar

 

[markboris]

Huh
I can’t. Won’t go into D if even one door is ajar

As long as your foot is on the brake, you can turn the shifter dial to D no matter if any door is open.

 

[markboris]

Kelly (kamorela), wanted to touch on a couple of things about your paint scratches.

As long as the liftgate wasn't dented, I wouldn't have taken it to a body shop. There are mobile paint repair professionals that will come out to your house (or work) and fix the scratches. It will look absolutely perfect when they are done. I have used them several times in the SF Bay Area for scratches, rock chips, etc. They are NOT cheap but less expensive than taking it to a body shop. From the work I've had done on several cars, if I had to guess that would cost between $500-700 and would take several hours. I know you're already in the process of having a body shop work on it but if you have issues like this in the future, look these guys up. I found a few in your area after Googling "mobile paint repair".

As far as having to remove the glass to paint those scratches, I can see them wanting to do this so they can paint the entire liftgate but again, way overkill when you can have just the scratches fixed without removing any body parts. Speaking of removing body parts, the spoiler can be removed WITHOUT breaking any clips or screw retainers. I've taken the spoiler off all three of my Mach-E's to sound deaden them as they are the only thing that rattles on the exterior if I have the bass in the audio system turned up a bit high. The trick to not breaking any retainers is to NOT use a power tool when removing the screws. There is too much torque with a power tool and you have to slowly loosen the screws so the metal retainer (which is in a plastic support) on the spoiler does twist and break off.

Now, about your garage door opener, I would change it out for a Chamberlain Wall Mounted opener. That way you can get rid of everything above the car (opener, chain, belt, rail, bar, etc.) and allow your liftgate to be opened to its maximum height without hitting anything. You would never have had this issue if you had a wall mounted opener. This type of opener will work with your garage door and attach directly to the torsion bar. They are not cheap but easy to install (I did both of mine myself). They are very quiet and smooth with no vibration and work with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. I use CarPlay and when I get close to my home, a notification tile pops up on the Sync screen for me to select and it will open the door. Or I can set up an automation in my phone so that the door automatically opens when arriving and closes when leaving or I can just ask Siri to open and close the door.

This is how clean and uncluttered the garage ceiling looks when you use a wall mounted opener. I have a lift under the car on the right and needed to have the ceiling clear to allow any vehicle to be raised as high as possible.

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