Any DIY liftgate paint repair tips?

[Bolt snapper]

Unless my search skills are just really bad, I'm half surprised I couldn't find any threads on here where someone had repaired those awful corrosion breakouts on the liftgates that seem to plague every generation of Expedition. All I can find are efforts to get Ford to warranty, class actions, etc.

So I'm just curious if anyone has had any luck sort of "spot treating" the immediate areas of bubbling by sanding out a little bit beyond the area itself, building up primer, spray bombing it and then clearing it as a means of at least staunching the bleeding, so to speak. I know it would be preferable to refinish the entire liftgate, but it's not in the budget right now. I just hate to watch this thing continue to bubble and deteriorate if it could be stopped and made a little less noticeable?

 

[Jamo]

I've had my 2014 EL LTD since 2018 w/80k. I now have 110k and the blistering that was present when I bought it has not changed much, if at all. The inside of my rear hatch has more than anywhere else. When I first bought it, I was all for taking the steps to make it right. I never did anything, but mine is just a small amount of blistering along the leading edges of the hood and gate...and I'm OK with it.
Our NY winters & salt have completely eaten my rockers away though.

 

[GlennSullivan]

My Pearl White 2011 has been garaged at our FL place since 2014. There is a slight blister around the rear hatch wiper shaft, which I assume was moisture getting in through some separation around the pass through of the wiper. Like Jamo, I've been watching it closely and it not getting worse. Since it is Pearl paint with not much chance of spot matching, I'm just keeping an eye on it. If I end up getting it fixed, I'm probably looking at several thousand for the repair, which I'd rather not spend on a problem that is not getting any worse.

 

[mjp2]

Not a spot repair but something that addressed the bubbling for good -- remove the handles/trim/badges from the rear panel, sand it smooth, and apply bedliner. No bubbling since.

Depending on the color of your truck you can usually match it pretty closely, and Durabak offers a non-textured coating so it looks pretty close to regular paint.

 

[mr_dave]

I sanded the bottom of mine down to the metal and then applied an aluminum paint prep chemical. Primed it with a self-etching primer and some rattle can paint and it hasn't been an issue for a couple years. I have to do it again now that I'm getting some bubbling around the middle trim.

 

[sonixpix]

I did the underside of mine at the tailgate and hood. I sanded the corrosion down and primered, painted and clear coated it. It's only been a couple months. When I bought it, it had a wrap on the entire tailgate that was bubbling with corrosion. I had them repair it before I bought it. They did pretty much the same but in a shop.

 

[chuck s]

My '07 had horrible paint adhesion on the lift gate. Pressure washed tons of mud of the car once and lots of paint came with it. Learned that lesson! Rattle can of gloss black Rust-oleum wasn't perfect but looked a lot better than the grey primer exposed. Hoping to not jinx it but the '17 lift gate paint seems good.

 

[Steve Hartman]

Since it is Pearl paint with not much chance of spot matching, I'm just keeping an eye on it. If I end up getting it fixed, I'm probably looking at several thousand for the repair, which I'd rather not spend on a problem that is not getting any worse.

You could head to the sign shop and have them cut you a 3' or 4" piece of outdoor vinyl to run across the back that has EXPEDITION or similar cut into it. It would make a nice break for your repair so that you don't have to repaint the whole thing. Putting it on is very easy. After cleaning, when you're ready, just spray some Windex where it's going to go and lay the decal on top. It will move and slide around as you like. Then take a little plastic Bondo applicator and squeegee the decal (which removes the Windex) and in ten minutes you'll need razor blades to get that sucker off! Looks custom, too! And, come to think of it, youo might find a pre-cut decal right off of Ebay! :O LOL!

 

[princered72]

I have a 2014 Limited, Black in color. I have bubbling and just notice some of them broke through on the outside of the liftgate and on the roof near the liftgate. I was wondering about DIY repairs also. When I bought it 5 years ago I passed up a 2014 Limited, Red in color with the bubbling issue.