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Jeep Gladiator Corrosion TSB Disaster

Freems

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Here are some more including the corrosion they couldn't see on the hinges.

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All that orange peel is completely bull shit, wet sand and polish is the only way that can be fixed. The wave marks are from the staff members who can’t run an orbital sander. It needs to go back to them now.
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TheTrailGeek

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What causes this? Northern winters? Bad luck on purchasing Jeeps with improper paint prep? Certain colors or years affected? Mine is 5.5 yrs old and I have zero issues like that. My paint is great actually. I’ve been over every inch of it detailing it very recently. 2020 Sting Gray.
Dealer originally told me it was something to do with the aluminum being contaminated with other metals, but I've also seen that the primer breaks down on unsealed components and the off-gassing causes the corrosion and bubbling. Mine is a 2020 and the tailgate has been that way for years. The hood and hinges just started.
 

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Dealer originally told me it was something to do with the aluminum being contaminated with other metals, but I've also seen that the primer breaks down on unsealed components and the off-gassing causes the corrosion and bubbling. Mine is a 2020 and the tailgate has been that way for years. The hood and hinges just started.
Dang. I just had my tailgate replaced with a new OEM. I hope the new one is good.
 

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Dealer originally told me it was something to do with the aluminum being contaminated with other metals, but I've also seen that the primer breaks down on unsealed components and the off-gassing causes the corrosion and bubbling. Mine is a 2020 and the tailgate has been that way for years. The hood and hinges just started.
And all this time I thought it was because they'd been painted outside at 4:30 on a Friday after a few lunch beers.
 

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Dealer originally told me it was something to do with the aluminum being contaminated with other metals, but I've also seen that the primer breaks down on unsealed components and the off-gassing causes the corrosion and bubbling. Mine is a 2020 and the tailgate has been that way for years. The hood and hinges just started.
There's a whole lot of guessing and speculation out there.......I don't expect any dealer to know about metallurgy and/or chemistry, though.

IF the aluminum was "contaminated" - you'd be seeing this on all of the flat panels as well.
 

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TheTrailGeek

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Any of you people who have dealt with paint know what this might be? I noticed it when they returned the Jeep last time on the driver side bottom corner of the tailgate, but now appears to be in multiple places on the tailgate in the latest pics. It's like lighter color spots all through the paint. I don't have high hopes for the paint match in the latest photos they sent, but I'll be picking it up Friday morning and hopefully it matches when I see it in person. It also looks like they might have dinged or scratched the corner taking the tailgate on and off. I have multiple pics from when it was here between their first horror show and now showing it wasn't there, but I'm hoping it's just something in the pic and not actually there in person. I'm trying not to be too picky, but it's disappointing to think it might come back in worse condition than I left it. 😔

Jeep Gladiator Jeep Gladiator Corrosion TSB Disaster Screenshot 2025-05-21 at 9.49.30 AM


Jeep Gladiator Jeep Gladiator Corrosion TSB Disaster Screenshot 2025-05-21 at 9.57.57 AM


Jeep Gladiator Jeep Gladiator Corrosion TSB Disaster Unknown
 

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Hard to tell "from here" but looks like prep issues.

MOST paint issues are actually prep issues, not paint issues themselves.
Prep is 95+% of paint jobs.

Anything that interferes with the even flow of the paint, adhesion and so on, can lead to surface irregularities, light spots, fish eyes and more.
 
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TheTrailGeek

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Hard to tell "from here" but looks like prep issues.

MOST paint issues are actually prep issues, not paint issues themselves.
Prep is 95+% of paint jobs.

Anything that interferes with the even flow of the paint, adhesion and so on, can lead to surface irregularities, light spots, fish eyes and more.
Gotcha! Appreciate the info. They said they've fixed the scratch now and even though the spots show up in the pics he sent this morning, he said they are fixed. I'm picking it up Friday morning so finger's crossed. I just want to get it back so I can continue to work on all the backed up projects I have for it now. 😂
 
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Paint still doesn’t match. They got all the blemishes out, but said they can’t get it to match any better than that. Saga gets worse. They detailed the Jeep and whatever they cleaned it with totally removed the finish from my newly installed Clayton track bar ends and sway bar end links.

Jeep Gladiator Jeep Gladiator Corrosion TSB Disaster IMG_9872

Jeep Gladiator Jeep Gladiator Corrosion TSB Disaster IMG_9875
 

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Paint still doesn’t match. They got all the blemishes out, but said they can’t get it to match any better than that. Saga gets worse. They detailed the Jeep and whatever they cleaned it with totally removed the finish from my newly installed Clayton track bar ends and sway bar end links.

IMG_9872.jpg

IMG_9875.jpeg
I'll assume, without them in my shop to actually test for sure, that those were zinc plated. IF that's the case, they have really destroyed that finish.
I'm not liking what I see there. It was either something extremely acidic, or even the other way, a caustic cleaner in the very high pH side of things.
Nasty.
 

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TheTrailGeek

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I'll assume, without them in my shop to actually test for sure, that those were zinc plated. IF that's the case, they have really destroyed that finish.
I'm not liking what I see there. It was either something extremely acidic, or even the other way, a caustic cleaner in the very high pH side of things.
Nasty.
They were zinc plated. Plus all new metal cloak zinc plated bolts that are all silver. I’m worried about what it will do to the bushings on my brand new suspension parts 😬
 

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They were zinc plated. Plus all new metal cloak zinc plated bolts that are all silver. I’m worried about what it will do to the bushings on my brand new suspension parts 😬
Again, based on your comment they are indeed zinc plated, and based on the photos, I'll say that it appears whatever they used all but removed the passivate - which literally makes the zinc passive and is a protective layer in the zinc plating. Without it, the zinc itself will begin to turn white and spotted with exposure to salts, chemicals and such.
Looks like the links were yellow zinc, and the bolts clear/blue zinc (we say blue, but it's so subtle it's not really blue to the eye unless left in solution for quite a while)
 

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They were zinc plated. Plus all new metal cloak zinc plated bolts that are all silver. I’m worried about what it will do to the bushings on my brand new suspension parts 😬
One winter in Pa. and the zinc is gone. I can understand your frustration. I would be pissed too.
 

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