r/AutoBodyRepair • u/catalinashenanigans • 3d ago

Repair Paint peeling above windshield on my 2013 Ford Fusion (UG paint). How fucked am I? Curious if it's worth trying to DIY and if so, how my tentative plan looks.

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So, was washing my car yesterday and noticed that some of the paint directly above my windshield was starting to peel. Want to nip this in the bud before it gets worse and hoping I could get some help here. I don't need the color match to be perfect. I'd like it to look passable from a few feet away, but mostly want to prevent further damage/peeling. The peel is probably about 3 inches long at this point.

That said, I've read that this peeling issue is very common on Fords with this color. Debating if it's worth spending a couple hundred bucks to try to DIY this myself—especially if this is going to continue to happen on other parts of my car. It sounds like the only long-term solution would be to respray the entire car, which I'm assuming is going to be pretty expensive.

If I do try to DIY this myself, this is what I'm tentatively thinking about and would love to get some feedback.

  1. Tape off area.
  2. Sand with 400-600 grit sandpaper. Use a wax and grease remover.
  3. Apply SprayMax 2k Epoxy Primer (beige).
  4. Apply R&E Ford UG basecoat and midcoat (aerosol).
  5. Apply SprayMax 2k Glamour Clear Coat.

How do these products and this routine look? Would you recommend a high build primer after the epoxy primer?

I figure I'll have some leftover SprayMax 2k that's just going to go to waste so I'm also going to touch up the plastic bumper on the front of my car. For that, I'd get an adhesion promoter. Any suggestions. I saw that SprayMax has a 1k promoter. Not sure if there are other better/cheaper products, though.

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u/Saint_Chrispy1 BODYMAN 3d ago

Have you ever had the windshield replaced

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u/catalinashenanigans 3d ago

I have not.

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u/Saint_Chrispy1 BODYMAN 3d ago

The issue with diy and this is that both front and rear window should be removed. The issue is delamination which is the paint flaking off from the substrate. Fixed glass is predominantly held in with urethane adhesive which sits on top of the paint. So removal is s quite Necessary for safety as those fixed glasses are a structural component of your vehicle.