Summer is nearly here, finally. Time to fix some flaws...

[Nateff91]

(2004 v6) The LS is running beautifully, with fresh royal purple oil and brand new plugs and coils. Also looking pretty beautiful! That is for except a few trouble spots I plan on attending to very soon. First two pics are just to show my LS and the rest are the flaws! Help to fix them is GREATLY appreciated as paint work/repair is very new to me. Should I hire a professional? Or is it safe to accomplish myself??



#1

These are on both passenger and driver sides of the wheel well. This doesn't look good and I'm fearful of further chipping.

#2

This is a nice deep chip on the panel right behind the rear wheel. Totally from rocks and there's a few of these on both passenger and driver sides.

#3


The BIGGEST eyesore on my LS and want to fix this one the most. Roughly the size of a U.S. quarter if not a little bigger.


#4

Some rust on the trunk lid. Not that noticeable except to me but I'm afraid of it spreading.

#5

Yay dealership.... Hate this. But I don't know if there's a good way to fix this and make it look right. But I hate the front license plate even more than the holes so I'll deal if I have to.


Any suggestions welcome and greatly appreciated!

Thank you LVC for all the help these years of priceless knowledge, courtesy, and fun!

-Nate

 

[Deleted member 22631]

I'd say you could fill in those holes easily with done type of putty or bondo type material, I'm no expert on those fillers one that is outdoor weather friendly and buy some duplicolor paint to color in the holes, just a suggestion on that

 

[myfirstlincoln]

1. A lot of people here tend to avoid Royal Purple.

2. Depending on how "nice" you want it to look, you probably need to take it to a body shop and have those spots painted. If you don't mind it not looking completely perfect, you might have some decent results trying it yourself. If you search a thread I started a while ago, I painted my entire front bumper with rattle cans from Paintscratch (you can order it to match your color) and it came out pretty well. The least I would do is sand down the rust areas/bubbly paint, get some Permatex rust treatment (or something similar) and some good flexible primer and hit those spots, then sand, then use the Paintscratch paint that matches your body color, then hit it with a high gloss/catalyzed clear coat. However, blending rattle can paint and clear coat in small areas is super tough which is why most body shops paint entire panels. With that said, if done properly, it would at least protect from further rust spread and look a heck of a lot better than it does now.
As for the front bumper, you can try the above method after filling with bondo or by small "plugs" to put in the holes and paint them to match (they're still noticeable but it's a fairly clean look).

 

[Nateff91]

Thanks for the replies! And myfirstlincoln, it's interesting you say that. Any specific threads you are referencing? In my hometown everyone I'd running it and I hear nothing but good things. I did find a thread on here and everyone except for a few liked it. Just curious!! And also I think I will get a quote from a few body shops on everything to see if price will justify doing it myself or not!

 

[myfirstlincoln]

There have been a few people who have heard of healthy engines "blowing up" after switching to royal purple. I don't believe it has happened to anyone on here, but the horror stories seem to get passed on and after hearing a few of those stories, some people refuse to use it especially considering there haven't been any stories of people switching to Mobil 1 and suddenly experiencing all kinds of problems. I don't necessarily believe Royal Purple is a bad oil or a reason for a catastrophic failure, but I've always been a Mobil 1 guy and always will be.

 

[Nateff91]

This is going to be interesting to research in depth. Thanks for bringing that up!

 

[RigsLS]

Yup, I got the RP out of mine in a hurry! did not do enough research before having it added, read the troubles with it and replaced with Mobil 1 0W20 synthetic. RP has it's business in racing motors that run hard and get torn down after each use, for the Hobbyist Daily driver it's "apparently" not recommended.

Nate, is that not a tri coat color? what color is it, have you checked the paint code on the tag at the door?
If so, expect checkerboard finish as it'll be a bitch to match panels, even if the fade it into the next panel it's hard to blend new vs old.

and that corrosion, that's not just easily sanded out, if it needs to be done right so it doesn't come back worse the following year, it will require sandblasting right down to the bare metal/aluminum.

 

[RigsLS]

Ceramic White Tri-Coat ?

04 build colors made available = http://gtcarlot.com/colors/Lincoln/LS/2004/

yours = http://gtcarlot.com/colors/Lincoln/LS/2004/Ceramic+White+Tri-Coat/ ???









----EDIT / off topic sorry!

This Charcoal Grey Metallic is the color I should have had, love this color on the LS.

http://gtcarlot.com/colors/Lincoln/LS/2004/Charcoal+Grey+Metallic/

 

[Nateff91]

Yes, it is the tri coat. That sucks that it's that hard to match... And the news on the royal purple... This thread got really depressing really quick! It is what it is I guess! And since I did spend a good amount on royal purple, do you think it would be fine at least 5,000 miles...? And what was the reason you switched from 5w-20 to 0w-20?

Edit:

And yes, that grey is really sharp looking!!

 

[Ranchero50]

Crevice corrosion in the aluminum panels is a very bad thing and dang near impossible to get rid of once it takes hold. Google it to understand what's happening.

I'd opt for replacement vs. repairs, especially if you can find parts where the color is close.

Per the front plate holes, I'd just put the plate holder back on and run some kind of vanity plate up front.