Talk about being totally blown away

[BerndM]

I had NO idea.
My daughter had given me one of those oval shaped magnetic "fridge magnet" signs depicting our Husky dog for my 2003 EB
I went out and cleaned off a spot on the rear hatch and stuck the sign there was was totally surprised when it fell to the ground.
WTF I thought.
I then proceeded to test the magnetic strength of the sign on all 4 fenders and all 4 doors and it stuck just fine.
Apparently, unbeknownst to me AND my local Ford dealer, the rear hatch AND the hood, are ALUMINUM !
Whodathunk that from a 2003. I thought aluminum only became a thing with the latest F150.
Oh well....live & learn

 

[Flexpedition]

You too have been ignoring the endless paint bubbling threads. Lots of metallurgists here.

Years ago I had a mid-80's Olds Gutless Cutlass. The stock hood was steel but found the diesel Cutlass of the same era used an identical looking aluminum variant, so that saved me a few pounds. It was a GM so of course the paint was bad. And the transmission. And the rear end. And the suspension. And the brakes.

 

[Judge Mills]

I forget which year, but there were some 90's Ford Rangers that had aluminum hoods. You could tell because the inside support structure of the hood was "formed" and not pinch welded. Hard to explain without showing a picture.

Anyway, I didn't know either until I joined the forum The inner structure of our hoods don't look any different than steel hoods.

 

[rjdelp7]

My 2000 has aluminum hood and tailgate, and has had no peeling. I also own a 2001 Lincoln Continental. The hood and front fenders are not metal. I am curious, if anyone knows about these. The peeling was hopefully, only on 2nd Gen. It was due to poor prepping(who knows?). The aluminum bodies concern me, living in Buffalo. The enhanced salt used in winter, is brutal. They ought to make vehicles, with urethane lower panels, like used on bumpers.

 

[darmahsd]

Aluminum tail hatch and hood of my '05 bubbling up here in central NY. One body shop I went to said they don't bother with it and just replace the hatch.
WTF? @ one or two grand?
You wonder why car insurance is so high. So I have to
drive around in an otherwise presentable looking vehicle originally costing over 50 grand until I can get to it. It is because of dissimilar metal contamination in the prep work that Ford has since corrected, but no support from them.

 

[BerndM]

I don't have any issues of paint problems on my liftgate at all.