98-15

Paint Finish Standards
FLA COE
FLB COE
> FLD Conventional
Business Class
FLC 112 Conventional

> Century Class Conventional
> Argosy COE
> Cargo
> Columbia
> 122SD and Coronado

> Business Class M2
> Cascadia
> 108SD/114SD
> New Cascadia

Freightliner
Service Bulletin

Description of Revisions: This bulletin replaces the version dated
August 2015. Instructions for proper visual inspection distance
have been added under the ’Important Information’ heading.

Important Information
The following information addresses the assessment of blemishes and repairs in Freightliner vehicles paint
finishes. The following standards, which outline requirements for paint-finish quality and blemish repairs, are
used by Freightliner personnel to ensure consistency and quality in paint finishes on all vehicles.

Tools
Tools used to measure paint finish can be expensive. However, Axalta (formerly DuPont), PPG and SherwinWilliams distributors and field representatives have paint-finish measuring tools and the knowledge to use them.
Contact Axalta (formerly DuPont), PPG and Sherwin-Williams personnel for assistance and tools through your
Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) Field Service Representative.

Visual Inspection Distance
All paint inspections must be performed at a distance of approximately 3 feet (1 meter) from the vehicle. The
light intensity in the inspection area must meet a minimum of 100 foot-candles (1076 meter-candles).

Warranty
Repairs made to correct paint defects WILL NOT be paid under warranty, unless the defect violates these paint
finish standards. Since determination whether a paint defect violates the paint finish standards is subjective,
Freightliner Field Service or Warranty Department representatives should be consulted before questionable
paint repairs are undertaken. Requirements and procedures for filing paint claims are outlined in the Freightliner
Warranty Manual.

NOTE: Certain areas of the vehicle either are not painted, or are not painted to a standard. Therefore,
claims for repairing the paint on these surfaces are not warrantable. The areas include:
• The underside of the hood, including the inside of the wheel wells;
• the underside of the roof-mounted air fairing;
• the underside of the exterior sun visor;
• the inside of the side-mounted air fairings;
• the inside of the bumper.

Quality Assurance Appearance Requirements
These standards describe the painted surface appearance requirements for a vehicle cab and chassis to meet
the quality expected in a Freightliner vehicle.

Appearance Zones
All vehicles are divided into various appearance zones, with specific requirements for each zone. See Fig. 1
and Table 1.
Appearance quality requirements are detailed under the "Quality Requirements for Appearance Attributes—Cab
and Hood" heading.

Freightliner Service Bulletin, 05/17/2017

Page 1

98-15

Paint Finish Standards

Freightliner
Service Bulletin

FLA COE
FLB COE
> FLD Conventional
Business Class
FLC 112 Conventional

> Century Class Conventional
> Argosy COE
> Cargo
> Columbia
> 122SD and Coronado

> Business Class M2
> Cascadia
> 108SD/114SD
> New Cascadia

Standards for appearance are detailed under the "Paint Surface Blemishes" heading.

C

B

A
C

B

A

B

A
E
A
B

A
A

E

10/04/2012

f980062a

Fig. 1, Paint Appearance Zones (Typical)

Zone
A

B

C

Page 2

Appearance Zones of a Cab and Hood
Description
All Exterior Surfaces of the Cab, except the Back Panel and Roof Sections:
Passenger, Baggage, and Access Doors (including exterior visible surfaces when door is closed), A-Pillar, Cab
and Sleeper Side, B-Pillar, C-Pillar, Cowl Side, Lower Skirting, Cab Interior, Hood Top and Sides, Cowl Top,
Fender, Upper and Lower Nose Skin, Center Nose Skin, Headlight Bucket, Sun Visor, non-textured Chassis
Side Fairings and Bumpers, Forward Quarter-Fender, and Side Extenders (outboard side only)
Interior surfaces of Passenger, Baggage, and Access Doors, Back of Cab Panel, Raised Roof Side, Mid-Roof
Side, Raised Roof Back Panel and Raised Roof below Skylight, M2 Access Panel, Side Extenders (inboard side
only), and Trim Tabs
Flat Roof, Mid-Roof Top, Raised Roof Cap Above Skylight, "B" Side Surfaces (underside or inside) of Fairing
Fuel Door, Sun Visor, and Roof Fairing

Freightliner Service Bulletin, 05/17/2017

98-15

Paint Finish Standards
FLA COE
FLB COE
> FLD Conventional
Business Class
FLC 112 Conventional

Zone
D
E

> Century Class Conventional
> Argosy COE
> Cargo
> Columbia
> 122SD and Coronado

> Business Class M2
> Cascadia
> 108SD/114SD
> New Cascadia

Freightliner
Service Bulletin

Appearance Zones of a Cab and Hood
Description
Chassis and Chassis Components
Molded plastic proprietary textured surface parts such as some Chassis Side Fairing and Bumper options
Table 1, Appearance Zones of a Cab and Hood

NOTE: The interior surfaces of the hood and fender wells are to have a light coating (fog) of topcoat
paint; however, there are no appearance or surface blemish standard requirements for these areas.

Quality Requirements for Appearance Attributes—Cab and Hood
Gloss
Condition: The term used to describe the relative amount of mirror-like reflection. This is measured in the
percentage of light reflected from the surface.
Method of Inspection: Gloss is measured using a 20-degree gloss meter. Gloss measurements should be
taken only on flat surfaces of the cab. Contoured surfaces, such as those on the hood, will give false readings.
Do not take gloss measurements on the chassis, as the surface preparation of the frame rails is uneven.
Measurement Required: Measure three random points on each of the following surfaces:
• left-hand door
• left-hand sleeper side
• right-hand door
• right-hand sleeper side
Record the average of each set of the above measurements.
Appearance Zone Requirements: See Table 2.

Zone
A
B
C
D
E*

20-Degree Gloss
Non-Metallic
80
N/A
N/A
N/A
80

Metallic
65
N/A
N/A
N/A
65

* A 60-degree gloss meter is used for zone E. If a 60-degree meter is not
available, a 20-degree meter may be used, however the resulting gloss
measurement will show a 30 point difference of the value measured in
zone A.

Table 2, 20-Degree Gloss

Orange Peel
Condition: An evenly textured surface appearance similar to the skin of an orange.
Method of Inspection: Instrumental evaluation with wave scan or visual evaluation and comparison with the
standard ACT orange peel panels ranging from 1 (worst) to 10 (best). When evaluating orange peel, measure a
minimum of three random points on each of the following surfaces:

Freightliner Service Bulletin, 05/17/2017

Page 3

98-15
Freightliner
Service Bulletin

Paint Finish Standards
FLA COE
FLB COE
> FLD Conventional
Business Class
FLC 112 Conventional

> Century Class Conventional
> Argosy COE
> Cargo
> Columbia
> 122SD and Coronado

> Business Class M2
> Cascadia
> 108SD/114SD
> New Cascadia

• left-hand door
• left-hand sleeper side
• right-hand door
• right-hand sleeper side
Record the average of each set of the above measurements.
Appearance Zone Requirements: See Table 3.
Orange Peel
Requirement
≥5
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Zone
A
B
C
D
E

Table 3, Orange Peel

Uniformity
Uniformity refers to the consistency of the topcoat appearance over the entire vehicle. Gloss, orange peel, and
color should not be visibly different within individual body panels or between adjacent panels in a zone. For
example, the gloss of a zone A panel will match other zone A panels, and the gloss of a zone E panel will
match other zone E panels.

Film Thickness
Film thickness refers to the layer depth of dry paint on the surface of the part after the baking process.
Method of Inspection: Film thickness can be evaluated instrumentally with a mil thickness gauge suitable for
the substrate material. Film thickness measurements are taken as a combination of primer and topcoat for a
total thickness.
When evaluating film thickness by instrumental means, measure a minimum of three random points on each of
the following surfaces:
• left-hand door
• left-hand sleeper side
• right-hand door
• right-hand sleeper side
Record the average of each set of the above measurements.
Appearance Zone Requirements: See Table 4.

Zone
A
B
C

Page 4

Paint Film Thickness
Single Stage
Base/Clear Coat
2.8 mils
3.4 mils
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Freightliner Service Bulletin, 05/17/2017

98-15

Paint Finish Standards
FLA COE
FLB COE
> FLD Conventional
Business Class
FLC 112 Conventional

> Century Class Conventional
> Argosy COE
> Cargo
> Columbia
> 122SD and Coronado

> Business Class M2
> Cascadia
> 108SD/114SD
> New Cascadia

Freightliner
Service Bulletin

Paint Film Thickness
Single Stage
Base/Clear Coat
2.4 mils
N/A
2.8 mils
3.4 mils

Zone
D
E

Table 4, Paint Film Thickness

Paint Surface Blemishes
When combinations of the following blemishes are present, apply the standards for the highest quality
requirement.

Bubbles/Craters
Condition: Small, round depressions in the paint film that may or may not expose the underlying surface.
Method of Inspection: Visual inspection only.
Appearance Zone Requirements: See Table 5.
Bubbles/Craters
Quantity Per
Maximum Size
Zone
Minimum Distance Apart
Panel Per Zone
(diameter)
A
5 maximum
2 mm
2 allowed within a 6-inch (150-mm) diameter circle
B
Unlimited
2 mm
10 allowed within a 6-inch (150-mm) diameter circle
C
Unlimited
3 mm
N/A
D
Unlimited
4 mm
N/A
E
5 maximum
2 mm
2 allowed within a 6-inch (150-mm) diameter circle

Description
Primer
Primer
Primer
Primer
Primer

not
not
not
not
not

exposed
exposed
exposed
exposed
exposed

Table 5, Bubbles/Craters

Dirt
Condition: Foreign matter in, on, or under the paint film surface (e.g., lint, fibers, sanding dust, etc.).
Method of Inspection: Metric scale with visual evaluation and comparison to boundary samples.
Appearance Zone Requirements: See Table 6.

Zone
A
B
C
D
E

Quantity Per
Panel Per Zone
5 maximum
Unlimited
Unlimited
N/A
5 maximum

Dirt in Paint
Maximum Size
Minimum Distance Apart
(diameter)
2 mm
2 allowed within a 6-inch (150-mm) diameter circle
2 mm
10 allowed within a 6-inch (150-mm) diameter circle
3 mm
No requirement
N/A
N/A
2 mm
2 allowed within a 6-inch (150-mm) diameter circle
Table 6, Dirt in Paint

Freightliner Service Bulletin, 05/17/2017

Page 5

98-15

Paint Finish Standards

Freightliner
Service Bulletin

FLA COE
FLB COE
> FLD Conventional
Business Class
FLC 112 Conventional

> Century Class Conventional
> Argosy COE
> Cargo
> Columbia
> 122SD and Coronado

> Business Class M2
> Cascadia
> 108SD/114SD
> New Cascadia

Ding/Dent
Condition: A ding/dent is a visible depression or protrusion in the metal surface or substrate.
Method of Inspection: Visual evaluation and comparison with appearance zone requirements.
Appearance Zone Requirements: See Table 7.
Ding/Dent
Quantity per Panel
0 maximum
0 maximum
No requirement
N/A
N/A

Zone
A
B
C
D
E

Table 7, Ding/Dent

Overspray
Condition: Overspray is a rough or gritty texture on a painted surface caused by small droplets of paint that fail
to blend or melt into the surface.
Method of Inspection: Visual evaluation and comparison with appearance zone requirements; color difference