Pinstripes: love 'em or lose 'em?

My truck has a good bit of off-road pinstripes. It's a pleasant day here and I'm inclined to not only wash it but pull out the polisher out and buff these stripes out. Unfortunately, it won't be long until I venture down a narrow forest service road and renew the pinstripes.

Should I sit around and drink beer today or drink beer and polish the Tundra?

(This would have been a poll but I can't find the poll clicker.)

 

Yeah, fire up the buffer! Nice battle scars.

 

If you think you’re going to be getting some soon, leave them be. Throw some wax on it and call it good. If you keep polishing them out every time you get them, eventually you just going to wear the paint out. Might as well save the buffing for the day you sell it or pass it on. I would just layer up on wax.

 

If you’re gonna polish it up, dress to the 9’s and take it out to a steak dinner.

 

Maybe leave it. Gives character

 

All my scratches, and fubar'd paint I leave alone. Reminds me of where I've been, and where I'm going.

One side streak on drivers bed side reminds me of how I backed along the mirror of an ex girlfriends car.

Memories. If I ever planned to sell, which won't happen. I'd buff it out.

 

Ya drive an 03 that you already said is going to get more of em. Just leave it, it's a truck

 

Thanks for all the sound advice. Each approach is reasonable. I'll wait to buff when it's relieved of forest road duty or I run out of other projects.

It turns out that washing the dirt off revealed more scars than I recall this 230K mile work truck having. Now I remember why I got a good price and it wasn't sold on BaT for $25K. So no buffing today but a nice wash and vacuum.

A few of the pinstripes. And yes, the bird crapped on it w/in about 30 minutes of washing it. Lol.


Still, it doesn't look bad from 15' away...


Another glamour shot...

FWIW, a few years back I geared up for cleaning windows on my house and that stuff works well for cleaning a truck, esp. the top of it.
- Sprayway glass cleaner for the actual glass, use with lint free cloths. (5 stars)
- Ettore window cleaning soap. It seems to work well on the paint and it rinses off well.
- Simple Green and sometimes brake cleaner, for the wheels, etc.
- 18" wide window scrubber that attaches to a stick
- 22" wide, 6 gallon bucket


There you have my car washing secrets.

 

Just a wash?

dress to the 7’s and get a chicken sandwich and shake. Revenge for the poop.

 

They get my truck every single time. The funny part is they don't get my wifes car or my hatchback, but when I was my truck they seem to enjoy marking it.

 

Buff out the snarls and slap on a hard coat of 303 Graphene, cat can't scratch it.
2021-05-30_02-42-28 by GhostCreekMine, on Flickr

 

Being the paint nazi around here, you can probably assume what my answer is. I do agree a good coat of wax would be a good idea if nothing else.