Is there a cure for "boonstripes?"

[profdan]

Yes, boondocking is lots of fun. But out West, many of those forest roads are very narrow and lined with nasty thorn bushes. My poor truck is covered in boondocker's pinstripes (boonstripes??) from front to back, and it looks terrible:


Click For Full-Size Image.

Worse yet, I don't live out in the boonies, where a scratched-up truck is normal. I live in suburban coastal Southern California, where everyone else's car is lovingly polished. So my truck looks even shabbier by comparison.

There is no point in getting the truck repainted -- we drag that truck through the stickers several times a year.

So that's my question -- how do you handle this issue? (Other than putting up a big sign that says "please excuse my truck -- it was attacked by a mountain lion.")

[Old-Biscuit]

Well there are 'street queens' and then those that use their trucks

I wouldn't loose sleep over the street queens and their ilk

[Bobby F]

Only thing I've found that works:https://www.amazon.com/TORQX-Random-Orbital-Polisher-Items/dp/B01BKT63XM/ref=sr_1_7?crid=HQ2E8XXUXCTC&keywords=porter+cable +buffer+polisher&qid=1656719251&sprefix=porter+cab le+buffer%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-7

[FloridaSon]

Badge of Honor!

Having said that, I try to avoid them myself ��

[profdan]

Bobby, I've never heard of that product before -- thanks for the tip!!

[Bobby F]

Check out some of the Chemical Guys vids on Youtube for polishing/buffing. I've made some oxidized and scratched vehicles look quite nice, and it's easy. Starting on the RV today.

[The Ward Den]

There must be some sort of decal you can put on before you venture into the scratch zones. I haven't seen one, but just thinking out loud. People wrap their vehicles with advertising all the time, so there could be some removable protective wrap available? It won't fix what damage has already been done, but could stop it from getting worse.

[TeJay]

There are any number of polishing compounds available with just a short google search.
keep in mind you have already scratched through the clear coat and into the paint color. That does remove the surface coverings and unless it's repainted nothing will completely fix it. You can however polish and or smooth down the scratches and reduce the bad look to something much, much better. It will never be back to the stock look.

The little kit pictured above is just what you need. If you need to do your entire sides the kit won't have enough compound to do it all. So you can buy your own buffing compounds and an electric buffing machine to do the work. The kit will contain several different polishing compounds that one would use in a step by step process to smooth what's been scratched in gradually to a somewhat better looking finish. Each container is giving you different grit polishing compounds. Each grit is smaller than the previous to gradually take you down to a smoother surface. Done this many, many, many times.

[Flyer15015]

Diamond Plate ???

[Marine359]

Get a white truck. After it’s washed, you can’t really notice the paint scratches. If I look real close, I can see them, but nobody looks that close, do they?

[Bobby F]

Originally Posted by TeJay

The little kit pictured above is just what you need.

I threw that pic in as an exemplar mostly. I use the Porter Cable version. I'd only add to your good explanation that the pads come color-coded, too, signifying how aggressive their action can be. They've made it all non-painter friendly!

[twogypsies]

Personally, I wouldn't worry about spending the time and money on it if you're just going to take it to the same types of places again. We had 'pinstripes' on our Jeep - as did every other 4x4 on the trails. You just can't avoid it. The Jeep sold just fine to a person who also was planning to take it out on the trails.

[TonyDi]

I know there is magnetic "armor" panels that might solve your problem. I had them for my Wrangle and they worked great. I don't know if the are made for other vehicles but a google search might find them for you. My panels were made by Smittybilt. If I remember they were around $350.

[BirchyBoy]

Those are Colorado pinstripes. The goal is to have as many as possible.