Anybody have some inexpensive tricks for dealing wtih desert pinstriping and gouges?

[rayra]

A few pinstripes I can tolerate, mostly make less noticeable with some wax buffing. But this, this is intolerable.

The only upside is my paint is basic black. I'm thinking touch-up paint roller pen, some fine rubbing compound work and a fresh wax. I've got a neighborhood drug dealer to run out of town or into prison, before I spend money on a proper paintjob. And some security cameras that need to get installed first. 20yrs+ in the '5th safest city in America' and I have THIS **** to 'tolerate'.

in fact I was planning to dismount and repaint the passenger-side doors at the end of this Spring, they've got some buffer-burnt paint on their upper edges and some dings I need to fix, courtesy of the previous owner. Don't really want to paint the whole thing one panel at a time. But can't stomach the price of a full-up paintjob. Especially as there's a lot more 'desert pinstripes' to come.

 

[lugueto]

Rubbing compound lol.

 

[MagicMtnDan]

A few years ago I purchased a roll of magnetic sheeting which I cut to fit the sides of my Ford Raptor. Unfortunately the sheeting is white and the Raptor (and your Sub) is black so there's that. I did use some 3M duct tape (it's like painter's tape in that it's designed to come off without leaving residue) to seal the front edge so the wind wouldn't peel it off while driving on the freeway. Another issue was the front fenders weren't steel so the magnetic sheeting didn't stick to them. I used more duct tape.

You can see the background and application here: http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f11/...protecting-my-raptors-paint-pinstriping-5993/

I have some of this roll left which I'll share with you if you're interested. I'll gladly come to you with it and you can check it out if you like.

Here's what it looked like on the Raptor:

 

[rayra]

Rubbing compound lol.

Anybody got a donkey to english translator handy?

I was talking about infilling the gouge with an automotive touchup pen and after it's dried thoroughly working it over carefully with a buffer and fine compound to take it down level / make the repair blend in better.

---

MagicMtnDan, that was you? I recall reading a topic a few years ago where that material was used. I thought it was ingenuous and entertaining. I've never taken a paint job off road that I cared enough about to protect like that.
I don't mind 'desert pinstriping', it's the price of going where I do. Was just wondering if there was an inexpensive way of ameliorating it. Maybe somebody had a 'superwax' that helped

 

[PJorgen]

If you want to go the touch-up route, the very best I've used is from Dr Colorchip. https://www.drcolorchip.com/

Matched to your vehicle's paint code and fairly easy to use.

 

[proper4wd]

That needs a wet sand dude.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Needs more than a wet sand. If OP is really planning to repaint the doors later, the quickest fix is going to be a black magic marker to make the stripes black again. Then just live with it until the repaint. Those stripes can be fixed, but it looks like it's down to the primer or bare metal, so going to be very time consuming to build up the paint to the point that it can be blocked and polished. If paint is already burned or buffed through, just not worth the effort.

 

[rayra]

Passenger side was burned when I got it, spot painted it for coverage 2yrs ago and just kept it waxed shiny, not really noticeable as light glare on those upper curves hid it.

The knifing on the driver side is all the way thru but VERY narrow. I'm hoping to temp-fill / obscure it enough to maybe pass for a 'desert pinstripe'. I have great insurance. But until I figure out what happened and why and hopefully who, I'm not in any hurry to put in a claim / permanently repair it. It happened right in front of my house in a 'good' neighborhood. And that side already had a few scratches and nicks. I can live with it being imperfect. I cannot tolerate felony vandalism. Made a police report, started a paper trail. Shopping hard for a security camera system now. And after it's installed, it will be flyers on my and adjacent streets. Maybe I can shake something loose. Or catch a recurrence.
But in the meantime I just want to fill it in somewhat so I don't have to keep staring at it.

As for paint matching, it's basic black. GM has 16 different names for it over the years. Same ****. Hell if they hit me on the other panels I might be able to correct my (repeat) mistake of buying a black vehicle for off-road.

 

[jschmidt]

So somebody keyed your car? Is that the gist of it? You probably won't be able to fix it to your satisfaction.

And it's virtually always someone you know who is personally angry at you. Random drive-by keyings of just one car are almost non-existent.

 

[Zeep]

I run around in the woods a lot. One of my trip preps, is to layer coats of wax on the Jeep. I can throw down a coat on the whole vehicle in 40 min.
I've run through all kinds of brush, and tree branches, and yet to have anything that would not polish out!

 

[lugueto]

Anybody got a donkey to english translator handy?

I was talking about infilling the gouge with an automotive touchup pen and after it's dried thoroughly working it over carefully with a buffer and fine compound to take it down level / make the repair blend in better.

Easy there, it was a simple joke. Same as the classic "That'll buff out". No need to get insulting.

As said, you'll need to wet sand. I don't think there'll be a simple way to solve it, unless you use a touch up pen and even then I don't think results will be worth it.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Auto touchup pen is not the right tool. If you want to go that route, you'll need a sword brush (the kind pinstripers use), a steady hand, and lots of time. You want to lay the paint in the groove, not on it or around it. Build it up, let it cure and shrink, build it up again, etc. Then block, color sand and polish. You run the risk of cutting through whatever is left of your clear coat.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

Maybe it'd be best for your temperament if you could stay in paved roads. It is very aggravating to damage the paint

 

[rayra]

I am not the least bit concerned with 'desert pinstripes' I incur myself. I bought the vehicle to use offroad and such wear and tear is expected and accepted. It's the deliberate felony vandalism that vexes me.

I've found a couple vids from 'high end' vehicle detailers that illustrate the the brush and wipe / sand / buff / polish techniques that go a long way to mitigating the damage. I'll be trying their techniques as soon as the weather warms enough. And AFTER I get my security camera system up and running. Not going to create a clean slate for the vandal until I can capture them in the act the next time. Unfortunately this happened right in front of my house in a "good" neighborhood. If it had happened in some random parking lot I'd be fixing it already.

I have good craft skills, can build and repair just about anything, build models, movie props, have done bodywork and painted my own vehicles in the past. There's lots of ways to fix it. I was looking for any insights in this era of everybody detailing everything. And as I mentioned, I'm painting my passenger side doors in the late spring / early summer, anyway/

Here's one of the vids on the brush techniques, which I'll probably attempt on this (knife?) gouge -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2aC_oseMe4