July 17, 2023
My 4runner and pinstripes
I have had the vehicle a little over 4 months.
I was a bit reckless driving bad roads overgrown with brush
and now am a bit upset with myself for all the pinstripes I have.
- On one hand, I got the vehicle to drive on "interesting" roads.
- On the other hand, I now carry a small saw an pruning shears.
But the stripes I now have, are there to stay. Maybe, kinda.
People say they are a "badge of honor and all of that.
The dark grey "lunar rock" color of my vehicle shows them up more than I expected.
My previous vehicle was my white Tacoma, and I never noticed pinstripes.
Part of the issue is that deep scratches get into a lighter undercoat.
On the Tacoma, it was white under what, but with the 4runner it is white
under grey.
Making things better
The fixes involve sanding with fine abrasive, either 2000 grit wet dry paper or polishing
compound. People say that if you do use a power polisher, the random orbit is the way to go.
He uses 2000 sandpaper for the big scratches, then Meguiars "Scratch X20" compound and a sponge on
his battery drill. To finish he applies was and uses a random buffer.
Some body shops have people with experience and talent doing this sort of work,
and of course detail shops.
Waxes
I hear little good about Turtle wax.
- Chemical Guys Butter wet wax
- Meguiars Ultimate compound (includes micro abrasives).
- Shine Armor ceramic coating
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Have any comments? Questions?
Drop me a line!
Tom's Auto repair pages / tom@mmto.org