Ok off-roaders, what do you do to protect against scratches and chips?

Went on some pretty vanilla trails with a friend recently and found a few new nice scratches. Does anyone do something to protect against this or just go grab some paint pens and fix them up as part of general maintenance?

 

Paint pen? Unless something god awful happened, it should just be in the clear coat and can be buffed out.

none of these reached the paint…

 

PPF is an option/ vehicle wrap. I plan on doing this at some point. My fathers rig has a full wrap and it does take a beating and holds up very well.

 

If you’re going to wheel, expect trail damage or pinstriping. Just comes with the territory. I wear mine like badges of honor. IYKYK!

 

Toyota Tundra Gen3 CrewMax 5ft (2014+) | GOAT - Go Offroad Armor Tech (goat-truckarmor.com)

Is an option?

 

Yup, or as my wife thinks, someone vandalizing my truck at night

 

Do desert runs, choose wide trails, or only go on really popular/well maintained trails, which kind of defeats the purpose imo lol

 

I typically just deal with pin striping. Only got minor scratches on my old Land Cruiser once. I use to bring a chain saw when I wheeled, but mainly for downed trees. I recently picked up the Dewalt pole (chain) saw for trimming branches in your yard. Probably hands up to 3" thick. I may start bringing that. Has about an 8" blade...but honestly, if you're going to wheel, learn to live with it.

 

Go a few more times, you’ll worry about them less and less. I absolutely love the finish of my truck, but if a few scratches can’t get buffed out, so be it.
There are also a few companies online that sell full panel magnets to cover and protect your paint.

 

I carry a 40v ryobi chainsaw if I know it will be tight. If it's a branch here and there I don't worry too much, but when I was on the rimrocker it was like a few miles in the LaSals that were some pretty major overgrowth that needed cutting. Also depends what time of year you go as to how bad the overgrowth is. Typically around here spring is worst bc no one has wheeled all winter and "cut in" the trails.

Also this doesn't prevent pinstriping really . I still have some as I'm not going to cut every branch on the trail. It just allows me to get rid of ones that would actually do some real damage. Light pinstrping happens. Wax your truck before you go and that helps alot. Most of it buffs out though

 

Several ways to deal with this.

1. Keep your Tundra on the asphalt if your paint is your highest concern.

2. Take it on much wider/popular/overused trails.

3. Get a Tacoma/4-Runner/trail only truck.

4. DGAF about paint. It's a truck not a Ferrari.

 

Clay bar takes stuff like this right out. I don't off road the Tundra, it's too damn big.

 

Uh....nothing?

 

One of the last times I scraped willows down the side of my truck, my dog did his darnedest to defend my paint from pinstripes. It didn’t help.

I really try to avoid brush, and in reality these days, I haul my wheelin’ rig in the back of my Tundra, but that would put us over in the ATV / UTV thread…

I have days where I miss my first 2 Toyota trucks, first was 4 different shades of primer grey, second might have been painted with a roller. Fold in the mirrors, and…

 

More scratches covers up scratches…..

 

Holy shit lol. Badass

As others above said, clay bar and cutting compound helps a lot. PPF would also help but is very expensive and would look terrible if it gets torn or gouged. But other than those options i'd say wear them with pride. When I see built up rigs that are pristine without stripes, I wont lie, I definitely judge them a little.

 

Where is the PPF guy when you need him? I gave up on the paint after a few trips wheeling through the woods, but you could get some high-quality PPF on the sides that would help. All the AVO guys run clear film or just wrap the rigs.

 

Full PPF works really well. This rig is a full wrap and has held up through a ton of pinstripping etc. The original color under the wrap is white.

 

You could always hype the trip up to a couple friends and then suprise them when you get to the trail head.

"Alright guys, imma need you to walk next to my truck the whole way making sure nothing touches it".


PPF is your best bet.

 

Yep. My 2003 Tundra looked brand new when I bought it, despite having 95K miles on it. I don't think the previous owner had ever taken it off pavement. I winced for the first few "eeeeeeeeeeee skritch skritch eeeeeeee!" pinstripes, but kept reminding myself "you bought this truck to get out there – this comes with the territory". Pretty sure the previous owner would stroke out if he saw it now.

That being said, I am going to get it detailed soon, in the interest of protecting the paint for longevity, from the Arizona sun and pollution, etc. Interested to see what buffs out.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, definitely just riding with it. Have a few rock chips that went through the clear and color, but otherwise will probably just be doing some more clay bar and intensive washing