I bought my 2010 Magnetic Gray Metallic SR5 a little over 2 months ago with 74K. The truck had white pinstripes which I really hated, so after some research on how-to, I took them off last weekend. Heat-plastic razorblade-goofoff-wax.
Drivers side came off real easy. I was expecting a slight fade/ghost line, and that side does have that, but you can barely see it. You have to be looking real close and I can totally live with it (you can barely see it in this pic to the right about 40% up from the bottom) -
The passenger side was a whole different story. It was a pain to get off, and you can see a definite dark fade line. I took it to a highly regarded local detail shop today for them to take a look. They took it in the garage and worked on a small spot with a buffer and some mid-abrasive and no go, it wasn't coming off. At certain angles it looks pretty prominent, and these pics actually make it look worse that it is (yes, the pinstripe and adhesive is totally gone) -
At some angles you can hardly see it -
The shop said these stripes were most likely put on immediately after port delivery to the dealer, and perhaps the factory paint/clear coat wasn't even fully cured yet. Also, the previous owner probably parked this car all day with the sun beating on that side, so the paint faded a little more and the pinstripe really "baked" itself onto the clear coat. The paint is all 100% original. I asked about wet sanding, but he said it probably wouldn't make much of a difference. A f'in stupid pinstripe really screwed my paint.
So I have 2 choices - live with it, or put on some new stripes over the fade lines. I know some of you guys with 5th gens have pinstripes, and although it's not what I really want, I'm contemplating going in that direction. I'm thinking maybe a gray a bit darker than the factory color paint or a flat black. The shop guy said maybe gloss black, but I really don't want it to stick out too much. I do plan to eventually get color matched door handles and dip most of the chrome.
Wadda think?
Drivers side came off real easy. I was expecting a slight fade/ghost line, and that side does have that, but you can barely see it. You have to be looking real close and I can totally live with it (you can barely see it in this pic to the right about 40% up from the bottom) -
The passenger side was a whole different story. It was a pain to get off, and you can see a definite dark fade line. I took it to a highly regarded local detail shop today for them to take a look. They took it in the garage and worked on a small spot with a buffer and some mid-abrasive and no go, it wasn't coming off. At certain angles it looks pretty prominent, and these pics actually make it look worse that it is (yes, the pinstripe and adhesive is totally gone) -
At some angles you can hardly see it -
The shop said these stripes were most likely put on immediately after port delivery to the dealer, and perhaps the factory paint/clear coat wasn't even fully cured yet. Also, the previous owner probably parked this car all day with the sun beating on that side, so the paint faded a little more and the pinstripe really "baked" itself onto the clear coat. The paint is all 100% original. I asked about wet sanding, but he said it probably wouldn't make much of a difference. A f'in stupid pinstripe really screwed my paint.
So I have 2 choices - live with it, or put on some new stripes over the fade lines. I know some of you guys with 5th gens have pinstripes, and although it's not what I really want, I'm contemplating going in that direction. I'm thinking maybe a gray a bit darker than the factory color paint or a flat black. The shop guy said maybe gloss black, but I really don't want it to stick out too much. I do plan to eventually get color matched door handles and dip most of the chrome.
Wadda think?
ound:"You are just too crazy"!!!!!!!!!!!!
