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On Sat, 25 Feb 2006 18:57:25 -0700, Desert Guy <desertguy@comcast.net>
wrote:
[color=blue]
>Took my 3 week old 2006 Tacoma 6-spd TRD Off Road Access Cab out into the
>desert mountains around Tucson today, and it performed just as I had hoped.
>Negotiated some very rugged jeep trails, crawled over boulders, crossed deep
>sandy washes, etc. It allowed me to get way back into the mountains where I
>parked it and took off on my mountain bike, which is exactly what I bought it
>to do. Saw lots of birds, a few rodents, a gila monster, and a diamondback.
>
>Of course with heavily overgrown jeep trails I scratched the shit out of the
>sides, and now my brand new shiny truck has deep scratches running from top
>to bottom, front to back, even on the mirrors, headlights, and taillights.
>
>This doesn't bother me a bit, since the truck is being used for its intended
>purpose. My questions is this: Any thoughts on how to peel my wife off the
>ceiling?
>
>I told her things like:
>
>"Honey, it's a TRUCK."
>
>"Sweetheart, this is what I bought it for."
>
>"Darling, ships are safe in harbors, but that's not what ships are made for."
>
>etc. etc.[/color]

Forget trying to figure it out, this is classic 'Women are from
Venus, Men are from Mars' stuff. Just nod your head and respond with
a "Yes, Dear" at the appropriate times. If you think you understand,
that's a sign you're REALLY lost.
[color=blue]
>She's not having any of it. I bought some rubbing compound and it lessened
>some of the scratches, but they're clearly still visible. I also bought some
>Pep Boys touch up paint but I'm afraid to use it, and besides it won't really
>remove the scratches.[/color]

No, that generic touch up in a nail-polish bottle is probably not
going to cut it - they never get the color match quite right.
Hopefully you bought a truck with regular paint finish and not a
Metallic or Clear-Coat.

The Clear Coat you can duplicate with a little more effort and
another layer of Clear on top. But a Metallic is an absolute bear to
patch because you have to do the entire panel /and/ duplicate the
direction the factory paint was sprayed in to get the 'lay' of the
metallic particles to match. Otherwise you park in the sun and the
odd reflections off the patched area will be glaringly (pun intended)
obvious. For Metallics you can do all the prep work yourself, but let
a professional shooter at a body shop do the color "Money Coat" to get
it right the first time.

You can have an auto paint supplier mix you up a quart or two of the
right paint color for the truck, a quart of the right primer, the
thinners and reducers you need, an assortment of Wet-N-Dry sandpaper,
and a tube of glazing putty to build up the scratches without multiple
paint and sand layers. A touch-up spray gun can be had at Harbor
Freight, and you needed an air compressor around the house anyway.

Set aside one free weekend day and you can sand clean, prime, sand,
spot putty, sand, and put on a color coat. Which will look like heck
up close (until you develop the touch with the gun), but fine if you
back up five feet to look at the results. And it will prevent rust
from getting a foothold.

3M has some of this really heavy clear scratch-and-ding-guard
coating that is meant for the areas behind the wheel wells where rocks
get tossed up, but you can use it below the belt-line along the sides
- it's like clear Rhino Lining. But fix the paint underneath first,
it will show through.

And since she's the one complaining, she can help with the wet
sanding and the putty work. Saves your money buying an air sander.
[color=blue]
>Any other ideas? (well, any other ideas that don't involve getting rid of my
>wife?)[/color]

You could... (reads the sentence all the way through) Um, nevermind.

This is why you have to choose wisely - Did she have a truck and a
bass boat or a motorcycle before you married her? If she's not the
"outdoors type" and you are, you don't have a common frame of
reference on this stuff. You may have to develop one. ;-)

Take her with you and go out mud-whompin' or up to the top of the
most spectacular vista in the state. And get her to drive for a
while, teach her when to back off and when to go "Balls To The Wall"
so you don't roll or get stuck - it just might prove to be contagious.

And don't forget to teach her the basics - like NEVER hook your
thumbs inside the rim of the steering wheel, unless you want broken
thumbs when the wheel kicks. Hands at 10 and 2, but drive like you
have mittens on.

--<< Bruce >>--

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.