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Soft paint. Hand wash only.

Riccochet

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I already have a trail rig. I'll take care of my Gladiator. Paint included.
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MrZappo

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I remember a few years ago Harley Davidson sales people referring the motorcycles they were selling as an investment. :LOL:
I had the misfortune of driving a buddy to pick up his new/used heritage classic at the local HD superstore.

Those guys called it an investment too as they tried to up sell him BS extras.

Yep. Investment.
 

Riccochet

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I had the misfortune of driving a buddy to pick up his new/used heritage classic at the local HD superstore.

Those guys called it an investment too as they tried to up sell him BS extras.

Yep. Investment.
You can't own a HD without also owning HD boots, jacket, shirts, belts, jeans, socks, sunglasses, toothbrush, christmas ornament, wall signs (neon, wood and metal), mailbox, door placard and dick tattoo.
 

MCATDT

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I love a clean and shiny Jeep and work to keep it that way. That said I have not lost any sleep over the multitude of pinstripes and off road scars my Gladiator has endured. I bought it to use it to its potential. In the end at times she will be clean, shiny, challenged, mud covered and flawed.....A perfect Jeep :)
 

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SuburbanGP88

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I'm not saying to trash it but to baby it with ceramic and PPF and hand detailing like it's a Ferrari is too much for a mass produced American truck that's meant to be used hard.
 

SuburbanGP88

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White is pretty durable and stays looking clean even when dirty.
 

brianinca

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White also is the least rust prone color, irrelevant where I live but a topic of great concern for friends of mine on the East Coast.

Why I always get white. Beat the hell out of it and it still looks great coming out of the automatic car wash.
 

GEETCH

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When I get my JT (this March, custom order) I will be wheeling it hard, however it will mostly be hand washed, two bucket clayed when necessary ect. For me it’s relaxing to do that work kinda like a hobby. I turn on my tunes fire up the grill and crack a cold one. Did the same for my taco. Had mud from roof to belly inside across the seats dash ect, four days later show room ready and beat up again lol. Rinse and repeat. Over the years aside from having a relaxing hobby of washing, it kept the salt ect off prolonging the paint and under carriage. Looked almost new when I sold it last year, it was a 2007 taco.
 

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FloridaMan655321

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I'm sure most of you know, but it's not the paint, it's the clear coat that you're scratching at the automatic car washes. If anyone can name a manufacture who's clear coat won't scratch from the automatic car washes, let me know. You should be able to buff those out and start hand washing moving forward. Also, just because you get dirt on your vehicle, doesn't mean you will get scratches if you clean it properly. Sure, maybe you will get some 'pitting', but that will not show up.
Just to rant a little, for someone to say they don't have the time to wash their vehicles, maybe this is true, maybe there is some time wasting going on (watching TV, browsing the internet, etc..) that could be minimized. There was a time when I worked nights, and bought some flood lights to wash my car when I got home at 3am. It was a way to make sure my weekends were free.
Anyways, do some research on properly cleaning your vehicle, lots of good stuff on YouTube. I try and get at my truck once a week and spend about 2-3 hours each time. Usually I'll do something like the following
week 1 - wash + dress tires + vacuum
week 2 - wash + wax paint
week 3 - wash + detail interior plastics and leather + vacuum
week 4 - wash + clean windows inside/out + dress tires
week 5 - wash only
and repeat. I don't have a set schedule, but once you get your vehicle in good condition, then you can do more of wash + vacuum weeks, or even skip a week every once in awhile and people think you detail it all the time (I don't, but get comments like this).
One more thing, it was mentioned that paint only last 5 years. This is not true if you take care of it.
 

brianinca

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That's your take on it, that's cool. I got t-boned by a Mercurty Grand Marquis in my Ranger, it was worth too much to total. The owner of the body shop told my service writer how ticked he was when I brought my truck back in for a parking brake cable on order. I had Sierra Nevada Pinstripes on it already, and the paint had been perfect when the truck left his shop two weeks earlier.

My Service Writer got it in one: "That's how he uses his truck."

I'm sure most of you know, but it's not the paint, it's the clear coat that you're scratching at the automatic car washes. If anyone can name a manufacture who's clear coat won't scratch from the automatic car washes, let me know. You should be able to buff those out and start hand washing moving forward. Also, just because you get dirt on your vehicle, doesn't mean you will get scratches if you clean it properly. Sure, maybe you will get some 'pitting', but that will not show up.
Just to rant a little, for someone to say they don't have the time to wash their vehicles, maybe this is true, maybe there is some time wasting going on (watching TV, browsing the internet, etc..) that could be minimized. There was a time when I worked nights, and bought some flood lights to wash my car when I got home at 3am. It was a way to make sure my weekends were free.
Anyways, do some research on properly cleaning your vehicle, lots of good stuff on YouTube. I try and get at my truck once a week and spend about 2-3 hours each time. Usually I'll do something like the following
week 1 - wash + dress tires + vacuum
week 2 - wash + wax paint
week 3 - wash + detail interior plastics and leather + vacuum
week 4 - wash + clean windows inside/out + dress tires
week 5 - wash only
and repeat. I don't have a set schedule, but once you get your vehicle in good condition, then you can do more of wash + vacuum weeks, or even skip a week every once in awhile and people think you detail it all the time (I don't, but get comments like this).
One more thing, it was mentioned that paint only last 5 years. This is not true if you take care of it.
 

guarnibl

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All of my vehicles are hand washed excluding my wife’s 320i that we just turned in. Primary reason though is I just enjoy washing cars. Relaxing I guess. Also being in AZ it’s just not that much work unless you have a dark vehicle.

that said the gladiator and new wrangler have PPF on every panel now so no concerns going forward.
 

guarnibl

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I'm not saying to trash it but to baby it with ceramic and PPF and hand detailing like it's a Ferrari is too much for a mass produced American truck that's meant to be used hard.
For people that wheel in forests, and those in the southwest — this is exactly why we use PPF. It really does help long term. But I do know many don’t care about pin striping etc. It’s personal preference tho.
 
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