Seems i need to live with my scratched (but loved) excursion. Maybe a bigger buffer? I've waxed it and buffed it, but it all seems silly. I'll be out next weekend kissing creosote bushes again. At least the steering wander is GONE.

 

Man what in the world did you do?

 

Uh, let's see. 11 years of: Mojave road, Engineer pass, Goldmine road, Saline valley rd, Calcite mine road... basically any road with creosote, sage, ocotillos, cactus really close to the wheel tracks. No worries, I plan on being burried in the Ex so I won't burden the 2nd owner. Alas, now that it steers straight, the wife might want to drive it again... nah. I'll keep it for my 5 yr old who will be drooling over it in 11 yrs with the learners permit (though not much paint remaining).

 

Oh man ,oh man.
where did you go?

 

I love it!! Trucks are supposed to have scratches!! Its shows character

 

Time for some of that bedliner that Canadian Smokey has on his. A recent picture in the tires/rims thread.

I bought some zaino polish last summer after adding a few nice scratches getting down a very tight small road going down to a spot for some steelie fishing. Ended up cleaning up pretty nicely. Pics in gallery. The polish hides the scratches well.

 

Thats exactly why I sprayed mine with bedliner... wasn't going to spend 3-4 grand for a paint job to get scratched up.

You really should find the nearest Gatorhyde dealer and go in and talk to them....

 

HAHA! My truck looks just like that, and I am planning on having it shot with the bedliner as well.

 

Decided to add a few more this weekend

Took a few chunks out of the treads .

Gotta love that FORD steel, 3 yrs with no paint below both tail lights. Not a sign of rust.

 

Oh Sean... how could you forget to invite me.

 

a.k.a. desert pinstriping.

 

lol you should see the pnw pin-striping

 

Apparently I'm still in rep jail from last time I repped you bro..

For those who don't know how much fun it is to go off-road, the pain of those first few scratches is short-lived. Being able to go far from the main roads is very rewarding and the challenge of making in up a steep, rutted trail - using every bit of the strength, power and traction of the truck combined with skills that make parallel parking look dumb - well, you get the idea...

About the lack of rust - don't try this in the northeast!!

 

Agreed. While I generally try & avoid any extra scratches to my Excursion when possible, I don't let fear of my Excursion getting scratched or otherwise battle-scarred prevent me from doing what I want to do with it. After all, the whole reason I bought it was as a fun daily driver / tow & service vehicle for a rally car / all-round 'mission vehicle', not as a disco queen, so if I didn't do those things with it then it kind of defeats the whole object of owning the vehicle for me, whether that's chasing the Baja 1000 down in MX, or offroading with friends. The first few scratches are a little painful, but like you say, the pain of those first few scratches is short-lived, and after they are out of the way it can actually be quite liberating. I no longer stress about where I park, or taking a 10-minute detour around something to avoid the possibility of the odd extra scratch or two. Now, I do generally still try & keep it in good shape, and whenever practical avoid any additional scratches, but not at the expense of not using it for its intended role.

 

Sean, who makes your bumper?