The local body shop told me there is no way to get rid of my factory pinstripe since the truck is 11yrs old and the paint will have some fading from the sun....


Anyone know of any tricks (other than a new paint job).... Just trying to give my every day driver a little more of a blacked out look since its been relatively stock looking since the day I got it

 

Yes, because i did it on my 2002's factory paint.

The factory pinstripe is painted over the clear coat, I had a painter friend of mine wet sand and buff mine away...looks much better.

before



during





after

 

Good tip & awesome looking Rig - It looks much cleaner with the stripe... Thanks

 

i took the factory 4x4 sticker off my f150 and had the same problem, i had to do some wet sanding and some buffing, i mainly used 1000 grit sand paper with water and then buffed with 2 different grit of compound i can't remember what the first one was but the last one i used the lightest grit i could find, you just don't want to go too long on sanding or buffing, its very easy to go through the clear coat. theres videos all over youtube you can see how to do the basics of wet sanding. good luck.

 

Doesn't 3M make a wheel that removes pinstripes?

 

Eraser wheels work great on pinstripes that are decals, but Excursions for some unknown reason came with painted on stripes…

 

There is a method to remove painted pinstripes using oven cleaner. Sounds a little wacky but it does work. I used it on a 3 year old black car with a red pinstripes.

 

Interesting you mention that.

I was looking at my pinstripe today and I could swear there is an overlap in what I thought was a sticker. I'll have another look at it tomorrow and see if I can't snap a pic.

 

I've had 3 Excursions, 00,02,04 and all of them had factory painted stripes. Its always possible someone added sticker versions to a truck without previously.

 

First you have to identify which one you have, sticker/decal or paint. Eraser wheel followed by some goof off or low strength adhesive remover and a light buffing will remove most sticker/decals. Paint really depends on a lot of variables. Sometimes goof off, adhesive remover or even paint thinner used carefully will remove them. Sometimes you have to wetsand and buff but you really need to know what you're doing. If you've got a 15 yr old truck with baked on painted stripes you really need to tread lightly or you'll burn through the paint. Once you go too far, that's it. You also need to check the entire truck before you start. A lot of bodyshops will cover painted on stripes with stickers to save money. So you may see a sticker on the fender and start removing it only to find out that the other 3/4 of the truck has old paint stripes under the decals. Even if the entire truck is uniform either sticker or paint, if it's been repaired the stripes on those panels with usually come off easier than the original will. Just a few things to think about.

 

The stripes were dealer added. Some will be paint and some stickers. Stickers are much easier to deal with. If you're afraid of sanding a painted on one, you could try a medium cutting running compound and some elbow grease. Or even a buffer.

 

Have to disagree, some lower model trucks i'm sure were, but all Limiteds came with factory painted on stripes, along with higher end XLTs.

I've had 3 trucks from 3 different states with identical stripes.

 

My dealer brochure and my limited truck disagree with you.

 

Mines a limited..no pinstripes, never been painted. Pinstripes are almost always a dealer installed item.

 

My wife's Limited, no stripes. Just sayin!