So many times I've looked down trails like this and gone awe shit this is gonna be painful.... that's why mine looks like a reversed zebra was carved into the side of it. When it gets fubar'd enough I'll just go flat black and start all over.

 

Feel the same way with my black 2012. I put vinyl down the side in matte black mainly to protect winter salt and rock spray from my tires.

 

Love my scratched to hell black jeep.

 

Does this count as a scratch?

 

Yes, and them some. Get some touch up paint to protect from rust and then get a set of rubi rail take offs. They'll hide the damage, and then prevent this from happening again. Or leave as is, up to you.

 

My hardtop has pinstripes all over it. Went they some very narrow trails a few weeks ago. I like the look of a jeep that is used for what it's meant for. Looks way better than shiny and waxed.

 

I got ALOT of Arkansas pin-stripes!

 

This was one of the very first trails I took my Rubicon on when it was new. I was like... !!! I thought my paint job was going to be destroyed. But we took pruning shears and did what we could to try to save it. When I got home, it looked horrible. But once I washed and waxed it, I couldn't believe my eyes. There really were only a few pinstripes on the side of the hard top, and a lot of pinstripes on the roof. I had waxed the Jeep probably 5 or 6 times before taking it to that trail, and I really believe that's what saved it. So I have continued to wax it once a month, and now after 16 months and a lot of trails, it still looks pretty sharp. I do ALWAYS carry pruning shears, ax, and hand saw at all times though, and I avoide brushy trails if possible. And I'm trying to learn to not be so uptite about it, since I did make a concious choice to buy black and made the committment to keep it as nice as I can, while still using it off-road.

 

To cut down on the amount of scratches on one trail, I used a rock to just remove one of my fenders. For the rest of the trip it did not get any more scratches. So just rub up on a rock and remove those fenders….. I bought a buffer over a month ago, just can’t seem to bring myself to remove the pin striping

AMen

 

Oh yeah, scratches, a few dents, scraped paint, rust, you name it, it is there.

About once a year I go over it and make it pretty again (I cheat and use a tinted wax), but, hey, this is why I bought it.