Dinged doors vs. Bird poop vs. Sun Damage? Which one would you pick?

If you had to choose one thing to damage your Ranger's paint, which would you choose?


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alazar14

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Hi all,

I find myself in the unfortunate situation of having to pick what type of damage I want my truck to incur long-term given my living situation. I recently moved to an apartment in San Bernadino, and have found it quite difficult to keep my truck out of trouble. Given where I am, I have 3 choices that I can see regarding where I can park my truck.

I can park it right outside my apartment window, easily visible to me at all times, on the curve in a not so busy residential road. When parking on the road, I can park out in the 90-100 degree sun (where usually the sun will do the damage), or under the nice shade of a tree, where bird poop will rain down on the paint over time. Alternatively, I can park in my assigned car port, next to my two neighbors who both have extremely dinged up cars with door edge damage the likes of which you wouldn't believe. Oh, the the car port is on a side incline where the door of the car to my left (which by the way has an entirely busted back window since I moved here, and damage like you wouldn't believe) would easily go flying right into my passenger side door causing quite a few dents over time.

For now, I have chosen to park on the street, under the hot sun most days, while moving my truck into shade spots where they become available, and cleaning off bird poop at least twice a day. I also wash my car once per week, and use Megiuar's Hybrid ceramic wax to polish it up (will prob do this every 60 days). Further, I don't take my truck to work, as I work in a college with extremely limited and cramped parking spaces. I just scooter my ass to work 2.5 miles each way.

I have a sun visor to prevent as much damage to the inside as possible as well.

So, given my three options, which would you choose?

I have considered buying a car cover, but the massive amount of sand/dirt in this area would get caught under the cover and cause scratches. I have also thought about buying door ding protectors (magnet after market ones since Ford doesn't make any), but those also cause paint damage / scratches long term.


Ugh! The frustrations that come with trying to keep a new vehicle in as "like new" condition as possible, without having a garage.
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CoastieN70

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Nothing pisses me off more than a door ding from some inconsiderate bastard. Being unfortunate enough to be a Disabled Veteran with license plates to prove my status, I get to park in the nice wide handicap parking spaces and the odds of a door ding are lessened.
As to bird poop, any one that leaves that shit (pun intended) sit for longer than the next service station and a wet paper towel from the window wash or head, deserves to get paint damage, you can't avoid a strafing run by crows sparrows or condors but you can clean it off.
Sun damage, keep it clean and keep paint protection on (wax or polymer product) and you'll keep that to a minimum...
So basically, do your part and your paint will look good for a long, long time...
you don't have to be obsessive, just diligent... :)
 

BaGMaN

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unless your neighbors have a truck, nerf bars or rock sliders block most door dings. car wash when ya fill up covers most everything else. for the inside, a high end uv/heat blocking tint is great. they make a 70% that doesn't darken the windows and it can be put on the windshield.
 
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Lunchbox88

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Anything but the door dings! Already had to spend an evening buffing a scratch out of truck.
 

GrayGen

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Hi all,

I find myself in the unfortunate situation of having to pick what type of damage I want my truck to incur long-term given my living situation. I recently moved to an apartment in San Bernadino, and have found it quite difficult to keep my truck out of trouble. Given where I am, I have 3 choices that I can see regarding where I can park my truck.

I can park it right outside my apartment window, easily visible to me at all times, on the curve in a not so busy residential road. When parking on the road, I can park out in the 90-100 degree sun (where usually the sun will do the damage), or under the nice shade of a tree, where bird poop will rain down on the paint over time. Alternatively, I can park in my assigned car port, next to my two neighbors who both have extremely dinged up cars with door edge damage the likes of which you wouldn't believe. Oh, the the car port is on a side incline where the door of the car to my left (which by the way has an entirely busted back window since I moved here, and damage like you wouldn't believe) would easily go flying right into my passenger side door causing quite a few dents over time.

For now, I have chosen to park on the street, under the hot sun most days, while moving my truck into shade spots where they become available, and cleaning off bird poop at least twice a day. I also wash my car once per week, and use Megiuar's Hybrid ceramic wax to polish it up (will prob do this every 60 days). Further, I don't take my truck to work, as I work in a college with extremely limited and cramped parking spaces. I just scooter my ass to work 2.5 miles each way.

I have a sun visor to prevent as much damage to the inside as possible as well.

So, given my three options, which would you choose?

I have considered buying a car cover, but the massive amount of sand/dirt in this area would get caught under the cover and cause scratches. I have also thought about buying door ding protectors (magnet after market ones since Ford doesn't make any), but those also cause paint damage / scratches long term.


Ugh! The frustrations that come with trying to keep a new vehicle in as "like new" condition as possible, without having a garage.

Is there a chance you can trade carports?
 


Anthony

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all-three.jpeg




Kidding. I'd go for the sun or the tree.

Or move.
 

DBaz

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Takes a lot of time for chemicals (bird poop, tree sap, etc.) to get through the clear coat, and only if you let it sit there...only takes once with a bad door ding.

Car interiors these days don't have the problems with sun damage older ones did. On the exteriors, you can still get some paint fade, especially on red vehicles, but it takes years.
 

Ric

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Is there a chance you can trade carports?
Hi all,

I find myself in the unfortunate situation of having to pick what type of damage I want my truck to incur long-term given my living situation. I recently moved to an apartment in San Bernadino, and have found it quite difficult to keep my truck out of trouble. Given where I am, I have 3 choices that I can see regarding where I can park my truck.

I can park it right outside my apartment window, easily visible to me at all times, on the curve in a not so busy residential road. When parking on the road, I can park out in the 90-100 degree sun (where usually the sun will do the damage), or under the nice shade of a tree, where bird poop will rain down on the paint over time. Alternatively, I can park in my assigned car port, next to my two neighbors who both have extremely dinged up cars with door edge damage the likes of which you wouldn't believe. Oh, the the car port is on a side incline where the door of the car to my left (which by the way has an entirely busted back window since I moved here, and damage like you wouldn't believe) would easily go flying right into my passenger side door causing quite a few dents over time.

For now, I have chosen to park on the street, under the hot sun most days, while moving my truck into shade spots where they become available, and cleaning off bird poop at least twice a day. I also wash my car once per week, and use Megiuar's Hybrid ceramic wax to polish it up (will prob do this every 60 days). Further, I don't take my truck to work, as I work in a college with extremely limited and cramped parking spaces. I just scooter my ass to work 2.5 miles each way.

I have a sun visor to prevent as much damage to the inside as possible as well.

So, given my three options, which would you choose?

I have considered buying a car cover, but the massive amount of sand/dirt in this area would get caught under the cover and cause scratches. I have also thought about buying door ding protectors (magnet after market ones since Ford doesn't make any), but those also cause paint damage / scratches long term.


Ugh! The frustrations that come with trying to keep a new vehicle in as "like new" condition as possible, without having a garage.
I feel your pain. I got the 3M ceramic window tint for the front two windows and I use a windshield cover when I park my truck at home and at work in San Bernardino. I also used the ceramic wax to help keep the finish looking new. Good luck!
 
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alazar14

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Takes a lot of time for chemicals (bird poop, tree sap, etc.) to get through the clear coat, and only if you let it sit there...only takes once with a bad door ding.

Car interiors these days don't have the problems with sun damage older ones did. On the exteriors, you can still get some paint fade, especially on red vehicles, but it takes years.
I'm going to go ahead and disagree here lol ... only from experience with the paint on this truck. A day after posting this, I left the house to go on a short road trip (about 100 miles) for the day. That morning, I washed / waxed the truck using Meguiars Ceramic Wax Hybrid. . Everything looked great. Well, sometime throughout the day a bird pooped on the center roof of my truck. I didn't notice it because of the location, until late that afternoon around 5:30 p.m. When I went in to try to remove it, permanent clear coat etching damage was already done. Yes, it still feels as smooth as the rest of the clear coat, so the staining is probably only surface damage that can be sanded / polished out, but its very annoying. I'm going to start parking in my car port and pray to god that the running boards stop the door dings. Having come from a 2002 and 1995 car and jumping to a 2019 vehicle, I'm constantly being disappointed by the quality of contemporary auto paint / thinness of the panels.
 

j_slate

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Hi all,

I find myself in the unfortunate situation of having to pick what type of damage I want my truck to incur long-term given my living situation. I recently moved to an apartment in San Bernadino, and have found it quite difficult to keep my truck out of trouble. Given where I am, I have 3 choices that I can see regarding where I can park my truck.

I can park it right outside my apartment window, easily visible to me at all times, on the curve in a not so busy residential road. When parking on the road, I can park out in the 90-100 degree sun (where usually the sun will do the damage), or under the nice shade of a tree, where bird poop will rain down on the paint over time. Alternatively, I can park in my assigned car port, next to my two neighbors who both have extremely dinged up cars with door edge damage the likes of which you wouldn't believe. Oh, the the car port is on a side incline where the door of the car to my left (which by the way has an entirely busted back window since I moved here, and damage like you wouldn't believe) would easily go flying right into my passenger side door causing quite a few dents over time.

For now, I have chosen to park on the street, under the hot sun most days, while moving my truck into shade spots where they become available, and cleaning off bird poop at least twice a day. I also wash my car once per week, and use Megiuar's Hybrid ceramic wax to polish it up (will prob do this every 60 days). Further, I don't take my truck to work, as I work in a college with extremely limited and cramped parking spaces. I just scooter my ass to work 2.5 miles each way.

I have a sun visor to prevent as much damage to the inside as possible as well.

So, given my three options, which would you choose?

I have considered buying a car cover, but the massive amount of sand/dirt in this area would get caught under the cover and cause scratches. I have also thought about buying door ding protectors (magnet after market ones since Ford doesn't make any), but those also cause paint damage / scratches long term.


Ugh! The frustrations that come with trying to keep a new vehicle in as "like new" condition as possible, without having a garage.
Get some rock sliders or running boards that still out far enough to protect your doors. If that’s not enough then add a lift to make the sliders/boards more level with their door. But because the rear doors of most cars are curved this only protects against the driver and passenger doors, so gotta have a different solution for the rear.
 

dano42

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Is moving a choice? J/K, sun damage is probably the least obnoxious to me. If I park outside the garage, I will get bird poop and tree resin.
 

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Door dings of course. One phone call to a good PDR guy and they are magically gone. All the others call for a respray, or at least hours of buffing and polishing.
 

Gsxrdoug

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All three are a nightmare. The bird poopy out here is VERY acidic and will eat through our paint like an Australian eating a Pie.
 

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