[MikeNN]

Before I delve into my question, let it be known I'm sick of paying a kings ransom for new vehicles only to find the paint job is as thin, unprotected & mickey mouse as you can get. Hit it with a key, have some moron open a car door on it or allow a shopping cart to bang into it & presto, an ugly, highly visible scratch. My new 2010 Tundra already has two "beauty's" on two doors

For the money we pay, you'd think car companies could lay it on thick & use a serious protective coating on them. But I guess that would eat into their almighty profit margin

Anyway, enough with my rant.....

I need to buy some business signs & I'm leaning toward magnetic signs so I can put them on & take them off as needed. My question is this, does anyone know if these signs will eventually ruin the paint job? I understand if you wash & wax it regularly it helps, but I live in Chicago & washing it in the winter isn't happening. I really can't see taking it through the washes constantly because it just get's filthy again within hours

If I wash/wax it by hand or take it through a wash maybe once every two weeks, do you think that will be enough to protect the paint from the "coodies" that may make it under the signs. And does anyone know if the sun light blocked from the signs leaves any discoloration between the sign area & the open area?

Thanks for any help on this

 

[bigMoney]

Chicago? You poor man. Anyways, they will scratch IF you aren't careful when you remove/install the signs. You will always have dirt or salt on the paint (especially in snow country) and when you install the mag sign or remove it it might move a bit. That's all it takes to grind the sand / grit / salt into the paint. Try to keep it as clean as possible especially just before you install them. Alternatively you could have the door painted with whatever is on the sign. Even if you clean the surface first and think once on there I'll never move them again they will still move a tiny bit every time you go over a bump. In a few years it'll look like chit. And of course the paint will look different if you just leave them on. Been there, done that.

 

[red4rr]

Why don't you get your rear window done with that tint sign. You will show your business and you can still see through it. I guess it is like that car wrap stuff. I would not put magnet signs on my truck.

 

[Barney_Fife]

if you are complaining about car doors and keys scratching the paint, then obviously you wont be able to take care of the paint anyway. kinda ridiculous to expect automobile painnt or any paint to hold up to metal objects. its not a protective film of anything. its a cosmetic finish. thats all. if u want tough, get the truck linex'd and then abuse it.

but for the signs, they WILL scratch and scuff the paint. just do the back window if you have to put something on there.

 

[spenser24]

RIP Billy Mays or he coulda helped you. That being said, I had a Grand Cherokee right after 911. I affixed a magnetic flag

to the back tail gate. Took it off for washing / waxing only. After 18 months or so, I noticed the flag outline on the gate. Bear in mind that it was in sunshine year round.

 

[Pinefang]

I would worry more about the magnets in the signs causing unintentional acceleration. Cause you know it's electromechanical forces that are causing it. Certainly it couldn't just be dumb *** people, or could it. Humm:car::car::car:

 

[MacCTD]

They will not scratch your truck as long as where you place them is spotless when you put them on, when you take them off lift a corner and pull them off while supporting the bottom of the magnet so it does not slide and you should not have any problem.
One of my friends owns a sign shop and he has a set on his truck during the week, no issues if you are careful and his truck is black.

 

[Art64]

Clean the surface first. Wax it, then apply another thicker coat of wax polish--the one that dries into a haze. This time let it dry and don't polish it. Stick the magnetic sign on the dried wax. Remove the sign once in a while and clean surface and re apply wax. You can polish the dried wax around the sign.

 

[smack]

You could always put 3M clear bra on the doors, then use magnetic signs and not have to worry about your keys.