"Texas Pinstripes" are fine
scratches running roughly horizontally on the side panels of a vehicle that has been driven
off-road through hard, thorny brush such as
mesquite or even
cactus, or on dirt roads with brush and trees encroaching upon the roadway. These usually light scratches tend to waver vertically a bit, in severe cases criss-crossing each other and running
stem to stern. These scratches can be removed by judicious application of
paste wax and
elbow grease if quite light or careful use of
rubbing compound (easy on the elbow grease) if more pronounced.
The presence (or traces) of Texas Pinstriping on a 4WD vehicle is evidence that it has been used for the intended purpose and is considered by most off-road enthusiasts to be a
rite of passage and a
badge of honor. Sooner or later an off-roader will have a close encounter with brush, whether through
inattention,
miscalculation,
poor navigation, or
unbridled exuberance. Campers,
hang glider and
paraglider pilots, and other people who like to get
up close and personal with nature also tend to get such pinstripes on their vehicles, even though they don't stray from the dirt roads and may drive in complete control, as mountain and forest roadway vegetation is only trimmed back periodically due to
budget constraints. Most of the legions of
SUVs in areas like
Southern California are predictably devoid of Texas Pinstripes, as shopping malls and grocery stores rarely allow brush to encroach upon their acres of parking lots.
Also known as "Arizona Pinstripes" or "Desert Pinstripes"