Kingjerd

The old stock stripes were silver, faded, and chipping off. Instead of trying to track down some stripes or getting rid of them, we just masked them off and painted them. My awesome wife has more patience than me so she jumped on the masking work while me and couple buddies handled the paper, body pieces, and painting. This was done with some semi gloss black from Autozone and I'm pleased with it. Also, I've never seen black stripes, always gold or silver.

Along with the stripes, we did the front bumper, grille, and the plastic rock guards on the front of the rear fender wells.










Like is said its no professional job, but I hate chrome and I'm pleased with it. It's slight differences from other trucks that make it mine. Now time for a back bumper/hitch.

StewsRunner

iTrader: (1)

That looks awesome! That's a cool decal, i've never seen that one before

RAD4Runner

+1, and cooler wife who supports the Runner owner.

Resto-noob

iTrader: (3)

Very true. NONE of my wives have ever supported my Yota addiction. Consider yourself very lucky.

streetlancer

iTrader: (1)

Nice! It turned out great with the black on white theme.

^That's actually, pretty common. A lot of 4runners have those.

*darcy*

Looks great! are you going to put any kind of sealer over it? i've had bad luck with black paint fading over time.

Kingjerd

Thanks guys! Im in love with it. Like i said, just a different color of the factory decal. Cheap spray paint bonds to the old vinyl really well actually. The old vinyl isnt really going anywhere after 24 years of baking onto the truck so painting the vinyl was just plain easier. If it fades, Ill redo it. A couple of hours of work and $18 is easy to duplicate next year or whenever it needs it again. Chrome isnt easy to cover up so Im fully expecting the front end to need repainting before the stripes. Still though, as cheap as the whole deal was, I dont mind touching it up.

As for my wife, she grew up as a Jeeper.......She herself had a Wrangler on 35's so she totally gets the whole concept of a cheap 4 wheeling DD/toy. Now that we have three children she appreciates the added interior and cargo room of the Runner over her old Wrangler. Shes still all about having the 4wd topless truck too. I couldnt have been luckier or more blessed by meeting her!

michael1963

Excellent job man. Black on the white is very sharp. Kodo's also your your wife...it's all in the prep work!

*darcy*

i dont even bother taping off the front on the bumper/grille anymore, just shoot it with some black paint every 6 months or so and it stays looking nice.

I didnt even think of the fact that you were painting the vinyl and not the actual truck ... good deal.

I wish mine had the decals on it .. might look into getting some added, always loved the 'retro' look!

Kingjerd

Im still floored at how much of a difference the black made compared to the chrome. Especially around the front amber lenses. They pop out now where as before they were just kinda there.

Next project is the chrome window trim, door handles, and the tailgate....really not sure what Im gunna for the tail gate.

The windsheild is coming out soon for some rust repair before it goes all the way through the pillar. Theres one spot thats starting to bubble on the passenger A pillar. Im putting a stop to that mess quicky since my 1st runner was so rusted that the firewall started to collapse on itself in Hawaii. This one is a SoCal truck through and through so I will keep it rust free no matter what! Im keeping this one until my babygirl can learn to drive a 5 speed in it.....after her two sisters!

Im not all about body work though. Shes still a 4 wheeling truck when the chance presents itself. This is just a quick facelift. Functionality is still far more important that her looks, but she just passed the smog test last Friday so I figured I could pretty her up a bit.

Buckhunter95

Anybody else spot the 4Runner in the background of the last picture?

Ghost Town Hunter

Great look. Also a nice touch singing the praises for the wife. Those of us lucky enough to have them help should never leave them out of he glory!

Kingjerd

Yeah, I didnt even notice it back there until I was posting the pictures.


She's my Angel, Id be lost in life without her. We and our three girls ride quads, go wheeling, play RC cars, ride bikes together.....we are a close family! Currently looking for a SoCal tent camping spot that isnt TOO far out of the way since the littlest is only 2 (should worst case scenario occur) but is still away from San Diego.

MaK92-4RnR

Thats cool that your lady helped out. definitely a keeper.

RAD4Runner

Tnx for the post, Kingjerd! Some rust also starting around my windshield. Am considering doing away with the chrome trim. I have started to remove fender and rocker trims. They all catch water, especially since I plan to load kayaks on her. Wondering if OK to leave that channel open with good silicone sealant.


Tried Little Blair and Blair Valleys fall to spring? Primitive campsites but clean, and I like the way SUV's drive on the uneven but safe dirt roads in there.

Kingjerd

I wanna say ive seen that before and it was done correctly. However, Ive also read in a few spots that once to pull that chrome trim out, be prepared to see rust even on the cleanest of trucks. Hopefully yours isnt rusty. I hope mine is as minimal as it appears.





Awesome! Im gunna research those now!

islanderoffroad

Interesting... Might have to do the same on the stripes.

MattRX

Looks great! You've inspired me. I have the same truck/ problems.

JBurt

There are a lot of good spots in Cleveland National Forest out east past alpine. Burnt Rancheria is really big and has nice facilities. There are some mountain bike trails around there also. There is also Cibbets Flats. There is a creek running through it that is fun for kids and it is much smaller. Both places you can drive right up to the spot. You also can have fires there in the pits. When it gets cooler (October/November) there are tons of places in Anza Borrego State Park down here. It's great for trails and goofing around. Plus you can camp almost anywhere. But right now it's almost 8pm and it's 97* outside.

Great job with the paint. Looks really good.

Kingjerd

Thanks! I really didnt expect it to come out as good as it did. The paint really clings to that old baked vinyl.

Looks like its time to start making some camping plans. Any of these places ATV friendly as well? Id like to pull my trailer and bring the Lakota with us.