sharpshine

This past weekend I was washing and waxing my new (to me) 4Runner. I removed the center rails as suggest by a few on the Board, but also noticed that the black paint on the main (forward pointing) rails that are bolted to the roof is flaking off in places. I know a little about paint, enough to remove the rest and put on a new coat.
But, I do not know anything about auto paint and was curious if anyone had any (affordable) suggestions about a type and/or brand of paint that would be appropriate?

Sharpshine

Jay

How many miles on you 4Runner? There is a paint warranty. I am warranting a set for a guy next week. I forget the paint warranty, but I think it is 5 year 60k miles.

Jay

PhxTRDRunner

I haven't yet seen that we are supposed to remove the roof rails??? Should I do this too? I do live in AZ, so rain is limited, and rust is non-existant, but I don't want to take any chances..this is my truck for a long time to come...

getchellad

My factory roof rack was replaced by toyota after a year, because the paint was blistering so badly on it. The new one they put on has a much better coat of paint the one that came factory stock.
As Jay said, I would check to see if it's covered under warranty. I know for mine, if I were to have had to paint it, I would have needed to sand down most of the roof rack, to preven the new paint from flacking off.
Good Luck...

jalaber

If you do not use the rack too much, remove the 3 center rails. AZ dust is sure to get under them and it will buff the paint. Keep them in the cargo space and they can be mounted with the thumbscrews in seconds when needed.

SLC Punk

That's exactly what I did. My paint was scratched up under those rails so I took them off.

sharpshine

I called the Toyota dealer today to investigate the warranty as suggested by Jay and was told that the warranty covered paint issues within five years or 60K miles. I am almost to 59K. But the catch is there has to be rust breaking the surface!
I have no rust, but it will come. The main outer layer of paint has flaked off in a big way and what you see is the bare metal or the primed surface of the metal, but no rust.
So I am going to go to the dealer today to see if I can gently twist an arm or two and see if there can be an exception.

Sharpshine

PhxTRDRunner

I'm going out to take mine off right now, and wash the whole truck..I took one off, and sure enough, dust and grime the entire length, hopefully it cleans up ok.

Bob K

I don't know for sure, but I am betting that the racks are made of aluminum or some other light weight alloy and they will not rust, just look bad with the paint coming off.

Bob_98SR5

Yeah, looks like both my 98 and 99 does the same thing.

Also guys/gals, I remember a post awhile back in ODW where one of the 3rd gen guys (a 97 or 98) had some leaking coming through the holes there.

If any of you are working on the rack rails, might as well take them off, clean the surfaces, caulk the holes with silicone, and have some piece of mind.

Bob

sharpshine

After going to the dealership today I was told that the roof rack is considered an accessory and is covered only under the 3 year/ 36K warranty. So, that answers the question of whether it can be cover under warranty. Back to my first question. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about painting the rack, and with what?

PhxTRDRunner

Damn dealers.. :mad: I know when you buy a new 4runner you are told that you have a 5/60 warranty that covers EVERYTHING, there is no mention that parts that are currently on your new truck are not covered...I think that if something such as a roof rack are installed by Toyota before you take "new car" delivery, it should definately be covered.


Sorry...off on a rant there...

Anyways...as far as the painting goes, I would probably just make sure your prep work is good, sand it all down evenly and get to a good paintable surface before you start painting. That is going to be the most important part for sure, bad paint jobs are usually result of poor preparation. If it was me, I would probably put a coat of primer on first, then use a high quality flat black from a real paint store that they reccommend...I find myself down at the Dupont store every now and then when I have special paint needs...otherwise I just hit the local parts store.

btw- I removed mine today, washed and waxed underneath them..but I noticed that my cross rails that came off have a rubber seal under them that meets the roof? I see no where that could rust? Mine still look new?? Am I missing something? Does it rust underneath the rubber grommet?

sharpshine

Ralph,

My best guess is that over time the rails sitting on the surface of the paint will vibrate ever so lightly and will start to rub micro abrasions into the surface of the clear coat and then the paint, then before you know it, you have a double line of abraded paint underneath your rails.
Does it matter?, probably not. Will anyone see it? Not unless you tell them about it. But you will know...

Thanks for the advice on the paint.

Cebby

My 93 has the double line rub marks under my factory roof rack "slats". Mine have been off and on a couple of time for cleaning/waxing of the roof. Only the clearcoat seems to be affected.

I need to get me a Corey Cable "special edition".