this one is an hour and a half away for $100, looks to have been repaired (and ad confirms that) I wasn't going to worry about it until the time comes but if they're hard to find, and it's 100 bucks, maybe I should grab it...depending on how the bottom looks

 

I sure wish that was near me. It sure would've been easier that what I went through.

 

Finally, I'm just about done with the tailgate and getting close on the whole truck. If I can spend the weekend on it, it will be ready for paint. Thinking about a color change now though. Thinking of silver with a black top, black wheels, bumpers, door handles, etc. I need to go through some old threads and decide how I'm going to install and trim out the windshield.

 

I couldn't get the primer to lay flat (orange peel), so I bought a $15 Harbor Freight paint gun and drilled out the nozzle to 5/64" which is approximately 2mm. That made a world of difference. I have practically no experience with this type of work, so this site and YouTube has been my guide. Thank you to everyone who have given me advice, previous posts, and encouragement.

 

Man, beautiful work. I'm envious of your skills. I bet you shoot paint much better than me, too.

I recently got a replacement vin plate that mounts on the dash(mine had been removed).
I had to remove the windshield. Rather than having the glass shop glue in the moldings while installing the new glass I did the FSM method. I like how it came out.
If you decide that route, and have questions, lmk.

 

I was recently trying to decide how I'm going to install the windshield. I don't have all the chrome, so I'm not trimming it out that way. I saw somewhere a rubber gasket opposed to glue. I was going to look at old threads here and decide, so I will most likely have some questions. Thank you for the offer of advice.

 

If I am ever blessed enough to have the choice, silver with black top would be my #1 pick too...but I do love the chrome trim on these trucks!

 

It looks like the weather is finally going to be warm enough to paint without the heat running next week, so I'm finally going to get to paint this thing. I'm sure looking forward to it.

 

What color will it be?
single stage or base/clear?

 

On the old paint job, the clear coat peeled all over it (after 20 years) so I decided to go with a single stage. The top will be a dark gray and the body light gray. I figure the


light gray will help hide many body imperfections. While I tried to do a good job, it's not my profession and my patience only goes so far.

 

This may show the color better. That area under the tailgate hinge was really time consuming and isn't even visible. Inner and out sheet metal was all rusted away and needed replaced.I must like it though. I'm thinking of pulling in the 82 pickup next winter and painting it. The problem is that I won't want to work out of it with new paint on it. I've already decided to retire the 4runner as a work truck after the paint job.

 

Despite what the paint shop said, I found single-stage results more satisfying than two-stage

 

That's good to know. I've just seen too many cars with the clear lifting for me to go with it. I can deal with waxing the finish occasionally.

 

+ 1 !

 

What do you mean by more satisfying?
I did mine base/clear but will probably spray the red one single. Factory ‘87 red didn’t have clearcoat originally anyhow.

 

Satisfying wasn’t the best word to use.
better I say I was able to achieve results I could live with.

 

I have a couple of runs to fix or re-shoot the front fender if I can't sand/buff it out, but overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. I'll post a few more pics after I get it back together

 

It looks very good!

 

Hey, that's a slick way to paint the gas filler door!

 

i agree! Clever.