When I first got my 4Runner, it was very clean. It needed a good polishing and waxing and it shined again. The only problem I could see was the paint on the bumpers/grille was a little weathered. So, I got to work and painted them to match how they used to look:

September? - 2007






Don't have a picture of the back bumper, but you can get the idea. Turned out pretty nice I think.

Buuuuttt... curiousity got me, and the paint was starting to weather a little again (I didn't clear any of it) and I decided it was time for a change. I always wondered what the bumpers and front end would like like with black, so I quickly rattlecanned my grill to give me an idea.

August - 2009



I really liked the look and decided hell, why not get to painting.

Since my truck had barely any chrome on it to begin with, I figured I'd black any of it out to match. So I went to the auto supply store and picked up black base and some clear. Also made sure to pick up some Jack Daniels and Coke.


Started tearing it apart:




Sanding all the pieces:




Because of the horrible design of the 2nd gen mudflaps, the sides of my back bumper were getting eaten away horribly


So we cut and grinded most of it out and left it as clean looking as possible:


I wanted the frame around the license plate painted so, that had to be sanded, masked off, and primed as well:




After everything was prepped and ready, my friend got to painting. (I probably would have did horrible.) And here's the finished product:




Not bad for a garage paint job with a crappy spray gun. I like it until I can afford some off-road bumpers. The paint went over just fine on the chrome mirrors after they were scuffed up. The pictures make it look REALLY shiny. In person it looks better

I removed the V6 logo because I figured it just didn't really need to be there. The chrome Toyota emblem was painted with a Lexus charcoal, but we're going to mix up some new paint to lighten it up a little. It's still too dark. Same with the back Toyota writing over the license plate. I didn't want to remove the front one totally because I thought it would look weird with just the stupid plastic line with 3 holes.

Since I'm not a fan of de-badging I still need to carefully mask off the area, take off the "SR5 V6" and "4Runner" emblems, paint them, and put them back on in masked area with some new....3M I believe?... tape.

Also to come: Black rims, new tint, clear turn signals and corner lights, and hopefully i the future find someone to import the clear/red Hilux Surf tail lights so I can get rid of the old yellow/red ones.

 

i don't like the look of the front end..might be cuz the paint is wet..or it is Gloss black..i think Semi-Flat or Flat would have looked 100% better lol

NICE job though bud!!!!

 

I would have ripped all that crap off and went with Warn, TJM, or something after market more durable!

 

I believe he said he can't afford after-market bumpers.

I concur with camo, semigloss or flat black would look way better. As for that Toyota emblem, no reason to hide it amongst all that black, put something with way more contrast on it.

 

nice job!

 

The paint was still pretty fresh when those pictures were taken. The paint was just a black base, not metallic or anything. So basically a plain gloss black. In the near future I might go with a Semi-Flat if I still have the same bumpers.

If I had the money, I DEFINATELY would have, but... cash is kinda low these days.

Yeah, like I said, the Lexus charcoal was a little too dark. I'm going to mix it with a little white to lighten it up, and spray it again and see how it turns out. Hopefully a nice light/medium grey to stand out against the black.


Here's another pic I just took today:

 

I am in a similar dilemma. I just painted my 91 Hilux with roll on Rustoleum Gloss White and it looks great, but the front bumper and valance now look like they could use some TLC.



The original paint is a metallic dark gray, and that's gonna be tough to duplicate. But I don't wanna go with a straight gloss black either.

I think a glossy color might be easier to wipe bugs off of, and won't soak in bug juice like a sponge as I suspect a flat color would. I may mix up a custom gloss non-metallic gray and try that.

 

Reaper5, What you did to your 4Runner is exactly what I wanna do with mine. I think it looks so beast with a flat black.. Mine is a 90 and exactly like yours except for the spare on the tailgate in the back.


Good Stuff!.

 

i like it, its pretty shiny but im sure its the light. nice job man

-matt

 

I did something similar on my runner.

Before (chrome *yuck*)


After some sanding and paint. Not a great pic but you get the idea.

 

Looks good reaper,I like the blackout in contrast to white body.I have a white 90 4Runner and now I know what it looks like.Think semi-gloss would tone down the shine when I do mine.Nice pics.

 

Let me know if you guys need any product. I have plenty in stock, including the coveted flat-black that's so popular these days. High quality stuff too; not the $.99 junk.

 

I did the same thing. Got rid of all the chrome except for the T-O-Y-O-T-A on the back.

 

Looks great!

I did the same thing

But I cut out the center of the grill and the lower valance and used black mesh to make my own grills. Looked awsume

 

I used Rustoleum Industrial Enamel Paint - Flat Black.
I've looked for this stuff in stores, no dice.
It's super tough stuff. Two coats of primer and two coats of paint. Been running it for almost a year (through springs = road gravel and rocks galore), and no chips.

 

Stuwy123, what exactly did you paint? Just the grille or the whole front end?

 

Looks like the grill/headlight outline and the bumper. I like it!

IIRC, in the BC they call Rustoleum "Tremclad". Try giving that name a whirl and see if you get any results.

http://www.tremcosealants.com/tremclad.asp

 

I am thinking about using a semi-gloss dark gray on the front of my truck. I wonder how that would look.

I'm even thinking of possibly using a medium gray, but that might look too weird, and I like the "stock" look too much to monkey with it like that.

 

Yep, here in Soviet Canuckistan we call it Tremclad, iirc they own the Rustoleum brand name up here or something like that.

 

Maybe the "Tremclad" brand name sounds more reassuring to Canadian ears than, "Rustoleum" does.

"Rustoleum? I dunno aboot that brand. Does it cause rust? Sounds bad. But that Tremclad. Sounds like quality paint. Don't they paint 'fishing boots' and 'heyooses' with that stuff? I'll take a gallon of that there Tremclad but I don't want nuthin' to do with the Rustoleum crap."