I am trying to find a site that i could buy replacement gray cladding panels for my 2003 4Runner. If anybody knows of any sites it would be appreciated.

 

I can't find the picture but I saw one where a guy took it to a body shop and had them sanded down (removing the stupid humps), scuffed them, and painted them either black or the same color as the body. This might be cheaper than replacing them.

 

by cladding, are you referring to the plastic side panels? like the fender arches and what-not?

if you're just replacing them because of fading paint or a few scratches, I'd just assume sand them and paint them yourself. but that's just the kind of person I am; I want to just do everything myself the problem you would face then though is that your truck is already black, so if you where to just try to paint them black, you'd have to find a paint that matches pretty close.

I did this on my old 91 Pickup to the little plastic side thingys in front of the rear tires. they were just dyed plastic, and they started discoloring, so I just sanded them and painted them black and laid some clear coat on them, all from a rattle can, and it ended up looking pretty good on a white truck in my opinion





now if you're replacing them because they're damaged and completely unusable, then your best bet would be a scrap yard. I work for a company called LQK, and 4Runner and Tacomas are pretty hot, so a local place would more than likely have a few in. couldn't tell you how much they would cost though

 

I am just wanting to replace two panels that have a pretty deep scratch going across them. Mine aren't faded at all, so i just want to replace those two and keep them gray. That is why i am trying to find them myself, so i can just replace them myself.

 

I am looking to buy a Black 2003 4Runner SR5 ( 74000 miles ) but I am concerned that I will have problems with the side pannels ( thought maybe painting them Black with bed linner coating )maybe last longer also not sure about the V8 motor.

 

I had some pretty deep scratches in mine and I was able to wet sand them down like I would scratches in gel coat on a boat and then used a heat gun which brought back the shine. In fact I used the heat gun on all of my panels to remove the oxidation and give them a newer although slightly darker look. I like it better than the original because I have black rims. A lot of guys on the 4Runner forum have done this.