Bump on this topic, I'm tackling this now, too. I've done the emblems on the front grill, the wheels, mirrors. Greg, did you remove the front grill to paint it? What about the headlights/corners? I can't figure out how to take the bloody grille off.

 

There are clips that need to be gently pushed down to release the grille from the core support. Look straight in at them from the front. Depress them (down) and pull on the grille to release it. I broke some clips figuring this out. I think there are 7 or 8 clips. The grille pulls forward away from the rig to remove it. BTW, take off the corners markers prior to working on the grille.

 

Have fun with those clips! They suck!!! I broke at least 4 or 5 when I pulled my grille off...

 

I've broken three without even attempting to pull the grille off.

 

Sounds like fun! Toyota loves those tabs. I broke two when I took my mirrors apart to paint them black...

 

hahaha....yep, I removed the grill to paint it. Took a shower with it ( ) to clean it up real good and sanded it a bit, primed it, painted. The grill isn't that hard to remove, but I broke a good 3 or 4 of those little bastards removing and replacing.

Luckily, it seems to stay on just fine with a lot fewer of them. Plus the air resistance when driving keeps it affixed even more.

Mike, when you put the new license plate surround on, how did your old one come off? I haven't looked at mine in a while, but I really would like to redo it. It was the first of my de-chroming project and I wanted to make it look like the other non-chrome bits.

And why did I do it? Mainly just to be different and I'm not really a fan of chrome. I think a red/black rig looks cool as hell (just gotta do the bumpers this summer). Love the looks of it now though...may even do the wheels, too.

 

I'm painting all my goodies the body color. I bought an extra surround. I forgot to take pics of the back of it. I'll do that today.

 

Here's a back shot with the fasteners called out: