New 2021 Cement DC Limited

Anyone know if you can pull off the black step pads on the brushed stainless steel steps? (30917-02)

There are screws underneath but I was able to hand turned them and they just spin. So I don’t know if just a tab/plug or do the screws hold/lock the pads down.

Just wondering because I’m going to dip them with the dark dip I have. They came out nice but on the lighter side and sorta have a bluish tint. I think it would be nicer to get the dip partially under the pads. An inch or two would be fine.

 

What a Beautiful day! Sunshine and above average temps. So I was able to get this project underway and all wrapped in about an hour and a half. Really really took my time and it all went smoothly.

Very happy with the outcome! A couple pictures of the “job complete”.

Oh and the most important part of the job…..labeling and bagging

A Before & After picture

 

A quick tip for anyone ever thinking of removing the front valance/fascia. The 3 screws that are attached to the bumper caps are a nightmare to reach especially the bottom. You can get the top two using a small ratchet but need a small wrench to get to that bottom.

Got big hands? It’s really gonna be tough in that small space. So I reattached mine thru the fog light opening. Much much easier to reach all 3 screws.

Anyway that’s my 2 cents.

 

Not sure what the resale value is on the chrome surround & bulge plus the older style pro grille. I’ll look over the “for sale” stuff and see what others have sold for.

 

Tomorrow I hope to get the gaskets on my Fender Flares and hopefully have those installed before the weekend.

Life of course happens so I’ll first go to do bloodwork and might as well do whatever errands need to be done then finally get back home and start the flares.

Like to get door handles dipped as well as the cup holder chrome trim, shift gate and the other piece of trim in that center shift area. This week it will be done…… as long as the weather forecasters are correct with No Rain for a few days anyway.

Oh and new tires Wednesday!

 

Installed the Gaskets on my freshly color matched Bushwacker OE Style Fender Flares (30917-02)
Half the gasket roll was pretty kinked up. Not sure how that happened and why only half was sorta messed up.

I started with the 2 rear flares and I’m not pleased with the outcome. A couple kinks around some of the curved areas just can’t adhere properly. Slight kink keeps pulling the gasket away.

Emailed Bushwacker to see if they can send me a replacement gasket. When I receive it I’ll pull the messed up one off both the rear flares and redo both.

Both of the front flares came out perfect. No issues whatsoever. Gasket was in very good condition.


New Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs this afternoon! Went with stock size: 275/65/18s. No Leveling kit or lift plans

 

Decided to Dip a few things today!

The Chrome Door Handles, Chrome Shift Gate, Chrome Cupholder and the other grayish/silverish trim piece

I know a lot of people remove the plastic piece around the shifter which is semipermanently attached. They drill out the plastic welds and then release the tabs.

I think you have to do that to install the ajt trim piece but since I’m only dipping it I really didn’t want to go thru all that and just wrapped what I didn’t want to spray.

Came out pretty nice. I like that Dark Gray dip. I did give everything several coats of Matte Clear Enamel to help protect and harden the dip.

A few pictures for you all to checkout and I’m happy to answer any questions and appreciate your comments/opinions

A few Before and Afters

 

Very nice! Got my sway bar hardware and got the bar on after work today.

 

Do you tow. Not sure the purpose of the sway bar otherwise

 

Yeah about 4k and I got a aluminum boat. Just riding around, it helps alot with cornering. The ones I test drove had em and I liked the response it has versus without.

 

Decided to “Redo” the Brushed Stainless Steel Steps. Really wasn’t feeling the Gunmetal Gray. Looked too lite and sorta Blueish. I just prefer that Dark Gray……it seems to go well with the Cement exterior.

So I just sprayed over the gunmetal gray with Anthracite Gray which is much darker. Then several coats of Matte Clear Enamel.

Won’t reinstall until tomorrow. Want to give the dip a day to cure. I’ll take a Before & After picture tomorrow

 

It’s a Gray Day!

Reinstalled the Brushed Stainless Steel Steps after changing them to a Darker Gray

Came out pretty good. Looks way better than the Blueish Gunmetal Gray.

Before and After pictures

 

Fed Ex dropped off my Replacement Gasket for the Fender Flares today!

So hopefully I’ll get those Flares installed this week. First tho “The Devil’s Backbone” needs a Wash and Wax!

 

Finally installed the Fender Flares today!

 

Ordered the Drivers Side Grab Handle yesterday and picked it up today!

Probably install this weekend. Looks to be like a 10 minute job.

Part Numbers:

$198 62220-0C050-B0 Windshield Pillar Garnish

62220-0C050-B0
74610-0C082-B0

Those parts are for GRAY plastic interior trim.

 

Washed today and I hope to start with a sealer tomorrow followed by a couple coats of wax!

Probably install the drivers side Grab Handle too!

 

Got a coat of sealer on and two coats on the roof/top but ran out of time so I hope to continue tomorrow.

Another coat of sealer, then a couple coats of wax, and lastly a good buffing.

Definitely plan on installing the Drivers side Grab Handle too!

 

Yesterday The Devil’s Backbone got a wash and a coat of sealer.

Today another coat of sealer and 2 Coats of Wax!

Also installed the Drivers Side Grab Handle and my seatbelt pads. Now I need a bolt/washers/nut so I can install my tow cover. Went with the flag/Pledge of Allegiance which actually matches the front plate on my other Toyota.

 

Ahh……Nice having that grab handle getting into the truck. Way better than grabbing the steer wheel.

Definitely no sight issues with it so no idea why it didn’t come stock.

 

We Survived the Nor’easter/Hurricane! Lots of tree damage and No Power for a couple days but No Serious Damage.

Vehicles covered in leaves so gave them a quick rinse to insure no sap/residue damage.

Man that was one Crazy Powerful Storm. Winds reached 116mph on the outer cape so we were lucky with only 80mph winds.

Glad everyone in my neighborhood faired well. Still cleaning up debris/branches.

Sad to see the loss of my Big Beautiful Blue Spruces.

 

Received my Tufskinz order today.

Ordered the 4 vent bezel trim rings, the steering wheel trim and the bezel accent trim pieces

Have to say I was a little disappointed. Not in the quality of the product. It looks top notch, very well made, and feels like it will be very durable.

My disappointment is more in myself for not really looking it over. Very happy with the vent rings! They will look perfect but I do plan on dipping them dark gray to go with all the other gray I’ve been using on the inside and out.

The other 2 items I for some reason thought they would Completely Cover the areas, but that’s not the case. I shoulda looked at it more closely and not sure I woulda purchased them. Again, quality seems Top Notch, no beef with the product, only with myself for not looking more closely.

Anyway, after I dip them all gray and get them installed I’ll decide whether or not to keep them. It was pricey so the hit is all on me.

I’m just not sure how it will look with some of the stock piece/color still showing. I went with these cuz I figured it was much simpler than taking the entire dash apart to remove the trim pieces, dip them, then reinstall.

I’ll post a picture once I get it all finished. Definitely happy with the vent rings. That chrome trim is almost as annoying as the cupholder chrome trim.

 

So I’ve been thinking it over and I might keep the bezel accent trim. It doesn’t cover all the stock trim but it still might look decent.

The steering wheel trim I’m going to return and get a refund. I just don’t like the way it doesn’t go all the way around the top buttons.

Anyway, I watched a couple YouTube videos and it looks really easy to open up the steering wheel and remove the airbag then pull out the trim pieces. Once out I’ll dip the entire piece(s) with the dark gray/a couple coats of clear enamel and then reassemble.

Oh well……just when I thought the projects were done another one pops up!

 

Sticker/Decal Day!

Went a little Crazy with the Stickers and Decals today. Started with the name of my Tundra……

“The Devil’s Backbone”

Then a U.S. Flag and Never Forget 9-11 Sticker/Decals on the Drivers Side Rear Window.

Also Black U.S. Flags above the 5.7L Badge (Flags are about 1/8” thick)

Lastly the U.S. Flag with the Pledge of Allegiance Tow Cover.

 

Yesterday I didn’t have enough time to install the last badge/sticker/decal on the tailgate (Texas Edition) so hopefully I’ll get that done today! I’ll try to post a picture if I have enough time.

Somebody asked me “What’s with “The Devil’s Backbone” name”?

Well a couple things actually. It starts with my Favorite Muscle Car of all, even tho I’ve had numerous, my ZL1 6 Speed Manual with No Lift Shifting and Launch Control, was just so much fun to drive, especially at Wide Open Throttle just tearing thru the gears. Wow what a Beast of a machine, 580HP stock which I bumped up to just around 645HP.

It was by far the fav of all my LE pals and with its reputation from Jeremy Clarkson who once said “Only 2 kinds of people drive those cars: Drug Dealers and Murderers”. Hahaha. Yeah……so it may have been used/borrowed a few times by LE pals for who knows what…and Yes they always swapped out the tags.

Anyway, it quickly earned the nickname “The Devil’s Nightmare”.

And somehow I ended up purchasing land in Texas Hill Country……yep you guessed it…… along the Devil’s Backbone. So I’ve sorta stuck with the theme.

The Devil’s Nightmare

The Devil’s Backbone

The Devil’s Mirage (newest Toy in the Toy Box)

Pics Below:

 

Last of the stickie things on the tailgate “Texas Edition”

 

Another bath and spa day!

Winter is Coming

So a quick wash/rinse and then coated with THREE COATS of a Ceramic Graphene.

Gotta say I really like this stuff (Shine Armor) IMO it’s a super easy product and I use it on everything. Windows, Black Trim, Plastics, and it leaves the truck slippery smooth.

Also have their Quick Coat Ceramic spray. Hopefully it will holdup thru the 5-6 months of crappy winter weather.

 

Took the truck in yesterday to the paint shop that did the Fender Flares so the guy could “Cut and and Buff” the paint.

Wow! Flares look Awesome. I thought they looked great already but now they are/look perfect. Just like they came from the factory/OEM.

Very Happy!

 

Looked at the Cement Tufskinz air vent rings that I ordered and after holding them up against the vents……not feeling the Cement color on the ring overlays. So I’m gonna go with the gray dip/clear enamel instead.

Hopefully tomorrow’s weather will be nice and I can get them, plus the wheel hub Toyota emblems, done and off the to do list. Checkmark please ✔️ !

 

The Tufskinz Air Vent Rings are very well made. Nice heavy thickness feeling to them and seem to really fit well. Just did a dry fit and they do completely cover all the chrome. I used a small piece of tape to hold it in place so I could take a picture.

Tho I’m not feeling the Cement color so I will be dipping them Gray. Once dipped I’ll do a dry fit again just so I can stand back and see how they look in Gray.

Picture below of the way they came packaged. Well packaged and no damage whatsoever from the shipping process.

They are also marked “Inside” and “Outside”. The outside rings are a little deeper and slightly thicker. The inside vent rings also fit perfectly on the inner vents and covered all the chrome during the dry fit. But if you dry fit them wrong, stick an inner ring onto the outer vent, it definitely will NOT cover all the chrome.

Hopefully I won’t goof that up come install time. I imagine once stuck in place they are stuck pretty good and might get damaged trying to remove them. Oh well fingers crossed.

 

Primed w/several coats of Black Dip, then finished with 3-4 coats of Gray.

I’ll let all the pieces cure overnight and tomorrow spray 4-5 coats of clear matte enamel. Probably let them cure overnight one more time then do the install. Might even give them all a couple coats of ceramic spray.

Anyway a couple pictures of the first or second coat of black. Then the 3rd picture is them all finished in Gray. Hard to tell in the picture the difference between the black and Gray but next to a black piece you can really see the difference.

So we have the 4 Vent Rings, the 4 Wheel Hub Emblems, and the one larger is the Steering Wheel Overlay.

Woulda done the clear today but the temperature got to cool to fast.