Restoring/refreshing/replacing trim

On my journey to doing a moderate restoration job on my 2006 double cab

i’ve already replaced the outer belt weatherstrips, which made a huge difference, particularly on the driver side

i’ve used several different plastic restoration products. I’m sure they won’t last permanently, but after giving it several coats they have with done well even after several weeks, rain showers and a few hand washes. However there are some parts it doesn’t make any difference.

The bed rail caps, for lack of the appropriate term, are totally unaffected. Still searching for the best options.

The lower portion of the grill, which is a faded black. I believe I saw where others re-painted

I have no idea what people are doing to the side molding where the top bead was once chrome.

The black rubber like seal between the wheel wells and quarter pans. I guess you just have to replace?

I don’t have any other choice but to repaint the hood, roof, and my new tailgate, which is primer black. I’ve just got to decide if I want to get the entire truck repainted. But the first 3 referenced areas can be painted with easier prep work and removing few if any other parts

any thoughts or suggestions are welcome, but I will keep digging through the forums to get ideas as well

 

Solution Finish is the best product to restore severely faded trim. It’s basically paint, and if that doesn’t do it nothing will. Be aware it’s going to stain any clothing or cloth it gets on. Just wipe any excess off the paint afterwards before it dries.

 

• The bedrail caps and most of the trim on these trucks are not black, it's more of a dark charcoal color; found this out because I replaced my mudflaps, and Griot's Trim Restorer basically got my old flaps the same color with a couple coats before I shipped out to other members.
• The side trim part you say is "chrome" on your truck isn't chrome on mine; it's metallic silver, like yours; I think I've only seen chrome used on the unpainted (black) ones but maybe I'm just crazy.
• I swear the the trim between the fender flare and body comes in both grey and charcoal, I looked up the part a few years back out of curiosity, thinking about replacing mine, then I realized I'm being stupid and anal-retentive, and the difficulty in replacing wasn't worth it b/c getting the flares off and on comes with its own realities (rust underneath, broken clips, PITA to reinstall). I wasn't wanting to deal with. "Let sleeping bears lie".

To that last point: There is a strong likelihood you will get zero benefit other than aesthetics. Are you sure it's worth it?

 

Also, the top of my steering wheel has a split about 8 inches long. I’m going to try some upholstery spray that from the videos is extremely tacky and it works very well I guess it depends on the condition under the surface as to how well it works

i’ve viewed a lot of threads on this site and others and didn’t see a lot of options. I do have a leather wrap I will try if all else fails and there are no better ideas

wish there were something I could do with the plastic chrome Toyota symbol in the middle. Most of the chrome portion has chipped off and faded.

 

The logo in the front center of the grille? It pops out via clips on the rear of the grille, you can swap it with another one. Part number 75311-0C020. All chrome decals can be found here: https://toyota-usa.epc-data.com/tundra/uck40/3806/body/7551/75311/

Steering wheel: Our steering wheel is shared with multiple Toyota makes/models and you can buy a nice matching used one on fleaBay for under $100. I got an upgraded leather-wrapped out of a 2006 4Runner in charcoal grey with all steering controls for $101 shipped. The following years share our wheel:

• Toyota 4Runner (2003-2009)
• Toyota Highlander (2004-2007)
• Lexus LX470 / GX470 / Toyota Land Cruiser (2003-2007)
• Lexus LX470 / GX470 / Toyota Land Cruiser (1998-2002)
• Toyota Camry (2005-2006)
• Toyota Sienna (2004-2010)
• Toyota Tacoma (2005-2011)

Loncky also makes a wrap, which when done right, looks great but it's $60, and you can get a replacement steering wheel from a junkyard at that price (fleaBay is always a bit infalated): https://www.tundras.com/threads/200...pic-heavy-little-ot.75017/page-6#post-2502116

I feel like you may be getting a little too deep in the weeds on this one, miring over the small bits. Chin up, focus on the big stuff

 

I definitely get too deep in the weeds. No doubt about that. But what would you do with a 8 to 10 inch split on the top of your steering wheel?

 

Replace the steering wheel, honestly. It's less than $150 for a pristine steering wheel used if you hunt out bargains, and it's literally the one thing in the vehicle you have your hands on constantly while driving, refreshing it with a newer/undamaged part is a no-brainer.

What color interior do you have?

 

And do you have a picture of the split in question?

 

upon further review I think replacement is definitely the best option

 

Yeah that's toast.

I mean, if you wanted to go whole-hog and upgrade everything at a premium: https://www.ebay.com/itm/155782968014

Or if you want barebones, $90 shipped: https://www.ebay.com/itm/264230834953

There's other options. Go to fleaBay. Search for two-digit END year, i.e. 06 Tundra steering wheel, then - and this is super important - from the left-hand side, find the "USED" checkbox and tick it.

You may also try:

• 06 Sequoia steering wheel
• 07 Sequoia steering wheel
• Any of the others in that list above

I recommend sticking with Tundra/Sequioa and 05/06/07 for the year only because there's a near-certain likelihood the interior trim colors will match.

 

The one in the middle of the steering wheel, but that point may be moot if I replace the steering wheel

 

Oh, and if you want an exact color match, you can get your trim color code and add that to the search terms, like 06 tundra steering wheel Fb11

You know where to find your trim code?

There's a sticker somewhere on the truck with this info too, but it was also on my printout from the Toyota Owners website. I'm charcoal grey, one of the three variants of it.

 

I believe that pops out of the airbag cover, but not positive. The airbag cover is part of the airbag assembly IIRC. It's not a part in the parts system, it's part of complete airbag assembly.

 

I’m gonna read back over all of your posts ITT. I would really love to get a leather one. I don’t care about the steering wheel controls. It does not have them now and I don’t use them in my car even though they’re there. Old-school, I suppose

 

it is taupe, although, for some reason, the tundra owner site will not pull up my information this morning even though I've already created the account and already have the VIN entered,


And I do want the leather steering wheel, however, does that require a change in the airbag/center piece of the steering wheel as well?

I did order one of the leather wraps that is custom-made for the steering wheel. It is supposed to completely cover the steering wheel however, I'm not extremely happy with the color it is a light gray

all of the used leather steering wheels I saw on eBay already had issues where the leather was deteriorating or at least the color. I do have a well rated kit for leather and color repairs, but not sure I have the confidence it would hold up on the steering wheel

 

I hope I'm answering what you're asking, but ... the wheel itself is just a cage, really, and that same cage is used across multiple models, with a varying colored surround. The plastics from your wheel, the airbag, everything should swap right over, regardless which model it was used for.

I've looked at about 200 of these wheels from various models, the steel internals for every model in the list I posted above (taken from this thread) used the same steel cage, with the same holes for accessories, in the same places, all the same. The one major difference I noticed is this .... some models, like the 2006 4Runner I nabbed my leather wheel from, had this interesting counterweight at the top of it that gives the wheel more "heft" to it. It was a pain in the ass to remove those two screws holding it in (they were threadlocked), but I pulled it out.

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And just to drill home that point, here is a generic/re-pop wheel from PRC/mainland China specifically, which is not OEM. This is what our steering wheels look like when you remove all the plastics and accessories. If you compare all the little bumps and hole in this with my OEM installed one above, you'll see it essentially matches mine totally, and this is not even OEM. I could've bought something like this at a fair price, but I suspected the wood wouldn't match, and I prefer the feel of leather in my hand. You gotta realize, Toyota would blow an absurd amount of money having to change their assembly line to make unique wheels for each vehicle/badge in their fleets. So they don't. The core part is the same, and you use plastic and leather (the cheaper stuff) to skin it to look differently.

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if it matches 100%, then I would prefer a new leather one however I don't have woodgrain anywhere, and, like you, I prefer the feel of leather


I'm probably missing something, but I could've sworn I read somewhere that if you had the controls, it had a smaller center/airbag.

Edit: I guess I'm still half asleep, but after looking at those pictures again, are the controls not actually part of the steering wheel?

 

side note: I downloaded the Toyota app today I think it's interesting that my truck shows up with the limited slip differential there but when you look on the website, it does not have that detail, and that is what I assumed led to the mistake in differential fluid since they use the VIN to determine which df to use




And my interior is listed as taupe

 

Controls have a single screw and an alignment pin or two that hold them in-place. I can link you up with a thread with pics if you want to see that.

Yes, airbag *cover* is different between wheels with and without controls. But the cover is swappable, technically, and all airbags for the 1st gen - all I’ve seen at least, with this wheel, the airbag is simply held in with one screw on each side of the wheel, hidden under the little plastic cover you’ll see on the side of the wheel plastics. I can’t say if the airbag is a different width too, but it seems illogical Takata would’ve done that, it would’ve made production more difficult via lack of uniformity, honestly.

But at the core, the wheel shell itself is identical, you just need a vehicle with matching color. And if you need to compare at a local junkyard, take one of those side trim pieces that hide the airbag bolts with you so you have a color reference on-hand. Don’t be dissuaded by the airbag cover or controls.

 

yes please, thanks Shifty

 

Check this thread which I've been building for steering wheels, controls, tying controls into radio, etc.:

https://www.tundras.com/threads/1st-gen-steering-wheel-radio-phone-controls-info-dump.131492/

Specifically throw your eyeballs on reply #5 it'll show you all you need to install/swap controls. Basically you have these two guide pins circled in red to help you guide the controls into place, then the blue circle is where the OEM screw holds them tight. (actually there may be a 3rd pin at the bottom of each also, I see the nub now!)

And when installed, those are essentially here, if I'm not mistaken.

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@shifty`


I've got this in my basket on eBay but when I put in my vehicle it says it does not fit.

I went ahead and ordered it. It should fit. Not sure if it's the same color. Mine is taupe this looks more tan

 

Colors online tend to be deceiving. My steering wheel looked black online, looks black in my dark garage, looks charcoal in sunlight. Hopefully it’s about right, but there can be slight variations in color codes between years and models.

 

Hope so this one seems to be in great shape. I could not see any blemishes on it in the picture. None of the leather color is fading away From wear

 

You're right about the colors being deceiving. I was very fortunate. It just arrived and it is my interior color. And believe it or not is in near mint condition. Only signs of wear are near the bottom by the threads where it is stitched together

Leather steering upgrade for 140 bucks. With tax and shipping totaled just under 170. And my old one was totally shot anyway

 

Win-win-win! congrats on your upgrade

 

Thanks!

I think I have that same situation with my seats from jy relatively close by

My drivers cloth totally shot needing foam etc and passenger rough too. Believe i found pair of matching leather power seats from 2007 sequoia cheaper that reupholstering existing seats and they appear to be in great shape