Well... I said I wasn't going to mod much, but...

I really didn't think I was going to do this much today, like, at all! But, my son and I decided to do a bunch of cosmetic mods today. We planned on doing one item, and it snowballed into a bunch more as there was waiting time for paint to dry, etc. So we decided to do several things all at once. I'll list them below and let you know how it went and how I like the results.

Pics will be below.

-Hood Bulge and Grill Surround, black chrome paint kit. Not exactly happy with the turnout.
-Bumper endcap Chrome Delete with RustOleum Peel Coat. Front and rear. I knew going into it that for $25, it was going to be a temporary thing for me. And I really liked how it turned out, more prep on my part would've created an even better end result.
-B-Pillar vinyl removal. Very easy to do and I love the extra paint color showing now. Use of a hairdryer was extremely helpful.
-Paint chip and small scratch reduction with a color-matched paint pen and clearcoat kit. This also turned out MUCH better than anticipated. Also, randomly decided to use the hair dryer to even out the paint and clearcoat, and it worked ridiculously well.
-Painted the front tow hooks a bright red. Really makes it "pop" as the kids say.

Took all day, but I feel it was worth it.
Before:



After(s):


The Black Chrome on the grill surround and hood bulge is not shiny, and is almost entirely my fault. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing with spraypaint. I think I went too fast, and the nozzle was turned 90 degrees so the "fan" was horizontal instead of vertical, then I got flustered, and decided that this will probably be temporary as well. It's dark by the time I got it all done, so we'll see what the daylight shows us tomorrow.

 

Oh, also, I'm hoping to order tires tomorrow and the TRD Sway bar I ordered Saturday should be in my hands by Wednesday.

 

Busy day! Looks great. What prep did you do to paint the end caps?

 

The mod bug bites....Looking good.

 

Literally just washed them with water and dawn dishsoap. Then a slight wipe down with a bit of rubbing alcohol. The can said to do no preparation at all. So we did no primer or etching or sanding at all. It appears that it will peel off much easier if it is a clean, shiny surface underneath.

 

What black chrome tint did you use, Duplicolor? And if you don't like your first application, scuff it down with steel wool (wont hurt the chrome) and do it again. Supposed to use several very light coats if I remember right.

 

I want to see more of the paint touch-up with use of the hair dryer. Can you please elaborate?

 

Yes it was Duplicolor, and the process was fine, I may need to try scuffing, I started a bit heavy and then went to lighter coats. I just meant that I know I will end up doing something else. I am just not happy about the turnout. I may need to remove the grill completely and sand, scuff and re apply some more clearcoat. we shall see. Thanks for the idea of using steel wool.
For the touch up paint pen, it ws a bit "globby" and I hoped that the clearcoat would even it out, it was drying, and was tacky to the touch, and I randomly began wiping the paint and clear to try and remove it with a sturdy paper towel. My son was still putting the hair dryer away as we just finished the b-pillar stuff and he says, 'maybe this will help since it helped with the other stuff." I said lets try it. he heated up the touchup paint a bit, i rubbed like heck in circular motions, and it literally blended in pretty dang good. If I remember, I'll try to get some close up pics later.