Recommendation on partial Re-paint of SR5 AC

Looking for input fr/Gen1 owners [or even later Gens] who have done full panel re-paints or complete re-paints.

Im Considering a partial re-paint [Hood-roof-tailgate fr/door handle height down] of this 18yr old SR5 AC, Desert Sand. [2 stage: hate it.]
Those large flat surfaces are now blistered 'clear-coat' w/intact base; looks worse than actually is but my interest is preventing metal exposure.
I say 'Partial re-paint' to keep cost low and since this isnt a car rally queen; just my 3x/yr boat hauler and 2xtmo. utility rig [but a really nice one!]
Paint on Both sides is healthy w/very few minor scuffs.
Focus is on preservation of metals [all surfaces solid and still w/intact coat of Base] of hood, roof, tailgate [which has a 1x2" divot] Truck suffers more fr/SoCal sun; rain isnt issue. Once painted, likely will sit covered in Dr/way til driven every other week.

At bare minimum, which cab/window trims MUST be removed [& replace w/new, if needed]?

So far I can only guess the 2 roof seam mouldings and maybe the windshield reveal moulding?

Comment or advise on following:
The B&P shop I've inquired with is agreeable to paint down to a masked line along the body-roll contour line just above the door handles. Obviously, it creates a distinct paint line edge which will be covered after w/a black pin line the entire length of body.

Possible revision on this Re-paint :
Also considering going to a 1stage paint in closest color match to Desert Sand Mica, as a last resort against peeling clearcoat, or are new PPG formulations immune to clear-coat failures?

I could put pics up but the Desert Sand color makes it hard to discern the CC blistering; maybe add pics later if anyone needs to see?

 

Hood Clear-coat is toast...


Roof Clear-coat toast...


Tailgate divot- repaint entire panel


Driver side top window frame- Clean
Pass side top frame- toast-ing...

From door handle line, down: Clean and fully intact, front to rear.

8Ok, lets not all type at once...

Jokes aside, the Partial re-paint [as described in #1] is what im most curious to hear feedback on, as in:
1. Highly in-advisable because...
or
2. Sounds reasonable except make sure this is done in the process...
or
3. buy a new tundra...

 

I didn't answer because it's subjective. Some people love patina, others hate it, and you provided lots of words but zero pictures, and that makes it hard.

Selective repaint is great, if you can manage. Without clear pics, it's hard to know how feasible it is. When I say "feasible", a couple of thoughts come to mind.

Many body shops look at a paint job by the panel. They need to delineate borders to effectively 'hide' or 'feather' in their work so it's not glaringly obvious you just laid fresh paint down side-by-side with paint that is 15-20 years old, has been sun-faded, etc. Yes, there are tools out there to match the fade, like spectraphotometers and maybe others, where they can take a base color, lay a tool over it to capture some samples, and it'll cough up how to tweak the paint pigment so it matches the fade. But I doubt you're going to find that kinda shit at a budget paint place.

To that point, while that gives you the liberty of painting the roof between the rack mounts, and the hood, and you suddenly have shiny paint again, clearcoat tends to start failing at what I call the 'hips' or 'shoulders' of the vehicle. That is,the curved panels that see a lot of sun time: Fender flares. The top outer edges of the doors. The top of each fender. The curved edges of the bedrails. The curved area between the rack mount and door opening. The reality is, if your clear is fucked in those spots, selective painting probably won't work, you're looking at a full repaint.

Post some pics. I think that's what people need to respond. It's so hard to comment specifically on stuff if you don't provide specific references.

This thread may be helpful also, @whodatschrome and @ToyotaDude provided some awesome, firsthand experience info: https://www.tundras.com/threads/2006-tundra-lucchese-42-ive-got-issues.143393/

While I'm capable with paint, as I think I've proven with some more recent stuff, they have more far more practical experience between the two of them, I'm typically dealing with small parts or small repairs, not whole-car.

 

Have you gotten a quote for painting from the body line up? I'd be curious to know what the price difference is between a partial paint and a complete repaint.

I'd be concerned with seeing the difference between the old and new clearcoat more than anything. I repainted a couple of spots on my truck and feathered the new clear out on top of the old stuff. Unless it's in direct sunlight, you can see the new spots pretty easy. Even if the truck has been really well kept, waxed often, the new clear is going to be much more shiny/reflective than the old. I'd be worried that in medium to low light, you'd see a distinct difference between the new clearcoat and the old.

I assume the roof and hood are the spots where the clear has failed. Is it also on the top of the doors? Top of the fenders? If not, I bet you could get away with repainting those panels alone. But if it's starting to creep onto the vertical surfaces... not gonna work. What Shifty said.

Have you thought about repainting down to the trim on the doors/bed? Most of our trucks have really heavy paint/clear below that trim to protect against rock chips. Some of our trucks actually came with a different color below that line too. You could paint down to that line and nobody would notice.

 

The cheap maaco respray grandpa had done lasted 3-4 years, and now every time i wash the truck i wash off big flakes of clear.

 

Thx @shifty. You nailed it- subjective and overall truck condition, duty/use cycle dependant, etc

And @FiatRunner: EDIT: 'Belt line up' to me is line of body roll just above door handles. [ Sorry if Ive mis-led. ]
Quote for 'Belt line up' [full tailgate and front bumper] w/Black pinline on Tape edge: $1600 w/PPG 2 stg., Not including new roofSeam trims and/or Windshield trims if needed].
From another B&P shop $2200 for only roof, hood, tailgate panels- wouldnt try to blend to 'body roll'; in which case full repaint =$4200.
Both are 2 stg PPG products.

As I stated earlier, I wouldnt exclude going to a Sgl Stg paint if color could close match DesertSandMica [from 15' away]. I've seen some recent NEW asian vehicles off the line w/a Sgl Stage & 2 Stg scheme; some even hi-contrast...

 

Yep & nope. Seen that- never done that.
Remember Earl Schieb?
no thx.

 

That's a damn good price!

This style of 2-tone used to be really popular in the sport truck scene, and if you could find a shop that would shave the side mouldings to remove the visual body line and paint like this, it could be f/n awesome:

(I'll try to find more examples, I feel like a lot of Ranger/B2200, Toyotas, and Nissan hardbodies had custom paint like this in 2-tone)

​

 

What if you painted to the trim on the doors/bed? Wouldn't require removal of trim, fender flares, bumpers. You could do two-tone like these:

This one is even Desert Sand on the bottom.

 

Maybe this will help

this is my 06 DC desert sand mica from one year ago

I had to buy a new tailgate because mine was beyond repair. so I had the hood roof and tailgate painted $1900 but someone that does paint and body from his home fulltime. I think it was $2800 for most of the shops Alternatively it would've been 6500-9000 for a full paint job from a shop

Before:






After:








I am very pleased. I'm like you about the doors and truck bed with some scratches and chips, but overall pretty decent for an 18-year-old truck with over 300,000 miles Many of the chips I've touched up with leftover paint

I did not have it painted down to the top part of the doors. However, he did do just a little bit more on the roof to get all of the area with oxidized paint

the only part that is still sun damaged is only the front passenger and driver fenders at the very top where it meets the hood. I wish I would've had him do that little strip as well if he would've been willing

my only regret is not doing the front bumper. I thought I might come back in a year or two and do the doors and truck bed and I would do the bumper at that time. I did not realize how bad the bumper was When I tried to buff it out. I just made it so much worse but a local detail shop makes it look tolerable for now

I would not hesitate to do it again. I am very, very pleased. I still may just take off the bumper and let a body shop paint it separately

At that price he also replaced the rubber strips on the roof, but they kept peeling off. He reported this has been a problem with those from Toyota of late and they've had more than a couple of returns and complaints. I finally just took the replacements and plan to install myself. If needed I will use some 3M black super adhesive. If I'm not mistaken, those were a little bit over $200.


Edited to add the paint matches very well. I can tell where the hood meets the fenders that the old paint has a little bit more of a gold tint to it. Not sure if that's just from oxidation or if the new paint is slightly more sand colored. I will say this I like the new color better but it blends in nicely. You have to really look up close.

 

Agree w/@shifty on Price- Ive seen some of his work like [not saying i'll get this quality, but looks like he's capable:
[ Also, as stated earlier: this is about metal preservation about a mile fr/PacOcean, but I wouldnt mind some bling for the $]
Im no photographer and even tho its a Ford, its a lot better looking in the real- definitely 'show quality'.

 

@Weagle- Yes Im hoping for a solid tape line instead of blending. A sgl or double black pin line can cover it [maybe?].
very good lookin DesertSand w/updated grill...
I see your rollin w/HIDs...but your housings look special w/the lower edges opaque white? Anything about that?

Also, are those color-keyed door mouldings Toyota or Aftermarket?

 

OEM. DC is different from AC, I think?

 

thanks it is a work in progress learning as I go may go back and redo a few things a little different


as shifty said, DC door moldings are different. I've seen someone with a dessert sand mica AC have or add some form of solid tape line or molding there


those were just aftermarket headlight assemblies with what they call sequential LED light strips. They are white lights normally but they turn yellow as an extra turn signal. The headlight assemblies are tinted but not HID I did the quick mod so that I could add LED mini projectors headlamps. Love the LED mini projectors - all the light of LEDs without blinding the oncoming vehicles

 

Im gonna talk to B&P shops again about all window trims...looking closer, there are a few trims on doors/windows to deal with; combined w/good surface prep I need to know a bit more- may sound odd, but $1600 sounds low-ish...I'll flind out more next week.

 

Can you cobble up a sanding block & buy an orbital? You can knock the cost down significantly by doing some prep & disassembly.

btw, that furd is pretty badass. Thanks.

 

We're all for a good deal but yes $1600 for all you're talking about just doesnt sound right

 

Update on re-paint.
Shop last quoted $2200 [dont know where I got 1600] from top to door handle line. Discussed today about parts disaasembly and weatherstrips/mouldings/badges. Owner stated all the weatherstrips are fastened vs. glued so replacements not needed.
Badges will need to be re-glued. He thinks roof and cowls are in good condition and will survive r&r.
Before committing to anything else I asked for quote to re-paint entire; he said $4200 and 3 weeks. To include removal of bed, rear and side hinge windows. Paint is PPG waterbased color coat under 3 solvent based clearcoats. He thinks it should survive 10 years of SoCal wx.
At this point Im on the fence, with original plan to just preserve [rustproof] metal skin with side effect of some shiny...now I'm actually weighing making my tow/work vehicle almost a garage queen, eventhough I'll never park it in the garage.
If I were to do this, Im not sure I want the bed removed. For one, Im not offended by the lower back cab not being painted [whose looking there anyway?] and two: how much less labor $$s saved by painting bed on frame?
Still mulling this all over...

 

Dang I would maybe do mine for $4200. I have the timberland mica I think it’s called, it’s green but my front fender tops and tops of doors the clear is all gone and it looks kinda crappy. I’ve thought about scrubbing it with scotch bright and doing the wipe in clear coat for a patina but still on the fence as well.

 

Like mine, your sides look in good shape. Its the reason I looked into partial repaint, also because I tend to be cheap regarding an appearance issue on a truck thats only driven for boat tows and heavier hardware runs.
But who knows, I might someday look into a camp trailer [wife would probly like that]. For now tho, I can certainly afford the full repaint, but Ive also kept an eye on a 'shiny-motorcycle' thing too. Im happy to report: these are good problems to have.
happy & healthy 2025 to all here @tundras.com.

 

thanks for starting this thread. Will follow to see updates and results.

Mine has the patina in the same spots as yours. I've been thinking of replacing the bed with a diy flatbed (rear quarter panels are dented and one punctured), and if I did that then I'd re-repaint the rest of the body. That would conveniently bring the cost + labor down
Torn if I want to DIY paint it or find someone else, but leaning to pay up. Painting sucks unless you've got the perfect garage setup imo

edit: are there any resources on how to remove the bed? I'm imagining it's so many bolts and remove the gas tank?

 

@woodamsc, youre welcome- the forum managers/moderators set the table- thanks to them as well.

Probly more than a few guys here that have done what you propose.
As to DIY: I defer to experienced journeymen; its not the hardest thing to do if you have a suitable facility. I can save a few $s by doing some prep/sand myself in my dr/way, but Im a bit shy about getting too close to bare metal before primers. Would think experienced hands get down to clean base coat [no reason I know of to sand thru orig basecoat] and work back up from there, which likely cuts down the labor time. Also, the paint products are expensive, so I'd hate to spend on all that just to end up with mediocre results, not to mention the mess and biohazard.
The guy I'm considering has some very impressive 'looking' results around his shop, including a bed removed late model Tacoma. His results do inspire confidence and bed-removal would make accessing fuel tank sensor/pump/evap stuff a snap to r&r while its off [not that I want to do that but would be a waste of labor otherwise].
My only concern w/bed removal is finding corroded bushing bolts, etc..[which wouldnt surprise on 18yr old] adding to cost, but otoh, bed 'feels' solid but I have a Toyota liner hiding the truth...
Other issue I think is small, but his method is bed box on separate dolly in booth, then paints rest of truck separately; would seem to be risk of slight color/surface quality mis-match? Small issue, but overall I'm pointing to preserving this body for as long as Im driving [unless I get a bigger boat..ha-ha].
Feel free to comment/advise on my logic here.

 

Sounds like you wanna have it done, and done well.
I'm no shifty, so I can't give you specific advice to your concerns but!

Life is about choosing your problems, problems you enjoy solving or are worth having (insert your marriage joke here).
I'd simply advise being accepting to encountering minor issues and more "problems" (labor) as you go through this, like the bushings, evap stuff, and prolly a few other things you'll find along the way

They're either hurdles that prevent your from ever starting the project
or they're opportunities to end this project with a truck you enjoy even more

Other than that, it's just $$$ and time and trusting someone else's work.
which can be hard lol

Cheers and keep us posted!

 

"...Life is about choosing your problems, problems you enjoy solving or are worth having (insert your marriage joke here)."

@woodamsc : thx for the comment & humor...
as for taking the bed off frame, there are complete Toyota Service Manuals somewhere on this site; they cover a lot of specifications and R&R details w/good illustrations of most assemblies. Specifics of bed removal? Most Ive seen in my copy of the 05-06 manual, on pg 3616 they have an isometric view of the Cab Body/ Bed Box and frame support members below. It looks like there are 3 long bolts per side that sandwhich thru the bed, the body bushing and the frame support. The illustration intent was to show the cab and bed thur bolts to frame and their installed torque values.
I think I found the Toyota FSMs here:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/1st...wners-manual-and-maintenance-schedules.91566/

or links shown on #4:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/valve-cover-bolt-torque.120114/#post-3082070

hope that helps.

 

Painting the cab and bed separately at the same time is a non issue. In fact you’ll get a superior quantity if done that way. I’ve painted complete trucks both ways, but it’s easier with the bed separated.

 

@whodatschrome: I get your pov about bed box removal.
OTOH, low bids- they know when extra work is buried ahead. Would be fine if shop can R&R bed w/out issues; at minimum Im sure it will need new bed thru bolts and evnthough truck spent entire 18yrs in Ca [dry] central valley, wouldnt be surprised if bed or back/btm cab has some rust. Havent yet seen a motor vehicle that doesnt trap water somewhere you cant easily see or access. Im certain this will be my last truck [if ever need anything larger, i'll rent] but In the end Im trying to be sure a $4200 job doesnt turn into $5200.

 

I'm in the wet side of oregon and my 2004 tunda (which came out of NorCal a couple years ago), all the bed bolts zipped right out lickety split for me last year. I've had my bed on and off 3 different times the past year doing for some reason or another. It's pretty quick and easy...as long as those bed bolts are rust free. I would bet that a southern based truck would have rust free bolts. If anything, go out and buy the correct sized Torx bit and use an impact wrench to loosen them up (don't use a handheld wrench!).

 

Handy info @whodatschrome. Havent actually looked, but does the box have rubber body bushings for the thru-bolts or just thru bolts to nuts?
Got my Pblaster ready...
Another question [because I havent looked] : guessing any electrics harness not an issue for box removal?

 

There are 6 torx head bed bolts.
No rubber bushings.
The sheetmetal bed bolts directly to the metal frame.
The nuts are built into the frame so there’s no need to put a wrench on them to keep them from spinning.
The fuel tank filler neck needs to be unscrewed from the bed. Open the fuel door to access those screws. There’s also 1 or 2 (i can’t remember) bolts that attach the filler neck support bracket to the bed. Remove those frum underneath.
Remove the spare tire to gain access to unplugged the wire harness from the bed. Leave it attached to the frame. You’ll have to VERY carefully remove the plastic clips that attach the wire harness loom to underneath the bed. Leave the tail lights installed in the bed and simply unplug the tail light sub harness from the main harness. Layer up a towel 3 or 4 times and place it between the outer ends of the bumper and the bed. You’ll want to protect the paint on the bed. You could also remove the bumper, but it takes more time. If you are planning on repainting, then i’d definitely remove the bumper instead of doing the towel trick.

PRO TIP- pressure wash underneath really well (after you remove the spare tire). It will make it easier to work under. The once the bed is removed, pressure wash the heck out of everything again. Your painter will thank you!

 

@whodatschrome: ...holy-shit Bro! IOU a 12-pak. You are a LIVE Toyota Service Manual. Your added steps save me a ton of "hows that gonna happen?" thot bubbles while on my back...
I was reading said manual for more specifics on body parts dis-assembly, but it can be slow to get a complete picture b/c spread out in 5000 pages [+ the Index links dont work on my PDF; all of them take me bk to cover page: PITA!]
Since the B&P shop will do Box R&R, at least I can prep the wire harness for disconnects and loom retainers [replacements], etc...the power wash and bumper prep I can do on my own as well, albeit from below...