C
cangler
Guest
alright so did the blacked out grill and headlights DYI, and a few things id like to share from my experience.
blacking out headlights...
4th bolt truly is PITA, especially when you take out the wrong bolt first, it's the LOWER bolt head....you can't see it so have to rely on feel. you just go through the wheel well.
make sure you use quality plastic spray paint, the krylon is probably a good choice, Rust-Oleum brand was a bit of a disappointment.
using easy off heavy duty oven cleaner works well at stripping the chrome off
taking off the reflector piece to paint just the chrome bezel part is PITA, the part you're painting has two slots on the edge for the reflector piece to snap into, but taking it out was a real chore... and snapped off the slots but luckily didn't seem to affect it too much when putting it back together.... just really frustrating.
for my oven, 250 degrees @ 10-11 mins to open and about 8-9 mins to reseal
be sure to clean the INSIDE of the clear lens before you reassemble, etc. I forgot to do this and its a bit dirty inside. No chance I was taking it back apart since I already baked it back together.
try to avoid getting that factory goop sealant on anything you don't need it to be on, it's a REAL PITA to get off.
blacking out grill...
taking the grill off is no problem, maybe like 8 to 10 bolts and it pulls off, then a few screws on the middle part of the grill to come off.. but be careful with the brackets that this middle piece uses to attach to the grill... they are fragile. the Toyota emblem just snaps out once you remove all the middle screws.
easy off heavy duty oven cleaner does not seem to take off the chrome on the grill... this chrome is much more resistant because it's exposed to the weather elements. so had to paint over it... and the paint ran (probably too heavy coat at once) so it looks quite amateur up close. I should of just painted the middle part and left the rest alone... but im getting another grill from Japan in October so i wasn't too worried about it.
conclusion...
im happy with the outcome over all but worried about the headlights leaking, will be devastated if i have to reopen them. it took me most of the day to do both and was lot of work, would i do it again? probably but knowing what i know now it would be an easier task. i think the grill looks better black then it does chrome but the paint job sure doesn't look very good... i'll replace it in a couple months.
blacking out headlights...
4th bolt truly is PITA, especially when you take out the wrong bolt first, it's the LOWER bolt head....you can't see it so have to rely on feel. you just go through the wheel well.
make sure you use quality plastic spray paint, the krylon is probably a good choice, Rust-Oleum brand was a bit of a disappointment.
using easy off heavy duty oven cleaner works well at stripping the chrome off
taking off the reflector piece to paint just the chrome bezel part is PITA, the part you're painting has two slots on the edge for the reflector piece to snap into, but taking it out was a real chore... and snapped off the slots but luckily didn't seem to affect it too much when putting it back together.... just really frustrating.
for my oven, 250 degrees @ 10-11 mins to open and about 8-9 mins to reseal
be sure to clean the INSIDE of the clear lens before you reassemble, etc. I forgot to do this and its a bit dirty inside. No chance I was taking it back apart since I already baked it back together.
try to avoid getting that factory goop sealant on anything you don't need it to be on, it's a REAL PITA to get off.
blacking out grill...
taking the grill off is no problem, maybe like 8 to 10 bolts and it pulls off, then a few screws on the middle part of the grill to come off.. but be careful with the brackets that this middle piece uses to attach to the grill... they are fragile. the Toyota emblem just snaps out once you remove all the middle screws.
easy off heavy duty oven cleaner does not seem to take off the chrome on the grill... this chrome is much more resistant because it's exposed to the weather elements. so had to paint over it... and the paint ran (probably too heavy coat at once) so it looks quite amateur up close. I should of just painted the middle part and left the rest alone... but im getting another grill from Japan in October so i wasn't too worried about it.
conclusion...
im happy with the outcome over all but worried about the headlights leaking, will be devastated if i have to reopen them. it took me most of the day to do both and was lot of work, would i do it again? probably but knowing what i know now it would be an easier task. i think the grill looks better black then it does chrome but the paint job sure doesn't look very good... i'll replace it in a couple months.
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