Cladding & the Dodo Bird

[jwarthman]

Cladding: Gray vs. Colored

Okay, we're in agreement that the gray cladding is good protection for parking-lot bumps and for reducing off-road scratches. But how delicate is the colored cladding, in comparison? Does it offer the same degree of scratch resistance? Is it really primer-colored, underneath a thin coat of paint?

I really like the way the colored caldding looks, but I'm reluctant to give up the protection of the gray cladding...

Enjoy!

-- Jim

 

[jharris2]

Jim -

As I recall from earlier threads, the consensus was that the gray cladding was better overall protection because it's made from a different material.

Guess one way you could test it is to look at both on the lot.

 

[jwarthman]

As I recall from earlier threads, the consensus was that the gray cladding was better overall protection because it's made from a different material.

Guess one way you could test it is to look at both on the lot.

John,
The problem is, just looking won't tell me how tough the painted cladding is, compared with the gray. Now, if I were to key the side of each.... ;-)

Just kidding. But seriously, I'd like to hear from folks who own a 4Runner with painted cladding and who can comment on its resilience.

Enjoy!

-- Jim

 

[jharris2]

John,
The problem is, just looking won't tell me how tough the painted cladding is, compared with the gray.

Well, I meant more than just looking at it, but we can't advocate damaging vehicles on the lot. Poking and prodding it on the lot may help give you a better idea.

 

[peter78]

This is a story from Car and Driver. It talks about falling prices and the apperance package is now standard on all SR5's. Also it looks like runner boards come standard on all SR5's. Bascially this just reinforces the memo that I posted at the beginning of the thread.

http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caranddriver/dai/2003/april/20030429_dai_toyota.xml