Paint Repair Applications and Methods

[Jaytiff]

1997 SR5 4Runner. 5VZ-FE w/ A340E. "Natural White" paint, color code 056.

Long time reader, first time poster. Tried to find a good answer to my question via previous posts but couldn't so here it goes. Sorry if this is long, I can't help it, I'm verbose...

I have several problem areas on my t4r that require new paint. Some are small touch-up spots like the door edges and jams. Others are large spots where it would be easier to completely repaint instead of touching up, like the numerous chips on the front lip of the hood, an area on the d/s fender where I was side-swiped in a parking lot by a mystery driver and damaged areas where p/o had running boards that wore out the paint. All of this damage is down to or near the metal, these are not superficial scratches that can be buffed out.

I haven't done any work yet but for the smaller spots I have purchased the duplicolor 2-in-1 touch up for small areas: gray filler primer, touch-up paint and the clear top coat (all duplicolor 2-in-1). Also, I have wet/dry paper from 320 grit up to 3000 grit, a sanding block, tack cloth and nail polish remover (acetone). I plan on using toothpicks to apply touch up paint to small areas.

I need advice on repairing the small and large damage areas. Questions are:

1) What type of paint does toyota use on 3rd gen 4runners? Is it acrylic lacquer, acrylic enamel, or whatever else there is out there? What is the most compatible/matchable product out there? (the duplicolor 2-in-1 doesn't specify it's make up but I'm not too worried about that since it is for small spots. I'm more concerned about the large repair areas matching/blending)

2) How much wet sanding needs to be done (before and after) for small damage areas? What is a good starting grit? Ditto about sanding for large areas where I want to use a spray application?

3) For large repair areas I plan on sanding down the whole area before applying primer/paint/clear. Should I sand down to the metal or stop when the imperfections are evened out?

4) If there is rust should I sand down to the metal? If so, can I just use emery cloth or a wire brush or will this damage the metal and mess up paint application?

5) What are the typical wait times between primer application, paint app, and clear app? How many layers of each are optimal?

6) Are there any post-op steps to making the paint touch-ups blend in, last and look good? (besides polish and wax)

For the large areas requiring spray on applications I plan on using Rustoleum self-etching primer, followed by rustoleum primer sealer, duplicolor perfect match spray and then duplicolor clear spray. I have no idea if these are the best products but they available at the local stores and I don't know of any other products.

I'm not normally nervous about any diy t4r project but taking a mulligan would consume too much time and $ I don't have. Sorry this is long, appreciate the help y'all.

 

[Millerad1651]

Toyota uses a single stage white paint for our runners, which means there is no clear coat, it is mixed in with the color. While the paint can be difficult to work with, it actually makes it a little easier to touch up smaill chips. Go here:1997 Toyota 4Runner Touch Up Paint Colors

You can order little bottles, all the way to pints and quarts.
For the chips and edges, I'd use the little applicator and fill in. Just build up the layers until it looks even...then in a couple weeks, you can buff and wax to blend them in. You may want to sand down rough edges, but you can end up creating a larger area in the process. I wouldn't go down to bare metal...the paint will be uneven and you may be able to see it.

From the sounds of it, your hood is like mine. I've got 3 or 4 big chips and a few smaller ones. I've thought about just sanding mine down and repainting it. Although if I go that far, I'll buy an aftermarket scoop hood and just paint it.

On our white ones, we benefit from the fact that small imperfections are harder to see. I personally wouldn't spend too much time sanding, priming and painting all the small chips. I'd just get touch up and fill in, the buff and wax to try and get them to blend in. On your door jambs, I'd get a spray and tape about an inch past the problem area, then try to fade the paint in with a sprayer.

For the larger areas, sand down until everything seems smooth. Then prime, letting it dry for an hour or so. Sand with very fine paper, getting rid of imperfections. Wipe clean, then prime again. After sanding that, I'd spray the color...once that gets a little tacky, spray color again. Do this 3 or 4 times, making sure there are no imperfections. You may want to do one final coat. Since our paint is single stage, tehre is no need for clear. After a few weeks (or whatever paint manuf. recommends), you can polish and wax it.

Sure I didn't answer all your questions, but hopefully this helps some. I am by no means a paint expert, but I've done a few projects successfully, and this is usually how I do them.

 

[Jaytiff]

Millerad1651: Thank you for the quick reply to my questions, I appreciate it. Also, I checked out your build thread, nice ride, I might have to pick your brain in the future.

Anyway, I've got some pics of the problem areas below. I will post updates with my progress.

Conclusions So Far:

Small Areas - I'll stick with duplicolor for the small areas since I'm not too worried about those. I'll practice on an inconspicuous area, i.e. door jamb. I'll try just applying the base coat and see how well it blends and matches. If it doesn't look good then I'll experiment using the primer and clear coat as well to see if those will help with matching and smoothing. Trial and error to see what works best. I'm going to avoid doing any sanding at all costs. Seems like it would be overkill. I figure if I go slow and apply thin coats followed by a good polish/rubbing compound it'll turn out fine. If I'm not satisfied with the results then I'll get some AutomotiveTouchUp.com stuff since they mix the base and the clear to match oem paint exactly. Wish I had known about these guys before I bought the duplicolor from autozone.

Large Areas - The AutomotiveTouchUp brand looks like good stuff. I definitely will order the spray from them for the larger problem areas. The white primer looks like a good purchase to. When sanding, I guess I will just start with a higher grain, maybe a 600 or 800 and try lower grits if I need too. Hopefully I can even out or fill in the chips without too much trouble.

One More Question:

From what I gather, it takes several days for the paint to dry before trying to smooth it out. I live in Florida so the humidity will likely extend the dry time substantially. Would taking a hair dryer to it help speed up the process? My car is a daily driver and I am worried that the paint won't by dry soon enough and could get messed up, especially the door jambs since the problem areas will be in contact with the door.

Let me know what everyone thinks and if they have anymore suggestions. I appreciate the input!