Painting 4runner "Limited" plastic cladding

[BigIron]

Got a 3rd gen 4runner Limited with the plastic cladding. The truck itself is in pretty good shape bodywise, but the plastic cladding has seen better days. Has anyone repainted it?

I'm thinking wet sand with 200 grit, followed by maybe 400 grit to take off all scratches and smooth it out. Then paint with a plastic specific paint followed by a few coats of clear. Does anyone have experience with this or advice? Things to watch out for? I'll take pics and do a tech write up if I'm the first, but I really hate being a pioneer when it's something I know nothing about.


I've thought about taking it to a shop, but after all the $50.00 paintjob threads, I'm convinced I can do it myself. I'm just wondering if there is any problem painting the plastic. I would love to take the cladding off, but if the clips are one-time use, then I will have to replace 50ish clips. At $4.00/each that is way more than I wanna spend. Is there any way to pull the cladding without breaking the clips?

 

[trd_4runnin]

I would guess that with them being plastic, 400 grit is going to be some pretty coarse sandpaper for your final prep work. I would use a coarser grit like you said to get out scratches but I would use something a lot more fine before you paint.

 

[shootmymime]

i repainted my fan shroud on my mustang, it was the same plastic as the fender flares,



i started by washing the part

then wet sanding with 200grit

then moved on to 600 wet

then on to 1000 wet

and finishing with 2000 wet

then washed it again with just water, let air dry and layed down a few coats of some satin black paint.


any questions let me know

it does look really nice!

 

[004Gunner]

I wouldn't touch it with any thing lower than 200, even wet. Deep scratches or gouges need to be filled not sanded out. Are you trying to match the factory cladding paint or are you painting all the cladding another color?

 

[BigElk]

shootmymime,
What kind of spray paint did you use?
I tried some Krylon Fusion paint on the plastic on my XR650 motorcycle and it didnt work well at all. It looked good at first but it isnt very tough and scratches easily. The Krylon Fusion is suppose to be specially formulated for painting plastics too.

 

[shootmymime]

i really dont know how good it will hold up, as i just put it on and have not driven it at all


the color i used was black, paint code 7777 it looks really nice!

here is a picture of my engine, notice i have painted the fan shroud, horns, radiator support, and some other things there that are black

 

[BigIron]

well gents, I'm elbows deep in sand paper, grit, filth, and sweat. Started by pulling the front pieces and mudflaps off (they are easy) and wet-sanding those, then moved on to sanding the cladding still remaining on the car. I'm planning to paint them a silverish/grey, followed by clear using rustoleum found at home depot. Hopefully it holds up for a few years, if not I'll be trying this again in a few months.