This is my first write up so bear with me on this and I hope it helps someone else.
I purchased my 02 4R a few years ago and due to scheduling haven't been able to commit any time to fixing it up until recently. The Runners color is Thundercloud which I think looks great but I'm not crazy about all the chrome. I have decided to black out anything that was painted and since the rear bumper cover was looking pretty bad I thought I would start there. I have read in several forums the uses many people found for Plasti dip spray. I thought if it would work on wheels and emblems I would see how it would hold up on the top of the bumper.
This is what the cover looked like before I started. The dark gray is where the rear hatch covered the upper plate and the fading wasn't as bad.
The process was pretty easy, disassembly wasn't bad and prep/paint was simple. Here's a quick step by step of what I did, if anyone has questions let me know.
Pulling the cover was really simple. Each corner has a tab that you pull up on to release. Once this is done pushing the top of the cover from behind released it and then I simply pulled forward. The tabs on the bottom of the cover can be squeezed together to release if needed.
This is the back top of the cover from under the vehicle. If you push on this it should release making it easier to remove. This was taken after using the Plasti Dip so yours will probably be gray instead of black. I also made sure to spray a good coat around the edges. My thinking here was that this would be the first place it would start to peel. I'm hoping that with the edges coated well this will not happen.
These are the tabs on the bottom of the cover that may need to be pressed together to release.
Here you go once the upper plate is removed.
Once removed I cleaned the upper plate with soap and water and since the sun wasn't out and I'm impatient I used the compressor and blew it dry.
I used saw horses to hold the cover and sprayed a pretty hefty first coat. I made sure the gray was covered and not showing through anywhere. This pic was taken after the first coat. You can see the original texture of the cover still showing.
I was able to get two full coats out of a can and had purchased two cans so I decided to go for 4 coats. Hopefully this will be enough that minor scratches wont make it through the Plasti Dip and start peeling. I allowed roughly thirty minutes between coats to allow dry time. Once complete I let it dry overnight to ensure it was completely dry since it was a little cool outside.
below is the finished product. It turned out so nice I wish I had done this earlier. My only concern is how will it will hold up going forward. Will it handle the car wash after off-roading or pulling something out of the back and falling against the cover or scratching the cover when removing something. Only time will tell.
I purchased my 02 4R a few years ago and due to scheduling haven't been able to commit any time to fixing it up until recently. The Runners color is Thundercloud which I think looks great but I'm not crazy about all the chrome. I have decided to black out anything that was painted and since the rear bumper cover was looking pretty bad I thought I would start there. I have read in several forums the uses many people found for Plasti dip spray. I thought if it would work on wheels and emblems I would see how it would hold up on the top of the bumper.
This is what the cover looked like before I started. The dark gray is where the rear hatch covered the upper plate and the fading wasn't as bad.
The process was pretty easy, disassembly wasn't bad and prep/paint was simple. Here's a quick step by step of what I did, if anyone has questions let me know.
Pulling the cover was really simple. Each corner has a tab that you pull up on to release. Once this is done pushing the top of the cover from behind released it and then I simply pulled forward. The tabs on the bottom of the cover can be squeezed together to release if needed.
This is the back top of the cover from under the vehicle. If you push on this it should release making it easier to remove. This was taken after using the Plasti Dip so yours will probably be gray instead of black. I also made sure to spray a good coat around the edges. My thinking here was that this would be the first place it would start to peel. I'm hoping that with the edges coated well this will not happen.
These are the tabs on the bottom of the cover that may need to be pressed together to release.
Here you go once the upper plate is removed.
Once removed I cleaned the upper plate with soap and water and since the sun wasn't out and I'm impatient I used the compressor and blew it dry.
I used saw horses to hold the cover and sprayed a pretty hefty first coat. I made sure the gray was covered and not showing through anywhere. This pic was taken after the first coat. You can see the original texture of the cover still showing.
I was able to get two full coats out of a can and had purchased two cans so I decided to go for 4 coats. Hopefully this will be enough that minor scratches wont make it through the Plasti Dip and start peeling. I allowed roughly thirty minutes between coats to allow dry time. Once complete I let it dry overnight to ensure it was completely dry since it was a little cool outside.
below is the finished product. It turned out so nice I wish I had done this earlier. My only concern is how will it will hold up going forward. Will it handle the car wash after off-roading or pulling something out of the back and falling against the cover or scratching the cover when removing something. Only time will tell.
