Did you paint it in the first place due to reports of the plastic piece fading?
I’m trying to decide on this vs OEM and had heard of people painting this one because of fading but if painting isn’t a good option either....
The Chinese Special TRD Grille... on the cheap!
- Thread starter Justhere4aday
- Start date
Did you paint it in the first place due to reports of the plastic piece fading?
I’m trying to decide on this vs OEM and had heard of people painting this one because of fading but if painting isn’t a good option either....
Pendoggo4R
New member
Painted mine with flat black trim paint as well and installed today.
I wish I hadn't painted it.
I painted 5 layers, giving it about a half hour of dry time between coats. Then I let it sit overnight indoors before putting it on today.
It's hot over here, and the heat made the trim paint tacky (is that supposed to happen??). I wore nitrile gloves while putting applying the grill, and the nice even paint finish just started smudging all over the place. I guess there is such a thing as too many coats? Cause when I applied pressure to make it stick there are verrrrry slight indentations where my finger tips are pressing. Also, little specks of dust and shit are sticking like a magnet.
It looks fine from a distance, but get up close and shit looks straight up like amateur hour. I bought my 4R two weeks ago and this was the first addition I made, and I'm annoyed. I'm gonna have to redo it.
I wish I hadn't painted it.
I painted 5 layers, giving it about a half hour of dry time between coats. Then I let it sit overnight indoors before putting it on today.
It's hot over here, and the heat made the trim paint tacky (is that supposed to happen??). I wore nitrile gloves while putting applying the grill, and the nice even paint finish just started smudging all over the place. I guess there is such a thing as too many coats? Cause when I applied pressure to make it stick there are verrrrry slight indentations where my finger tips are pressing. Also, little specks of dust and shit are sticking like a magnet.
It looks fine from a distance, but get up close and shit looks straight up like amateur hour. I bought my 4R two weeks ago and this was the first addition I made, and I'm annoyed. I'm gonna have to redo it.
What I had worried about has already happened. Not optimistic these letters will last very long. Fortunately the “T” didn’t fall off and I can Gorilla glue it back on. Or Epoxy. Will figure something out tomorrow.
Edit: should add I ordered it in FleaBay.
Edit: should add I ordered it in FleaBay.
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darkviking
New member
somehow it looks cute lol does it has some small alignment holes for letters? maybe some gorilla glue can fix it?
JAXJeremy
New member
Yeah, the idea was to paint it to prevent fading..I've painted enough parts to know how to do a decent job. gave the piece a light scuff with 1000 grit, cleaned it up with rubbing alcohol and even applied a coat of adhesion promoter. I hit it with 4 or 5 light coats to make sure I got decent coverage, even let it cure for 2 days before installing. Unfortunately, where the plastic bends is where I'm having a problem..you have to be right up on it to notice, but I know it's there so it bothers me..
JAXJeremy
New member
with that much dry time there is no way that paint should have still be tacky especially if you were doing really light coats..
91324
New member
Agreed - painting it never even crossed my mind. Its what, $100 for a new kit? I'll just replace it in a year or whatever if it has issues. Still saving a ton over 'OEM' at $500+. It seems like only recently in this thread did people start talking about painting it - to each their own. My advice - save your time and just let it be.
I've had my grill for a very very long time now and didn't experience any issues with fading, letters falling off, or the grill not 'sticking' to the body.
No heat gun required for install - I left it out in the Texas sun for a while before installing it and it went on just fine. I've stated this before, but I power wash my rig almost weekly and haven't had any issues with the letters moving, shifting, or falling off. I didn't go out and buy any special tape - I used the same 3M tape they provide with each kit.
CT Pro Replica Grill with LEDs:
https://cartrimhome.com/LED-Front-B...rInpBxVjBL47HdXcjQJms3oosbvrP6LpZMvm1TYIc0C4u
CT Pro Replica Grill (No LEDs):
Free Shipping For 2014-2019 Toyota 4Runner 2Piece Front Bumper Grille Replacement
91324
New member
I found the best way to install the letters was to place painters tape along the bottom of the holes to get a straight line, peeling off the 3M tape from the back of each letter, then using the tape as a guide. I also bought an extra set of letters to keep should one day one of them decide to stray OR some loser rips them off.
As far as lights or not, the price difference isn't too drastic. Plus, CT sells the lights as standalones if you decide you want to add them later. Some people love the LED grill lights and others hate it - obviously all personal preference!
CT Pro Replica Grill with LEDs:
Free Shipping With LED Light For 2014-2019 Toyota 4Runner Front Bumper Grille Replacement
CT Pro Replica Grill (No LEDs):
Free Shipping For 2014-2019 Toyota 4Runner 2Piece Front Bumper Grille Replacement
Extra Set of Letters:
Free Shipping Front Bumper Grille TOYOTA Emblem Logo Nameplate For Toyota 4Runner
Blacked Out LED Lights:
Free Shipping Front bumper Led light Black / Yellow Style LED Light For 2014-2019 Toyota 4Runner
Pendoggo4R
New member
i honestly have no idea either. i'm retentive enough to know when i mess up or do something wrong, but i can't think of anything for this process.
maybe it was too humid while i was painting? i did light enough layers that it didn't look like it was completely coated black until the third layer. waited a solid half hour and touching the paint didn't leave behind any fingerprints between layers.
i'm not sure. maybe just a bad can of paint then? it's been 4 days since i installed it and it's still a little tacky when it gets really hot outside, which it has been for the past few days.
anyway, i shouldnt have painted it to begin with. lesson learned. i'm gonna take it off, strip the paint, sand it back down and do it over again.
JAXJeremy
New member
yeah, I don't know either..sounds like you did everything right. like you said could be a bad batch of paint..You have more patience than I do to strip, sand and repaint..I'm just ordering a new cover and plan to leave it unpainted..
thegreatchangsby
New member
Just attempted to install on a 2020 sr5 premium and it did not fit. The bracket that mounts to the center bolt didn't fit and i had to do some heavy plastic modifications to get it to fit (dremeled a bunch).
Then when was time to put the letters on i cleaned the black bar with the provided pads and it ruined the paint of the bar. Whatever chemicals they had on the pad ate right through the sheen of the plastic and not it looks like a wreck. Time to goto lowes and get some trim paint.
I understand i didn't have to use the packet but it was provided so i thought why not.
Email sent to cartrim no response just yet. What a way to start the weekend. Horrible experience =(.
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Then when was time to put the letters on i cleaned the black bar with the provided pads and it ruined the paint of the bar. Whatever chemicals they had on the pad ate right through the sheen of the plastic and not it looks like a wreck. Time to goto lowes and get some trim paint.
I understand i didn't have to use the packet but it was provided so i thought why not.
Email sent to cartrim no response just yet. What a way to start the weekend. Horrible experience =(.
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
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91324
New member
The website states the LED Pro Replica fits up through the 19 4Runners. Did you reach out before purchasing to confirm it would fit? The 20s have a new design with the front bar and I doubt they would fit as is. You can’t put that on CarTrim.
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Dmsea1
New member
Thanks for that info - I will be getting a 2020 here in the next couple of weeks and had planned originally on getting this, then heard the Radar box is an issue, and was going to wait. Now will likely just black out the Toyota emblem and get black valances and call it a day.
thegreatchangsby
New member
I agree the fitment issue was a risk I took, which is fine. I'm not okay with them supplying a prep pad that was defective which ended up ruining the black bars finish.
DigitalRJH
New member
Finally installed mine. I’ve had it since March but just never had the time. Was straight forward and simple. I would definitely recommend a heat gun, you can pick up a cheap Wagner one from Lowe’s for $25. I just used a rag with rubbing alcohol to clean the crossbar and the new grille cover so the letters would adhere better. I also put just a small dab of gorilla glue on each of the dimples on the cover for peace of mind. But I will say after heating the tape up on the letters first they stuck right on, and aren’t going to budge. I did mess up when I went to put the cover on, I didn’t get it lined up exactly with the notches on the top. I had preheated the cross bar and the tape on the cover so it wasn’t easy to get it back off. Once I did I had to use different tape since the original tape was shot. Cleaned the crossbar and the cover again, applied some new 3M Automotive tape, preheated everything again and got it centered on the notches better the 2nd time. Pushed it on then heated it on the outside and it conformed and stuck on there solid. Put 2 of the LEDs in, wired it up and also put laminx on the fogs which was super easy. I’m thrilled, just how I wanted it to look and so much cheaper than a pro or OEM parts. Only thing left is to either replace or paint the valances and a 1 inch spacer lift in the front. Overall was very pleased with Cartrim and I highly recommend them. Also I would recommend taco twonz install videos for the grille and the LED’s.
19 ORP.
19 ORP.
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TEPUI
New member
Ordered mine from Cartrim, tracking number has no updated info since 9-19. Starting to think it got lost.
The cartrim guys assure it arrived in Chile. Both Chilean mail office and customs state the package has not entered the country yet. I get stuff from Chine all the time and never had this problem before. Is there a user here that had direct contact with the vendor that could probably help me?
Thanks!
The cartrim guys assure it arrived in Chile. Both Chilean mail office and customs state the package has not entered the country yet. I get stuff from Chine all the time and never had this problem before. Is there a user here that had direct contact with the vendor that could probably help me?
Thanks!
Notselgge11
New member
Dimples
Does anyone know of any other brand or if this brand will ever have a options for a blank bar with no lettering dimples?
I like the basic look and the lettering doesn't do it for me but every bar I see has the dimples for the letters.
Does anyone know of any other brand or if this brand will ever have a options for a blank bar with no lettering dimples?
I like the basic look and the lettering doesn't do it for me but every bar I see has the dimples for the letters.
bowhun2r
Member
Installed and wired up
Got to my bumper swap project and this was the last piece. I wanted to wire the add-a fuse in the engine bay on either the left or right low beam headlight fuse, but my intercooler add-a fuse was not going to allow that. So I fished the wire into the cab and tapped the stop/tail light fuse. They only turn on when my headlights switch on which is what I wanted.
They came out nice. The garnish is not an exact fit (my friend has a pro and the OEM fitment is much better) but it will do for now. I did have to remove the 2 sided tape and use 3M branded with a heat gun to mold it on. For the cost...no complaints.
Got to my bumper swap project and this was the last piece. I wanted to wire the add-a fuse in the engine bay on either the left or right low beam headlight fuse, but my intercooler add-a fuse was not going to allow that. So I fished the wire into the cab and tapped the stop/tail light fuse. They only turn on when my headlights switch on which is what I wanted.
They came out nice. The garnish is not an exact fit (my friend has a pro and the OEM fitment is much better) but it will do for now. I did have to remove the 2 sided tape and use 3M branded with a heat gun to mold it on. For the cost...no complaints.
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