Plastic trim rubbing off paint

Yes, as soon as it stops pouring rain! I am hoping to get the garnish off this weekend. I have had the tailgate apart for 10 days now. New Rockford Fosgate speakers are mounted to their metal plates and ready to bolt in place on the tailgate, but I can't do that until I fix the garnish. Not sure if I'll have to pull down the plastic vapor barrier or not. With the metal speaker mounting plates off there is a lot of room to reach in from both sides.

 

Was my first thought but I have a ladder and have used it to close the tailgate for almost a year now. I shut it with what I would consider normal force, I do have the heavy duty struts that do require a lil more force than the OEM But the weight of the ladder pretty much brings it back to normal force. The truck hits its 2 year mark in January so I have a lil over a year to have Toyota to do this. It will not be covered under the 10 year / 100K but is under the 3 year factory. (*Note * Ladder doesn’t touch garnish)

 

How big is the gap between the tip of the garnish and the paint chip, or is it in continuous contact? If it's not in contact on a continuous basis, it seems like it has to be making contact somehow at some time. Unless the paint just spontaneously flakes off there for some reason.

 

For those new here, don't forget the contact between the license plate and the tailgate. Silicone license plate holder is the $6.50 fix.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X5XCYX7?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

 

In my case there is no gap between the garnish and the paint (pre- 2024) the new style appears to have a facet/ beveled edge to prevent the chipping. My guess is the garnish impacts the paint causing the chipping as you open and close the hatch as well as during normal driving conditions (bumps , etc…).

I’m not sure how I’m going to address this just yet because of the ladder. Can anyone who has removed the garnish comment because removing the ladder would be a chore. What I’m asking is how hard would it be to remove the garnish without removing the ladder?

**Update** After 4 attempts I finally got a thin film of Dr Color Chip to adhere. This will be a temporary fix until I figure out how I want to tackle the problem.

 

I am so disappointed in the Solar Octane paint...I am now up to over 20 chips, about 15 on the roof just above the windshield, 3 in the hood, 1 on the rear door and 1 on the tailgate. I only have about 3200 miles on it. Just a horrible quality of paint

 

Well, the garnish removal could go easy or you could have bolts spin in the garnish like I did. I had to cut them with a hand saw from inside the tailgate. Took a long time. I was in awkward positions and I had to reposition the tailgate throughout. How heavy is the ladder and how close is it to the garnish?

 

This is a bad idea. Any sort of dirt that traps underneath that will wear away at the paint. Just ppf under the plate

 

I put two rubber washers behind the plate. Over the mounting holes. Then use 5 little stick on bump stops under the bottom edge of the plate; about a half inch up from the bottom. About 4 times the height as the little OEM foam stickers. No contact with paint anywhere.

Then can use the plate as the spot where I push to close the tailgate.

 

Works great on my 2024. The two license plate bolt hole areas are raised a little bit from the tailgate, which creates a small gap (very small) between the plate and the tailgate at the top. So no water or dirt will get trapped there. That was the first thing I checked. At the bottom, Toyota applied two very thin square rubber pads to keep the license plate from touching, again maintaining a very small gap to prevent dirt and moisture from getting trapped.

The problem is the edges and possibly the center of the plate. Touching the plate with a hand or some object would put the plate in contact with the paint easily since the gap is small and my plate is very flimsy. The edges of it are bent from years of use. I guess I hit it or pushed on it more times than I ever imagined now that I look at it. Reaching up over my head to close the tailgate will, I am sure, result in me hitting it constantly in the years to come. With the silicone plate holder, if I hit the plate with something or push on it with my hand there won't be any damage to the paint.

So no PPF required and only a $6.50 job with a 1 minute installation. Plus it hides the nasty edges of my old license plate until the next time it gets replaced.

 

Seems to be the same paint that was on my 2011 FJ Cruiser. Same factory, same paint I guess. It is extremely brittle with no flexibility, and it chips if you just look at it. Sad that Toyota doesn't fix known issues like this. The best paint I ever had was on two old Saturn sedans. Not expensive cars at all. They had plastic body panels all around, and when hit hard with an object like a mallet or shopping cart, the panel and the paint simply popped back out without damage. They sat outside, uncoverered, for 10 years and the paint still polished up like new. Not a chip anywhere on either one. Toyota should be able to manage this.

 

And today that silicone license plate holder paid for itself multiple times as I worked to remove, fix, and reinstall my tailgate garnish. Note to others with no license plate protector: remove license plate before working on the garnish.

I took detailed photos of the whole process and have come up with what I think is the ultimate solution to the rear garnish problem. Mine is now fixed for the life of the vehicle. I'll post a writeup later tonight or tomorrow.

 

A few weeks ago I posted my thought that the ideal solution might be a gasket material attached to the paint rather than to the garnish. After I posted that, someone here tried it and said it worked out well, so I decided to try it myself.

Materials needed:
new razor blades
ruler with nonskid backing
Scotch 2090 painters tape
Scotch 2228 tape
10mm socket, ratchet, and extension
rubbing alcohol

total time: 4 hours, not counting removal and replacement of the tailgate interior panel

• Carefully clean around the garnish to remove any dirt and grime.
• Cut a number of 3mm wide strips from the painters tape using a ruler with a nonskid backing and a new razor blade.
• Carefully mask around the garnish to mark its outline precisely, leaving exactly 1mm gap all around as shown in the photos. Be neat about it and take your time. A few extra minutes here will pay off with a nice finished result that looks like it was done at the factory, which was my goal. The painters tape will flex around the curves if you are patient. Take your time, and have spare strips ready in case you need to try a few times.
• Remove the three bolts holding the metal mounting plate of the driver side tailgate speaker.
• Carefully pull down the vapor barrier diagonally from the passenger side as shown in the photos below, preserving the sticky black adhesive as you go. Use a razor blade to cut the sticky adhesive strings as they form.
• Locate two round, grey wiring plugs behind the vapor barrier and disconnect them - do not close the tailgate after this as you can't reopen it easily.
• Remove the four 10mm nuts that hold the garnish in place.
• Pull gently by hand to disengage the two large round plastic clips holding the bottom of the garnish in place. BE CAREFUL not to let the bolts that are sticking out of the back of the garnish scratch your paint when it comes loose! You can use your hand to push on those two clips from the inside of the tailgate to help disengage them.
• There is a third small square clip at the top of the rounded part of the garnish, and it took a fair amount of force for me to break that one loose. Again, don't let the bolts scratch the paint.
• With the garnish loose in your hand, pinch the two rubber wiring grommets with your hands to get them to come out of their holes, and then pull the plugs through the holes to completely free the garnish.
• Cut a 36" length of Scotch 2228 tape.
• Use painters tape to mask along the Scotch 2228 6mm from one edge as shown in the photos below.
• Use a brand new razor blade to cut a 6mm strip from the Scotch 2228 using very heavy pressure and a constant, even motion.
• Clean the vehicle paint inside the tape outline with rubbing alcohol to ensure a positive bond for the Scotch 2228.
• Apply the Scotch 2228 exactly along the masked outline on the tailgate using the non-cut factory edge of the 2228. It is soft enough to make the curves if you massage it a bit. Do not stick it firmly in place until after you have test fit the garnish and are happy with the result.
• Remove the three plastic clips from the garnish temporarily to make it easier to test fit the garnish.
• Test fit the garnish using 2 of the nuts to hold it in place temporarily. Make any adjustments needed to the Scotch 2228. If you have masked carefully and carefully applied the 2228, it should be perfect.
• Now press the 2228 firmly to ensure that it sticks well to the paint. Do not mash it as the 2228 is soft and you can ruin your outline if you mash it in spots. Use gentle, even pressure.
• Now put the three plastic clips back onto the garnish, set it in place, push the wiring plugs through their holes and seat their rubber grommets.
• A firm push should get the two round bottom clips to engage easily. The top one is more difficult. Remember: don't let the tailgate close until you are sure the tailgate release is functioning again. I used a rag through the latch to prevent it from latching as I worked.
• Once you are sure the tailgate release is working, close the tailgate, and use your whole hand to push the rounded part of the garnish hard to get the top clip to engage. It took quite a bit of force on mine, I suspect due to the added thickness of the 2228. It did engage though.

Photos of the process from start to finish:





Use painters masking tape to make a straight strip of Scotch 2228.






The painters tape that I applied precisely around the garnish before removing it.




Applying the Scotch 2228 along the inside of the painters tape so it will align exactly with the garnish all around.



Scotch 2228 applied and painters tape removed. Ready to test fit and then reinstall the garnish.





If you did your masking and taping carefully, it will look like it was done at the factory. Nobody would ever be able to tell that it was a DIY project.







I have no doubt that this fix will last the life of the vehicle. The Scotch 2228 is an industrial grade product rated for exterior use. No dirt can get trapped to damage the paint because the 2228 is stuck to the paint, not to the garnish. Even if the garnish loosens or warps or whatever else may happen over time, it cannot ever come in contact with the paint ever again.

The 2024 factory "gasket" is a joke. It's not even as thick as my finger nail, and that's not very thick. It is in no way adequate for the job. After only 1,700 miles on my 2024, there already was a little bit of clearcoat wear visible at the tips of the garnish. Fortunately, it isn't significant enough to require any repair, but if I had waited 5k or 10k miles, I suspect I would have had damage requiring repair.

In a few days I'll retighten and put blue Loctite on the nuts to make sure they don't loosen over time. Toyota does use thread locker on them.

 

Thats an INCREDIBLE job. WOW!

 

Great job!

 

Will a 2024 garnish fit a 2021 ?

 

I do not have the answer to that but I am inclined to think so.

 

Probably b/c it's all 5th gen, but changing the garnish will not solve the problem. The 2024 garnish and "gasket" are a miserable failure. See my post from a few days ago.

As I said above, the 2024 garnish and "gasket" are a miserable failure even if they did make some sort of change.

 

Here are some more photos of the 2024 garnish and why it does not work IMHO.

First, the thin and flimsy "gasket" is probably thinner than my thumbnail and it does not appear to prevent the lip that is molded onto the garnish from coming into contact with the paint because the flimsy "gasket" material is thin, it can and will compress, and there is a molded lip on the garnish that is about as thick as the flimsy "gasket." Because the garnish lip and the extremely narrow flange behind it are so narrow, far too narrow to get a more substantial thick rubber gasket to adhere, the extremely thin flimsy "gasket" attaches with adhesive inside the garnish. It's not a solution at all IMHO. Someone mentioned using two of them. I'm not sure that's a viable solution either.





Second, there are two hard, ribbed rubber inserts in the 2024 garnish tips. These also proved ineffective as at 1,700 miles on my 2024 the paint behind the tips on mine already had visible wear to the clearcoat. The rubber inserts might help prevent impact chipping, but obviously not rubbing wear as I already had visible wear when I removed the garnish. I'm also not convinced that when the bolts are tightened that the rubber inserts will keep the hard plastic garnish lip from contacting the paint.




Someone previously mentioned the ability of the garnish to move up and down. With three plastic clips on my 2024, I can say that it just can't happen. I tried.

Also, others mentioned trying to create a gap between the garnish and the paint using washers or whatever. That might work, but on my 2024 an approach like that would not have allowed the three plastic clips to engage. I also have very serious doubts that given the thinness of the garnish plastic that contact could be prevented even with a gap. Plastic flexes, and this is a high contact and high force part used for closing the tailgate.

See https://www.4runners.com/threads/plastic-trim-rubbing-off-paint.34142/page-8#post-635196 for a solution that works. The Scotch 2228 is a heavy, rubber material that is 1.65mm thick. The lip on the garnish will press into it slightly and form a perfect barrier between paint and garnish for life. Cost: about $20. Time: about 4 hours once you remove the tailgate interior panel.

 

I'm going to attempt this next weekend. Can't find the Scotch 2228 locally so have to order it off Amazon. Did get some fine line masking tape locally at least.

 

I don't see this step in the photos in your post, unless there's one photo missing. I can imagine what you're describing, just thought it would be shown.

 

I guess I skipped that photo. Imagine the garnish still in place with the blue tape placed exactly 1mm outside it on this photo:

 

Note that the Scotch 2228 is rubber and you don't want to stretch it when applying it, especially around the curves because it will do what rubber does - snap back. That includes snapping back a day or two after you apply it. That could cause the corners to pull in slightly. If in doubt, put the garnish in place temorarily for a day or two, park in the sun, and make sure the 2228 is still aligned to your satisfaction a day or two later. I didn't have any problems because I knew not to stretch it.

How good the final product looks is up to the installer's patience. I spent extra time getting the blue tape outline perfect (to the eye) because I had the time and I plan to keep this new 4R for a long time. I know that every time I open the tailgate I will look at my work due to being overly critical of my own workmanship! My eye can't detect that this was a DIY job even though I know it was. The 2228 sticks out exactly 1mm from behind the garnish all around evenly.

Now I have to go put a little blue Loctite on the bolt threads, press the vapor barrier back in place, and put the new tailgate speakers in. I have been sick for a couple of days and have accomplished nothing.

 

Appreciate your explanation. On this in two weeks. Tape ordered.

 

While I'm waiting for the 2228 tape to show up I made an interesting observation. First thing in the morning, when it's been cool overnight, the corners of the trim are not touching the paint and there is a visible gap. However in the late afternoon, where the truck has been sitting in the sun all day and the air temp is approx. 90F (32C), the trim now physically touches the paint.

 

I thought of that too. Plastic warps, and it's very thin stuff. In the Florida sun, the black plastic gets incredibly hot.

Pressure from hands also will bring it into contact with the paint even if there is a gap. I don't think gaps are the answer.

So far, so good with mine. No shifting of the outline or anything. 2228 is stuck exactly where I put it. If it's not stretched during application, it ought to be good for life.

 

Amazing post 4R Florida! I was actually planning on pulling apart my garnish this weekend in prep of my scheduled PPF install date on 9/10… I will go with your fix instead of having my shop put PPF in that area.


I was planning on inspecting/removing the hood scoop in preparing for the PPF since I want everything tucked in those joints properly. Any thoughts/concerns on the hood scoop and any preventative measures you plan on doing?

2024 ORP , 1450 miles.

thanks!

 

I think I am going to leave the hood scoop alone. There seem to be few complaints about it compared to the tailgate. I have seen a few pictures with what appears to be some rubbing, but no chipping. If anyone has seen major hood scoop problems, please post. On a YouTube video of a 2020 4R, it looks like the hood scoop has a proper gasket on the back:



If the gasket is all around like the picure shows, I would think that all that is required is to make sure that the bolts are kept tight over time. On the garnish, Toyota did use thread locker. I would hope they did the same here. If the gasket as shown is held in place firmly, I can't see a major problem happening. If the bolts loosen I guess it might start shifting around and rubbing on the paint.

I'll have to go inspect mine. I'll run a piece of paper around the edge to see if there is any looseness or gaps.

I wonder why the big plastic trim on the back doors doesn't have a problem?

 

This is what my hood scoop looked like on my old '21. This happened with the factory gasket in place. I touched it up and replaced the gasket, moving it closer to the edge of the scoop.

On my new '24 I removed the scoop and had PPF go all the way to the edge of the cutout in the hood. It's literally at 5 minute job to remove the scoop.

 

4R Florida quick question on the 2228 tape. Got it last night and looking at it, on both edges there is a small "lip" where there is no adhesive. Did you install the tape with this "lip" facing up towards the window (North I guess you could say?)