What have you done to your 5th Gen 4Runner today?

Rocking that 1Up - great rack!

 

I did some redneck engineering using things in my 4Runner to keep my chair upright and in one piece.

 

I appreciated the wax job I gave the 4 runner last week.

 

AddW1 oil catch can with own CF custom bracket:

 

Had a hidden killswitch for my immobilizer installed for valet/service drivers.

 

Anyway I can get a full body shot of your rig? I’m wanting to do the same cornfed leveling.

 

I just returned from rough off roading, no rub. Although I did have a bmc done when the armor was installed.

 

Removed 3rd row seats if anyone is interested in a set, getting ready to make a base and re configure my platform cooler slide deal

 

I’ve been working off and on building some drawers for the Runner. I did it somewhat different as the set I built is all aluminum. I have lots experience building structures with aluminum extrusion so.....

I am almost done. Just need to finish the second drawer with adding the diamond plate. I finished the first drawer today, built their frames the last few previous days and finished the cabinet too.

 

Got the last few pieces put back on since the wrap minus the sliders. Still waiting for them to get back from powder coat after fighting with rust for almost a year. Also installed the new alpharex headlights. After I noticed my passenger side was cracked from the tree we hit three weeks ago on the trail.

 

damn that anthracite looks awesome! i think i will go with that instead of black. very cool look.

 

Man I really want remote start. Great that it shuts off when you open the door so no one drives off with it, can't do that if the doors stay locked or stay running when key fob is within a few feet. Failed on this one toyota

 

Not much:
1. Decided to take the RAV on vacation: ~4000+ miles through the SW visiting family & friends. Maybe some light snow. Should cut gas by 1/2. No off-roading, so I shouldn't need the Runner.
2. Got the Runner pretty much the way I want it.
3. No camping =staying in hotels.
4. Concentrating on my FJ40 right now=getting her up and running so I can sell her.

Anyone who thinks strongly that I should take the Runner, PM me and I'll send you info on where to send the gas money!

 

Thanks! You gotta plastidip it black first, then go over it with the metallizer in the gunmetal color. 3-4 coats of metals we will get this shade.

 

Keepin it simple cause it’s practical and just works. Gonna secure top and sides to base plate same as before with turn buckles so it’s easily removable

 

Rago dash panel. Would've been a super easy install had I not dropped a screw behind the dash. It was a blemished panel, not real sure what the blemish was

 

Can you share your masking tips/tricks? Great look I'd like to copy, masking skills are killing me. TIA

 

installed a set of CBI steel skids. install was much easier than I expected. took less than 2 hours by myself. used a floor jack to get the skids in place and everything lined up perfectly. a couple of the nuts were hard to get at to tighten, but nothing that wasn't possible with basic hand tools. I re-used the plastic covering the gap between the bumper and the front skid... had to trim the plastic tabs a bit, but it went together just fine.

the skids are well made and have great coverage. not too many people are running these, due to shipping cost, I beleive, but shipping is expensive for everything up here in Canada. I lucked out and my (somewhat) local 4x4 shop had these in stock, so it was an easy choice.

I received them in bare metal and did the painting myself with duplicolor self etching primer and automotive enamel paint. they turned out just fine, but I would not do it the same way again. I did it in my garage, and it created quite a mess even though I had everything masked off well. that paint mist really travels. I have my sliders coming in a month or so and will have to figure out a better way.

(click for larger)

 

For sure!
When using plasti dip on letters, masking isn't so crucial. I just masked a rectangle around the area to paint, in this case the rectangle encompassed the symbol and letters. My masking paper wasn't that large either. Thing about plastidip is the overspray will rub off with your fingers, very easily. I spray some quick detailer on the surrounding areas to make it even easier as the plasti dip spray wont stick well to that.

Once you've masked the area and prepped the letters ( alcohol wipes or Krud Kutter works well to remove any dirt and grease), spray away. When it's all done, simply peel the plastidip around the letters. You'll notice you can peel around them pretty easily as the letters are raised and wont attach to the rest of the paint. For hard to reach areas like between the O, A, and inside the symbol, I use 2 toothpicks to pull the paint off. That's it!

 

Appreciate the wisdom, thanks.

Did you clean away unwanted paint after each coat or only after the final?

 

For sure! I just do all the cleaning after.

-Clean/Prep
-Mask
-3-4 coats black ( 5 minutes between coats is fine)
-3-4 coats Metallizer ( same 5 min). One thing to note with metallizer is the more coats you put, the brighter it gets. So, stop when you get your desired shade.
- take off masking after about 10-15 min from final coats
- peel paint around letters
- wipe the surrounding area that got any overspray ( i just spray detailed the whole hatch and rear bumper)
- have a beer and admire your work

 

Suppose to pick up my truck from collision center tomorrow. Mean time, got these in

 

Painted the new rci link and shock mount skids to match the rest

 

20% ceramic all around + tinted ambers on the headlight, tinted upper tailights, blacked out center caps

 

did some cutting and made the tires not rub.

 

Installed a redarc brake controller and partially installed LED interior lights. Will finish the lighting project tomorrow.

I was able to do the brake controller without partially disassembling the dash as some of the videos I watched showed. I could reach behind on the left side and pop one of the switch blanks out by feel and then pop the redarc one with the controller knob in after I threaded the wire harness through the blank and down behind the dash.

 

That is one BAF lookin rig!

 

For the 5th Gen on a scale of 1-5 is a catch can a must do? 1=no and 5=of course dumbass

For those who've installed on 5th Gen's, how frequently (#miles) are you having to empty them?

 

How has your plastidip held up to washing? I dipped the letters on my carhometrim skid plate and just one time hitting those with the power washer and it started peeling. So far, the dip on my bumpers hasnt come up during power washing, but something tells me that dip on the letters/emblems will peel up with a power washer.