Has anyone color keyed ...

[RMcCleary]

Has anyone color keyed or thought of color keying the gray plastic facia in our bumpers? I've been thinking about painting mine black to match the body. Suggestions? Thoughts?

Thanks,

Ryan

[Stripped Honda]

someone did it but i like the contrast of it so i will leave mine alone

[Burger Steak & Eggs]

I will be doing this when the bumper itself gets pitted up a bit more. Shouldn't take long, given the sort of paint they are using.

[rudeelanda]

I'm thinking of doing the bumper piece, the mirrors, door handles, tailgate handle.

[07Sport]

Im planning on the door handles, tailgate handle and mirror caps. Id do the front bumper, but then youd have to do the rear bumper gray plastic, and honestly, unless you somehow altered the front gray peice to make it more flush, i dont think itd look that good painted anyway.

[Art64]

Originally Posted by RMcCleary

Has anyone color keyed or thought of color keying the gray plastic facia in our bumpers? I've been thinking about painting mine black to match the body. Suggestions? Thoughts?

Thanks,

Ryan

Somebody did that a few months back. The gray part of the bumper was painted at the dealership and I believe the guy ordered the grill with same color as the truck's. Or you can have a reputable body shop to do it. Or do it yourself if you have the resources. I painted mine to match the truck's color. I like this look better.

[Dezertlex]

I know it's not black but here is mine. Smoothed and colormatched, they also filled in the holes for the front license plate bracket.

[Chris1976]

Painting the plactic parts to match (door handles, mirrors, etc) is a risky move. Im not saying dont do it......but be prepared to pay $$$$ for it. Its like anything else.......you get what you pay for. The main problem will be durability. Handles get a lot of abuse and I promise that it wont be long before you get some chipping and peeling.

How do I know this......I paint as part of my profession. As a matter of fact Im an instructor for the Air Force and I teach Aircraft painting. I work with all the different surface prep techniques and chemicals. Also, I have associates who paint for body shops and was looking into doing the color matching myself. Once I started adding up the cost of materials to do it RIGHT and time for doing it RIGHT, I said nevermind. Im a perfectionist and I knew the finished product wouldnt be what I wanted. The good news is that I talked to my friend who runs the Toyota body shop here and down the road there will be aftermarket options to replace the black plastic. Might be awhile but Ill wait.

Just my 2 cents.

Chris

[Dezertlex]

This is the third truck that I have colormatched, the only areas that I have had problems with is chrome bumpers on the front of the truck. The chrome plating needs to be DA'd down to bare metal then it needs to be self etched and sealed before it can be painted, the same steps used to paint any bare metal. My experience has been the metal parts chip easier than the plastic parts do on the front end, this is why Toyota uses a plastic front bumper cover on the Limited instead of painting the metal SR5 bumper. Most of Toyota vehicles have come with colorkeyed handles and mirrorcaps, I don't know why the new Tundras don't follow suit. But having painted parts will show scratches and chips more than a raw plastic piece or chrome.

[Tundradrenalin]

Originally Posted by Dezertlex

I know it's not black but here is mine. Smoothed and colormatched, they also filled in the holes for the front license plate bracket.

I really like what you've done.

[RMcCleary]

Thanks for all your input. I think I will hold off for now and stash away some funds for a more functional mod like a lift and stereo upgrade.

Ryan