Exterior Appearance

Everything from body filler and fiberglass to paint and clear coat, if it goes on the outside, and improves the overall appearance, it is in this section.

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Hackers Grill -part3- Almost Done

Small setback, the clear wasn't perfect so it was redone, and it came out MUCH better! The logo and mesh were painted and installed. Some additional odds and ends need to be taken care of, and currently have 54hrs into the custom grill.

The extruded steel, otherwise refered to as 'mesh' came out very nicely. It was primed and painted with Krylon Fusion spray paint, and then a clear coat. It is quite durable and looks good compared to the 'real paint'.

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Baked My New Headlights

Well these pictures speak for themselves. You wouldnt believe the look on some peoples faces when i would explain this to them, just bewilderment. It worked out so good that i was in disbelief myself.

The recipe called for 9min at 350 with the oven off, then peal them apart. It really was that simple, and other than some sore fingers, nothing was damaged or broken in the process. I went a bit overboard with sanding off the plasti-chrome and using clear, but it made all the difference. I also retained the side reflectors, and masked the turn signal area, i really like the look of these now.

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Hackers Grill -part2- Paint

The project is moving along quite well, got the grill into the paint booth, and it sure looks good! Primer and more primer the first day, then RR (Radiant Red) the next day and clear. I did some other parts also, my headlight inserts, and my rear tailgate handles.

The RR paint code was quite simplistic, and required a minimal ammount of primary colors to achieve the proper mixture. I am interested to see if the other X-Runner colors share a similar characteristic.

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Custom Grill -part1- Spy Photo

Well i have been working hard on a project i now want to share with you all. This is what i am calling "hackers grill" and its a custom grill for my 05+ Toyota Tacoma. This stage is 40hrs into the project, and shows the raw part ready for paint. More details can be found within the thread.

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