Slowly getting started

Well, I haven't done much but i've started doing a few mods on my truck. As many of you know i hate chrome so the first step for me is to get my truck as black as possible. I tinted the front windows to match the back 28% which is the limit here in SC. The guy i took it to did a great job. it took him about 30 minutes and looks great. He charged $30 per window. He doesn't take checks or plastic, so its cash only and he doesn't charge tax so it cost me $60 even to get the front two windows done.

I always hated the chrome trim around my grille. Fortunately there is a guy at my work that has my exact truck but it's the sport model, so it has the color matched grille trim, and he has wanted chrome ever since he bought it back in 05. So we met out in the parking lot during lunch and swapped grill's so now we're both happy. I was worried that since his truck was 2 years older than mine the paint might be slightly faded but it looks great, can't tell any difference and it was scratch and ding free.

My next step will most likely be a 3" lift. i've been staring at it online for over a week now i'm just afraid of any unwanted side affects i might get from lifting it. So as soon as i get up the guts i will buy the lift, hopefully in the next month... 2 months max.

I would like some input on my next asthetic mod though. I am thinking about having my rims powdercoated gun metal grey. Then i started thinking that it would look nice if all my badging matched. I was thinking about taking off all the chrome badging and having them powedercoated the same color as the wheels so that they would match. Basically my truck would be all black and grey (although i also like black and red, so i'm halfway considering that)

Anyway, what do you guys think about gunmetal grey powdercoating on all my chrome as well as the wheels? how bout some feedback, or if you have your own ideas feel free to share, i'm open to suggestions

I know its not much but one step at a time.....

 

When I had my 05 D-Cab I shaved all the emblems off the doors and tailgate, to me it looked much cleaner. As far as the rims I would go with aftermarket or pick up a set of FJ cruiser wheels, they look bad@ss on Taco's.

 

yeah, the fj wheels do look really good but i'm not big on spending money on wheels. i've also considered getting a set of black steelies for dirt cheap. If i went with black wheels there's a good chance i would paint all my badging red. thanks for the input homer!

 

The stock wheels from the off road package look great IMHO. I am not one to see the point in spending any money on replacing wheels either. I think that the factory alloys are always nicer than anything you can buy aftermarket. (just my $0.02) As far as the powdercoating goes. See if anyone has any pictures of their stock wheels powdercoated. I don't know if I have seen any finished products not counting the pic that that one guy photoshopped, and I thought that looked too dark, but that was on a Speedway blue truck, so maybe it would look bad ass on a black truck.

For the badging... I'd go with the same black as the truck if you are going to do it. Still there, but I assume that it would be very understated, kind of like a drop-shadow effect.

 

If you have your badging powercoated RED, it would definately stand out from the rest of the crowd. Plus red and black is a very pretty combination on vehicles as evidanced by the number of vehicles that use this color combination.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Which FJ wheels are you talking about, the alloys?. Tha 17x7.5 black sleelies can be bought for the same or less than the black aftermarket wheels, and sometimes with tires. (although not desireable off road tires) These with the older model black lugnuts give total blackout.

 

Thanks for the feedback Mav, but when i was talking about powdercoating, i don't think i'm gonna go black, i think i'll go gunmetal greay if i do it. I wasn't sure what it would look like until i saw PB's truck, he has his rims done in gunmetal grey. I like the idea about doing the badging black though, that might actually look pretty good. you could still see it if your up close but from far away it's just straight black.... i'll have to think about that one. Thanks again for the feedback

 

Yeah, thats waht i was thinking, i love the black and red combination. I think it would either look really good or really bad, maybe i need to photoshop it before i try it.

 

I was talking about the alloys, i didn't know the fj's came with black steelies. If i dont go with the gunmetal look then i will probably definately go with a set of cheap black steelies, and black lugs would be ideal

 

ndcouch:
Another trick is put some tape over your emblems and use red majic marker on the tape. That way you can see it on the truck from any angle and then remove it when you are through.

 

thats actually a really simple/clever suggestion, i would have never thought to do that. Thanks Red