Wisconsin Tacomas and bad financial advice with vacuum talk

just scuff and clean, remember POR is an undercoat even says on the can to top coat after it drys.

 

I've been quite happy with KBS coating that I used on my sliders (minus my own f-ups during application but that's on me). RustSeal as the protective layer like POR15, then BlackTop as the UV protective topcoat and flat finish.

Only thing I will say is after a couple years of not running front mudflaps there are rock chips on them now but otherwise stuff has been tough as nails. Will probably pull them and touch up in winter/spring but shouldn't require stripping everything.

 

Be sure to run your gas tank waaaayyy down to greatly reduce the weight. IIRC, the drivers side slider bolts up to a tank strap. I ran my "Cruising Range" down to 5 miles. I've read of an incident where they didn't drain the tank and had a nightmare with the install.

 

Yeah. POR is a 3 step process. Use their cleaner/degreaser, then their metal etch and apply the protective coat. You need to coat the POR with paint or the POR 15 Top Coat. The uncoated POR 15 protective coat will "chalk" if left in the sun.
Here's a vid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ckBJxW6mU&t=403s
The protective coat will look fabulous. It is self leveling and leaves a really nice finish. The POR Top Coat ruined that look. It was really difficult to work with the silver. Black may yield better finish. I used a chip brush to apply it. A better brush may have given better results. I dunno.

Keep it away from anything you don't want coated. There is no known solvent for this stuff. Get on you and it will be there for a long while. And plan on tossing your paint brush. Which is why I used a "10-for-$12 pack" paint brush. Use a real paint brush.

 

KBS is largely the same, except they have aerosol cans of the BlackTop top coat which is much much easier to deal with. But yeah don't get POR15 or KBS protective coat on anything, it isn't coming off - ever. I spilled a bunch on the garage floor, it's stronger than my old busted up concrete and is never coming off.

 

When my buddy did his heep frame he used the cheap foam brushes, and a little goes along way.
Dave is rite it does not come off of anything!

 

Another good option is Steel-It. It's expensive but incredibly stout. Prep is basically just sanding with 30 grit/40 grit or sandblasting before application.

 

Sandblasting and painting mine took about 4 hours, my sandblaster/compressor aren't the best. Sprayed on very easily, dried fast, looks great.

 

Hey James @Thatbassguy, if you go to RA, when you get to gate 4, turn your head right. If you don't see Dean's @rubbersidedown truck, you're blind!

Good seeing you last evening, Dean. Kinda felt bad blowing outta there so soon. It was a little cool when I got home, should've worn the other jacket.

 

If you can’t find 30 grit, you can make your own by gluing gravel onto a piece of leather

 

I’ve been known to drag things across a concrete driveways a time or two.

 

Not necessary, and super bad for your fuel pump.

Run it to half or a quarter, but you can always support the tank with a floor jack. Or a pillow.

Half a tank will hold up just fine with only one tank strap.

 

Someone left this on my windshield while I was at work. Kinda cool

 

Dude them are hard to find!

 

Nice! Much better then getting ducked.

 

If this was true, I would have had to put fuel pumps in every vehicle I've ever owned. I run mine at least until the light comes on all the time, and regularly run it down to the point it says cruising range 0.

 

I have 2 of them now. A family member got me one for christmas

 

Yep same. Also when it says empty, there’s still like 3 gallons left. There’s still plenty there

 

I used to do that all of the time with my 2nd gen, until the fuel pump burnt out. They use the gas to cool the pump and repeatedly running that low puts added wear into the pump. Of course, this will happen at a very inopportune time, without any warning. Mine cost $800 to replace IIRC.

 

I do this all the time with every vehicle I've ever owned. Never had a fuel pump go due to it. Running it out of fuel completely is a different story.