Introductions and paint questions

Hey everyone,

I'm new, but I've been lurking for a month or so, really appreciate the wealth of knowledge and advice available here.
I've been lucky enough to acquire myself a 2010 Access Cab and I'm deeply in love (don't tell my wife).
The only problem I have with her (the truck, not my wife), is the paint on the hood and roof has already given up the ghost and I can see what looks like the beginnings of rust starting in.

The way I see it, I have a few options -

1. Get it painted. I've been quoted anywhere from $500-900 range from Maaco. All the way up to ~7000 from a more reputable body shop in the area.
2. Wrap it. Got a quote for ~$1000 for this, I don't think I want to go with this option for the sake of longevity.
3. Get it covered in bed liner. Got a quote from a shop that specializes in this for ~$1400 for the hood and the roof. I'm not 100% sure I'll like it but I imagine it'll last a good while and the pictures the guy shared with me of his other work actually look (suprisingly) really good.
4. Attempt the paint or bed liner myself. I'm no stranger to DIY projects, but I would never call myself a painter. I'm sure I could do a bad job with some rattle cans, but I don't exactly have the facilities to make the job an easy one. I'd probably be doing my best out in my driveway.
5. Poppy's Patina or the like. I've looked into this and I feel confident that I can sand everything down and apply a wipe on clear, just not sure how it would look or hold up to the sun.
6. Do nothing, let it ride. Is this a viable option? Will the rust eventually turn my taco to dust? Will I have to change my username if I don't pick this option?

Anyway, I'd appreciate whatever advice anyone has to offer on the subject. I'm at a bit of a loss and would really like to hear from anybody who has experience with any of the above options.
If you have an alternative to anything I've listed I'm also all ears.

Thanks in advance for your input, and thanks again for helping to build such a useful place to find info and experiences.

 

Hey welcome to TacomaWorld. If it was me this would be my order. 4,2,1,3,5 or just leave it. Depends how much it bothers you. Good thing is if you decided to paint you could start with the roof of the truck and test your luck. It’s less of a noticeable spot than the hood. It’s a common thing for these 2nd gen’s to lose the clear coat on the hood and roofs.

 

Thanks for the response! Yeah, I'm leaning towards giving the rattle can paint job a go. I've also been looking at some aftermarket hoods. Concerned that the fit wouldn't be good, and I'd probably need to paint it anyway, so it's a bit of a moot point. The sun damage doesn't bother me too much, although I've been enjoying polishing up the rest of the truck and wish I could give some love to the hood and the roof. I worry if I just leave it the rust will eventually win and I'll have a big problem on my hands, though.

 

Depends on the budget. I would get it professionally painted if possible.

 

Hey mate,

I’m in Hawaii and spent 3k on getting my whole truck resprayed.

I did all the other work myself, but, the paint was left to MAACO. Was it excellent? No but it’s a hell of a lot better than it was

 

Yeah, if I end up getting it professionally painted it'll have to be Maaco. I've just heard horror stories about people's experiences with them. Spoke to a woman at the franchise nearest me and she seemed like she had her head on straight, though. Maybe I should start saving up while I debate if I can rattle can it.

 

It's not the shop so much as the painter doing the work. Good equipment and a clean bodyshop definitely helps, but if the prep work isn't done right or the painter isn't skilled the results will show. Paint work can be finicky.

 

Yeah, that's what I've taken away from my research on the topic. I'd like to be able to trust that if I pay Maaco to do the job, it'll come out looking pretty good, but I'm just not confident they'll do the prep as well as they should to get the results I want. When I got my Maaco estimate I was able to get them to drop some of the labor price by agreeing to do a lot of the removal/reinstall myself (bug shield, drip molding, cab mounted brake light), but I was also just worried they'd break shit when they tried to put it on or take it off.

 

WELCOME, nice truck, and ramps

 

@PaintFadeParade - another option that I’ve had great success with is going to a vocational technical high school and having the body shop program paint the truck. Labor charge was $10/hr LOL. Cost me 1300 to have a Dodge Ram 2500 two tone painted. It took time but the results were excellent.

Edit: that was a complete strip and repaint

 

That's something I hadn't considered at all, thanks for the idea!

 

My opinion is painting it is best (however that's accomplished), but don't rule out wrapping so fast. Wrapping the hood and roof is easy compared to other body parts. Plus your truck is black. It's easy and cheap to find black wrap. Stick with 3M or Avery. I've wrapped my roof and hood several times (different colors and patterns). Just don't leave it more than 2 years (IF in a sunny area). Removal is done in minutes. Don't pay for someone to do it, if you can help it.

I'd like to add that for the areas I wrap, I just wash it. No polishing, so this saves me a lot of time during maintenance.

 

That's an interesting idea. I had completely written off wrapping because of the price of installation and how quickly it would need to be replaced. Can you share how you learned to handle the process on your own? I'm worried I'd just screw it up and waste a whole roll of vinyl.

 

+1 vote on the repaint. I did the same, took off everything I could and repainted it myself if necessary (grill, fender flares, etc) and had Maaco do the body. It's been a year and a half and the truck still looks new. Check your local reviews and find a paint shop that others are happy with, if you love your truck it's a great investment.

 

Thanks Dave, good food for thought. I'm still a bit torn on the best way to go, but the feedback from everyone here has me feeling less at a loss. Much appreciated.

 

YouTube taught me quite a bit, along with trying it myself and learning. The vinyl is very forgiving, meaning wrinkles and creases come out with some use of a heat gun. The vinyl can stretch over or into odd shapes with the use of some heat. Black vinyl is easy to find and cheap. I realize there will be different blacks out there, so you can order samples beforehand to see. The roof isn't too bad, but the hood is more visible and there may be a shade or sheen difference if you don't check. Tools are cheap. It's a cool process if you're up for it.

 

www.monstaliner.com

Since you mentioned both bedliner and DIY options.

Being black makes it easier, as you don't have to worry about matching jambs, underhood, etc. And Monstaliner can be applied smoother (not paint smooth, but smoother) than traditional bedliner.

Some folks around here have done it. Doesn't look bad, very durable.

 

That's good to know, one of the issues I have with the bed liner paint jobs is the intense texture.

 

I pulled the trigger on a wrapping tool set and a couple of sheets of vinyl for the roof and hood. Going to sand them down and then hit it with some primer (maybe) before wrapping. Thanks for the suggestion. I think I'd rather try a fix myself for ~200 bucks before I invest the money for the paint job or the time/effort to hit it with some rattle cans.