Pay a pro or rattle can my hood?

yeah especially with a metallic paint color you rub that base color coat at all when trying to lightly remove the clear and its like you said game over the metalflake is gone where it gets into it if you go too far.

i was careful as can be but like i said i know its a temporary fix and there no chemical bond between the clear i reapplied and the paint under, but as you said and hit the nail on the had the intent is to make sure corrosion doesnt get into and thru the more porous base color and start irreparable damage to the metal body parts for now im just trying to keep any corrosion from happening to the metal underneath. but ill have to bite the bullet and have a entire repaint professionally done to her in a few years expensive and a lot of work to remove alot of my mods first to then send it to a shop to get the work done and then a lot of work putting things back together again just the bumpers and cap removal make me annoyed let alone other things ill have to remove to minimize the cost of prep and i dont trust anyone to reassemble things to the standard i would

yeah and often i feel the same way, no matter what i try and regardless if the TLC ive tried to do over the years to preserve this paint and slow this inevitable flaw they caused i just often feel overwhelmed like i cant stay ahead of it. you said it, "every two weeks it seems it gets noticeably worse"... i feel your pain cause ive been going thru it too and i have pride in my truck and how well ive maintained it and the mods ive done to it which are extreme and i wouldnt trade it in exchange for a brand new one even if they threw additional cash my because mine s so highly modified with my built in engine heated shower system and p and my remote start and alarm i designed and my tesla style screen with its own phone number and internet and apps and streaming and 4 gun safes my ham radio and on and on and on the new ones are a joke compared to what features mine now has nobody in their right mind would have done all the one of a kind mods like ive done and thousands in lift and wheels and tires and cap and electrical mods and 2nd battery and water tank and heat exchanger and pumps and the list goes on and on and then on purpose neglect the paint...... like hell we did.

 

There’s something I don’t think you understand here. The clear coat on these trucks generally starts turning to crap between 8 to 12 years. It usually starts on the roof or hood where it gets the most UV rays. Once it starts there ain’t no stopping the process. It will continue on all on the painted exterior .Painting just the hood is a waste of time and $$$ cause you’ll need to paint another exterior part before long. Either live with the clear coat deterioration or paint the entire truck. With your low mileage I wouldn’t think twice about painting it.

4+ years ago my roof and hood looked like shit. I took it to MAACO and they did a beautiful job. $2500 I got my truck painted including the shell. Today it still looks as good as when I picked it up from MAACO. It looks fantastic, I get compliments on it all the time. I hear a lot of complaints about MAACO but most all those negative comments are second hand, not from people who actually had their vehicles painted. My neighbors across the street got his Chevy painted at the same place as me just before mine and his also looks like new. There are obviously some MAACO shops that aren’t as good as others but that apply to most things.
Here’s my truck post paint, looks as good today 4 years later.

 

This is all subjective and everyone's standards are different. One mans "fantastic" is another mans "cringe". No offense, but without even seeing your truck in person I can see where they took shortcuts and why the cost was $2500 instead of $8-10k - which is what a quality paint job would cost. MAACO type places can usually do a good job laying down paint but they take shortcuts on the prep. Devil is in the detail with paint jobs. Material quality is also a concern as one of the easy ways a shop can cut costs is by using the cheapest, lowest quality products. High end paint jobs may require $2-3k cost in paint alone before you even start paying for labor.

Personally, I'd rather keep my faded paint than get a cheap paint job. But everyone is different, like I said, this is all subjective. Also, since you called it out... I have had paint jobs done at both MAACO (it was a race car so we weren't as concerned about quality but even then we did as much prep as we could ourselves and brought the car in already disassembled) and legit shops. There is a massive difference in quality between the two. There is a reason why there is a difference in cost. But some may not care or may not see the difference. Others will.

 

"MAACO type places can usually do a good job laying down paint but they take shortcuts on the prep. Devil is in the detail with paint jobs. Material quality is also a concern as one of the easy ways a shop can cut costs is by using the cheapest, lowest quality products. High end paint jobs may require $2-3k cost in paint alone before you even start paying for labor."

^ absolute truth

 

My OCD is killing me on the fender flare rubber trim. Truck looks good though!

 

Ever thought about a wrap?

I got quoteed about 425 to wrap the tailgate and both quarter panels from the rear wheels back, which isn't too terrible IMHO.

Depending on the color chosen I'm not sure on the matching, but I've seen some cool patterns for hoods in wrap format.
Not sure it's what you are after, but may be worth at least looking into.

 

Sorry but what I said is definitely not subjective. I’ve had numerous people look at my truck and no negative comments. Some pretty knowledgeable expert car guys. Again it 4 years later and it still looks great. The thing is it really doesn’t make sense to spend $8000 to $10000+ on a 10+ year old truck paint job. That’s more than half what the truck is worth, you’ll never get the $$$ back when you go to sell it.
But if want to pay $10000 for a paint job that most no one can tell the difference between that and MAACO , go for it.

 

Wow now I am starting to reconsider rattle canning my 2009 MGM. The hood and roof are completely gone it's so bad it looks like primer. The truck is 15 years old and the clear is going everywhere fenders, doors the only part that still looks new is the tailgate, truck has been outside since day one. I have enough rattle can to do the hood and clear that I got from https://www.automotivetouchup.com/ maybe Maaco is a route that I should take. Getting an estimate couldn't hurt.

 

Their opinions are also subjective. Everything you laid out is precisely subjective - it's your opinion on how your truck looks and your experience of other people giving you their opinion on your truck. You now have two more subjective opinions (me and @TegoTaco ) who feel differently. I'm not trying to talk shit or offend you, just showing that there are different opinions, preferences, and standards. I know I've told plenty of people that their paint looks "good" or "great" before when it was below my personal standards. It's not always about shitting on people. I can be happy about someone's project if they're happy about it regardless of whether or not it's up to my standards. It's not like every car on the road needs a $20k show car paint job.

People RAVE about the paint on my track car all the time. But it's objectively not stellar quality, it's still a midgrade paint job. It displays very well since it's white, but I know the car intimately and it's got a ton of small flaws that others don't notice and likely wouldn't even notice if the car was theirs. I'm just more picky than they are.

 

Dude, they sprayed over rubber moldings. @clenkeit is 100% correct...you get what you pay for and the more expensive paint jobs are usually because there is more labor in the prep and they spray higher quality product. There's nothing wrong with a $2,500 paint job if you are aware of and comfortable with the difference in quality but anyone who has given feedback that they can't tell the difference between what you ended up with and a $10,000 paint job likely hasn't seen a $10,000 repaint.

 

Would it be smart just to have a 9 yr old truck sprayed with a new coat of clear coat , even if there’s nothing wrong with in now? Would it eliminate some prep work?

 

my opinon only, id say no, because i still feel strongly that the chemical bond between the base coat and the factory clearcoat wasnt done correctly by observing the proper cure times and not waiting too long to then apply the clear of a 2 stage process. you cant wait too long or the clear wont bong and grip the base

that why they are delaminating rather than just uv fading there is a difference and photos dot do this justice to those that arent having the problem the ones of us that have this delaminating know what it looks like and how it progresses.

so to answer you, in my opinion, if you just spray fresh clear over the factory clear and do it before the delaminating starts, its still gonna happen because you arent stooping the delaminating from happening between those two layer your just putting more stuff on top that will also have to come off

but again thats my opinion and others can state theirs and no need to bash each other if we differ in opinion, the OP is calling for opinion, they are for him to chose so respectfully offer up your own and try to avoid bashing anoyone elses nobody has a real answer that suits everyone... for example even those they say to do it right is to do a full repaint, yeah i agree with that too, but some of us cant afford that but i dont need to bash them just because i cant affrod that option.......even if we dont agree, all that matters is we give the the opyions and opions we each have and its his pocketbook and vehicle to decide what fits his situation

i still feel that the paint shouldnt fail on a grand scale on certain of batches of cars ... even after 10 years. you see many brands that have blog sites that dont have threads that cover paint problems being seen like this where an unusually high number of owners are having the same issue. like i said i have other cars that are older and are in the elements more than thins truck and twice as old and they have thier factory paint holding up far superior.

i feel that yeah, toyota should be liable even if its 10 years old, its obvious it was a defective process even for those that cared for their cars like i have and kept them garaged overnight and cleaned and waxed regularly no different that the other cars i have that are twice as old and still held up better

 

hey OP, do you mind if i ask... are you the original owner of your truck?

I am original owner of mine and i bought it without ever the intend to sell it, i am have never sold a vehcile, im the type that buys a vehicle an dmaintains it for life unless it has a major major faiure. i have a vintage 911 and a vintage corvette each one is well over 50 and i bought each one over 30 years ago and will have them for life. other cars i have i have had for minimum 19 years and usually only have otten rid of them becae of eventual high high milage failure of the engine otherwisse i have never ever sold a car . im the type that when i buy i expect to keep it for its lifetime


regardless if the warranty is lets say a 7 year / 70000 mile warranty, .... anyone buying would expect a vehicle like this to meet its reputation lasting 250K to 300K = miles or more without any major component failure and appreciates that the warranty is acceptable with regards that traditionally the expiry is determine by the manufacturer usually only to the fact that we accept that at about 70000 you have to begin changing out life limited parts... like timing chains or control arm bushing etc and the factory doesnt want to pay for that , be we surely expect the vehicle to last much longer and not have anything major happen or we wouldn't have bought them the minor and continuous maint costs are reasonable and expected and kind of come on as your loans is now paid off, therefore offsetting one direction the payments were going to for now directing them from loan payments to being now towards scheduled aging parts maintenance payments a trade off lose one cost , gain another at equal cost


say for example if a car has a 70k 7 years warranty and say you own it and at just before 100k it has a major engine failure..... sure thats low percentage and happens and a chance we take but i would still butch at the factory and say really i expect this thing to require higher cost maintenance after your warranty is up but surely i wouldnt have bought this if i knew it was gonna have a major component failure that could sent it to the grave before 100K 10 years and id expect longer than that and it not even lasting 100k/10 more like just beyond 70k/7 years you see it begin to delaminate

so regarding this post and the demographics and all for the different type of owners i was curious which kind you are so that maybe you can focus your attention on those who offer up opinions and advice that meet your same situation and expectations for your plans for the vehicle when you obtained it

so lets run out a few.


there are those that buy new and just trade it in even 4 or 5 years or befoe warrenty expires becuae they want to not deal with higher maint cost that bgin at the time around warranty expire. they just dont want the hassle or time and maybe that isnt their thing and they like new tech latest and greatest and did preplan to mod the thing with serious mods and keep the thing knowing that that level of mods is things mostly done by the do it yourself kind of guy like me that bought the truck and expect to have it for a long long time and do the maint and parts replacement of aging things and likes to do that.

to me these kind of people are also the ones that maintain they vehicle cosmetically to a higher standard because they bought it for life and never intend to sell and maybe cant afford to just trade in and make a new loan every few years.. thats me


then there are those that buy a used vehicle maybe its just a few years old maybe just before or just after warranty expire, you know they are the ones that buy the vehicle that the group that likes to trade in for new sell.


when you buy those most people and the factory attitude is, well you bought used so you accept it no matter what later manifests.

i can appreciate and respect that some people prefer that to avoid paying high price for something that depreciates the most in the first few years. no problem with people who do that to each their own but again pointing out that opinion often match when you group the buyer type into the categories of

1st group -new buyer, intend to keep for life and maintain it beyond warranty with expectation it should run for hundred of thousands of mile but all of that additional maint after warranty expire is reasonable and nothing major

2nd group new buyer, wants to keep it for maybe 4 or 5 then dump it for newer model with latest features and dump it for sale before warranty runs out on them even those warranty isnt transferable to next buyer

3rd group - the used buyer doesnt want sticker shock and wants to buy after the vehicle is depreciated but looks for a vehicle as low as miles as possible and hopes it wasnt abuse, but make the best decision on whats available vs his pocketbook and buys knowing no guarantee of anything and no proof that it was taken care of properly and cr was detailed to maybe cover up flaws because owner intended to dump it off before warranty and maybe wouldnt have kept it up more than they need to to keep it presentable enough that a sohp detailing it and then putting a for sale on it makes it look attractive to a buyer like this.

i would suggest you look for those who fit you category and match your buyer type lean towards their answers and suggestion since there are such a wide variety of opinions being given to you...


for me... i think maybe a lot of the people on here that arent original owner who bought with intend to keep it forever expect that a vehicle doesnt fail majorly just after warranty in any regard or area even though warranty isnt assure and you could have an odd lemon

however

this issue isnt an odd occasional lemon, its common and its happening to a LOT of original owners who have bought their cars and maintain them no different that other cars they have owned or still currently own


lets face it, if warranty was over and just an occasional lemon failed and that buyer had his engine go at 100k and expected 300k when they bought it, sure i think the factory would work with that person and have friends who have had that happen. or sometimes they dont get sympathy and they lose but gain this isnt a huge number of people having something like that happen


with this issue regarding clearcoat, its a huge number of trucks having it happen with buyers of all types experiencing it. the common factor is the toyota factory put on a paint system that fails just after warranty and they likely knew it and didnt care and chose this 2 stage paint process and specific brand of paint to cut production cost and thats wrong

lets face it, this inst like after warranty when you now know there is increase cost to maintain life limited parts like bushings or brakes or chain tensioners and timing chains and water pumps etc all that is expected when you buy that youll have to foot the cost of things like that when you plan to keep it for life

but with paint this major, the repair cost is often over half the value of the vehicle that like in my case is only 9 years old and 75000 miles and i would expect at least 200k miles or more and long over 10 years for every night garaged vehicle that is well maintained cosmetically too. especially when i live in socal and sunny nice mild climate and no salt or snow or crazy weather beyond occasional rainfall and wash my vehicle after each rain to make sure no effect from caustic raoin water


my point is made. this is a major failure and a larger than normal rate of lemons. factory should be held liable for failures of major types and high percentage of failures reported by customers even if the major failure is beyond warranty but falls way short of expected lifetime (which toyota knows damn well the expected life of a properly maintained vehicle is over 250K miles minimum and well over 15, more like 20 + years) for buyers that bought them with expectation the paint should last as long as its maintained and nothing major failing just as we expect the engine or transmission to last without major failure for long after warranty with the expected minor maintenance costs but nothing major

regardless of buyer type i would dare predict that there is not a sole on here that would purchase new a truck that they dont intend to sell ever or at least have for 100miles and 10yrs and would buy it if they new a high number of vehicles would have any part of it have a major failure before that time, distance point even if it is outside of warranty you would expect only reasonable minor and preventative maintenance to replace aging component costs only, not a paint job due to the paint majorly failing and costing sometimes half the value of a vehicle you customized things on and would have to star all over if you sold it and wouldnt trade it for a new one for any price.

thats surely me and if anyone on here says yeah they would buy it even if they knew it would have a large number of people all saying their paint majorly failed at the 10 years mark and even on low mileage garaged vehicles like mine.... they are full of it, because nobody is gonna drop money on a loan and down payment and finance a vehicle and then also mod it with pricy parts if they knew that the paint would majorly fail regardless of their efforts to preserve it ...and ...no matter how they maintained it. nothing would prevent this.

If it was told to them it would fail regardless or have a high number of owners report major paint failures prior to even 10 years let alone it realistically and conveniently failed just beyond 7 years when the longest warranties offered expire. you wouldnt have bought it .... ESPECIALLY if you knew that there was gonna be this high a percentage rate of vehicles this was happening to

i rest my case ..... thats why the factory should still be held liable..... paint is a component, .....and this component has failed majorly and prematurely at a high rate of percentage ..... it has prematurely and greatly depreciated our investments and beloved vehicles we bought with intent to kept and not have to fork out half the value just to save the body due to a major component failure ... the paint..... this isnt the occasional lemon rate of failure. and no preventive maint nor minor continuous maint costs and procedure could stop it from happening to so many vehicles

 

Yikes. Is there a "for dummies" version of that?

 

No, and no.

 

Hey OP,

I'm the original owner. I'm in my forties and this is only the 3 vehicle I have owned. The last before the Taco I owned for 11 years. I buy and hold for as long as I can!

My taco is my baby. It only has 55K miles and its in great shape, well other then the paint failure. Am I upset with Toyota, I mean, kinda. Is it disappointing, well for sure it is, but its almost 11 years old and has been great to me, nothing is perfect. I've taken it off roading, it's been on the beach many many times. Its hauled countless things ( tons of mulch, tons of soil, kids stuff) over the years. Its a great simple truck. I've done all the maintenance on my own ( fluids, breaks, etc), I really enjoy that aspect, especially since I rot away during the week in front of a computer.

Many friends and family say to me, just sell it. They don't get it. The world doesnt produce these types of trucks anymore so I intend on holding on to it for some time.

 

Same boat O.P. Girl is running strong, body has its normal scratches from daily driving, but hood and roof are toast! Haven’t pulled the trigger on repainting yet….but it does bug me considering how good she is otherwise.

 

Personally, as an amateur detailer and taking into consideration the OPs feelings, I'd 100% say go get a pro-shop to take care of it. I'm OCD and love quality paint that I can also take care of minor imperfections (I can't really "fix" a wrap but I can fix scratches and blemishes in the clear). If you baby it @TacomaMike37 in all other regards, continue to show it some love on the hood/roof.

If you do get it professionally sprayed again, you have some good other advice on after care. If you can swing the money and time, ceramic applications will really extend the life. Key is in cleaning/prep before application. Nothing too harsh, a good wash and a nice clay bar or mitt goes a long way. You can also use a hybrid technology from brands like Turtle Wax, which may be a good middle ground (they're more traditional spray on waxes with ceramic polymer properties). The days of carnuba wax and whatnot are gone, as a fellow TW'er mentioned. I'll also swear by Automotive Touchup for any touchup needs though. I've used them on my Tacoma, Audi and my wife's Acura for MINOR touch-ups (not a full fender/hood/roof).

 

Bummer man. Ill let you know how mine turns, may plant the seed for ya!

 

As promised here are a couple pics. Got her back after a week. Happy with the results. Also removed the plastidip from the side mirror covers and the front emblem. I was younger when I bought the truck and didn't like the chrome, but now that I'm older, I dont mind it! Also did the front and rear diff's and transfer case fluid changes. Wasnt fun, the pump I had sucked and made a mess.