Advice for painting your Taco?

I've been driving around with this blotch spot on my Tacoma for years. This was my wife's family's vehicle which we inherited. She primed it years ago and never finished the job. I'll preface this with I've never done anything like this in my life. How easy would it be for me to get some Imperial Jade Mica paint and do a halfway decent job?

 

actually pretty good. Most PPG auto paint stores can put your custom mix paint into a rattle can and depending on your skill, it should be "good enough"

 

I think you could do it and make it look pretty good. I always use a company called Automotive Touch Up and they have consistently color matched very close. A little pricey, but their stuff is good quality. Just make sure to sand the surface smooth, use some alcohol to wipe of any contaminants, tape off areas you don't want to spray, and apply a few coats of paint then clear coat! Will probably take a full day if you're being careful.

 

Thank you! To get a color matchup can I just bring in the color name or do they have a different way of matching?

 

Just remember that 90% of any good painting project is the prep work. So if you really want to make it look good, take your time, sand, prep, mask, etc. And plan on some wet sanding and a topcoat, too. With practice and care, one can achieve some pretty impressive results with a rattle can.

 

I'm not sure if I want to take on my first try on the truck. But realistically I think if the color is right it'll look better than it does right now.

 

Yep, you can use the name or get the color code from the sticker on the door jam of the driver door. Example: my white tacoma uses paint code 045 Super White

 

I have some other damage on the other side of the truck. Do you think this would be worth trying to touch up or not?

 

The real question is what kind of shape is the frame in? Looks like you live in salt country. So the frame and components become your #1 concern.

Verify that's all clean and protected, then move on to the cosmetics.

 

You're right that I'm living in salt country. Fortunately though this car came from California so it's only been here one winter so the frame is in excellent shape.

 

Fantastic.

In that case I'd spend my first efforts in getting the frame cleaned up (dirt, etc.) and protected with something like WoolWax, Fluid Film, etc. Lots of threads around here to read up on.

Do NOT use some rubberized undercoating.

 

Oreilly Auto parts claim they have the 6Q7 (1999 Imperial Jade Mica) that is a color match for your vehicle.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...tomotive-truck-1995-toyota-tacoma?q=6Q7&pos=0

 

Thanks for the research. I saw a review from someone who has the same year and color vehicle that said this one unfortunately does not match.

 

You'll want to take that to bare metal at least to clean it up so paint will not bubble up later and the rust returns.

 

May just depend on how much the truck has faded. Same for the reviewer who said it didn't match. If you went this route, you could play with applying a lighter, or darker, base to try to adjust the results.

I have a 95 model with the same color. I repainted the truck with paint I had mixed at an auto paint store. It was darker than the original. I wasn't happy since I really liked that original color.

Ironically, the spray can of 6Q7 I had bought from Autozone a year earlier matched the original more closely than the paint that cost me $175/gallon.

 

Wow $175 a gallon that's some pricey paint!

 

You don’t need a gallon. Don’t forget you will mix with reducer usually 1:1 effectively making 2 gallons. If I was you, I would prep and paint the whole bed side (from tailgate to back of cab) which hides any color differences better. You will find that it is much easier then you thought it would be. Then once you’ve got your feet wet, tackle the other side which will need bodywork. Will it be a show car job? No. It will be far better then it is now. Some napa’s Will mix your code for you. One quart paint with 1:1 reducer is enough to do the bedside. This is assuming you have an air compressor. The cheap harbor freight spray gun works well for such a cheap gun. You need an in line air dryer as well, which is also cheap.

 

Not really. Auto paint is ridiculous. Subsidized by your our insurance rates.

 

Full sand that entire area, prime, paint, clear. Maybe even some bondo for the dents. If you see any other flaking around the car you probably want to think about sanding and repainting the whole thing. Last thing you want is to do it twice.

 

Like a guy said the company AUTOMOTIVE TOUCH UP PAINT sells complete kits and they work great. Goes by the door numbers. Spray cans that match great, and it's easy to work with paint.