Need new paint on the hood and the top of my 2008 access cab

Auto painter here-

The clear coat failure common on horizontal panels on Toyotas and many other vehicles is due to UV exposure and either poor UV protection in the material or not enough material applied. Unfortunately, it's not a scuff and shoot repair as it may seem. Without proper repair, the areas that have failed will track or map on the panel even after a respray. The correct process is to sand out the affected area with 180/240 grit sand paper and apply a high build 2k primer. After that, the primed area will need to be block sanded up to 240/320, and DA finished up to 400/600 depending on your base coat material, I personally always finish in 600. Then a base and clear, or single stage product will need to be applied.

It's the repair time that will cause the extra cost, and i would strongly recommend avoiding Maaco, unless you plan to do all the prep work yourself. When it comes to refinishing, you get what you pay for.

A hood and roof job will probably be in the neighborhood of 2-3k, due to cost of material and labor, including R&I of the headliner, antenna, roof rail moldings, windshield washer squirters, and masking of the rear window and windshield moldings, alongside the standard prep and masking of the rest of the vehicle. You'll also expect to have the cab corners and possibly the rocker panel recleared as well, as there is no break in the body panel. Not mandatory, but the alternative is called a solvent blend, and will fail eventually, especially if exposed to UV. If the repair area is large, or if you have an older faded paint (especially red), you may expect an extra 400-800 to blend the fenders to achieve a better color match.

Certainly not a project thay can't be completed by a diy-er, but also very easy and expensive to make a mistake. I always recommend reaching out to several recommended shops for quotes and letting a professional handle the refinishing work.

 

Hit some local shops for an estimate and maybe you'll get lucky. When I was getting estimates for repainting a camper I came across a place that flat out refused because they only did insurance work. They were cool about it and referred me to a former employee who is semi retired and has a little shop.. Cash only. It came out great and was a little less than half of what I was quoted at all of the other places. Good luck.

 

if youre really not worried about show quality. Im sure i will catch hell for this but try the rustoleum perfect match rattle can. I did the entire front of my bumper with it. Previous owner had a cheap bull bar on it the rubbed into the bumper and i took it off. You cant tell its any different until about 10 feet away. it just doesnt have the depth of shine that the factory paint does.