aedgington

Thought I'd post this since there seems to be renewed interest in it.

Note that I did not uncover all my chrome, just the leading edge of each slat. I left the rest painted to create darker areas to make the chrome stand out more.

I used Citristripper from Home Depot and razors to do the majority of the work. I used shop towels sprayed with carb cleaner to do "touch up" work.

LXotic

razors?wow like what kind?
I need to start that on my LX too...
you have to remove the grille from the rubber parts right?

aedgington

Just regular razors like you buy in a 5 pack. The Citristripper softens up the paint and you just scrape it off like scraping off residue from your windshield (like inspection/registration stickers).

I took the grill off of the hood, but there is only 1 rubber part, a flange that runs across the top. I left the flange on. I took my "L" off because I didn't know if the stripper would jack my gold

Took me about an hour, but that is NOT counting the 20-30 minutes the stripper has to sit on the paint and soak in. I used that time wash the truck.

LXotic

It takes about an hour right?
also the razor doesnt damage the chrome?

aedgington

Around an hour and a half, including stripper soak time. The razor *can* damage the chrome. You have to just slide it along, don't let it bite into the chrome. You might have spots where the stripper didn't soak all the way through and the razor only takes off the top of the paint. For that, I used a rag sprayed w/ carb cleaner to get the remaining residue off.

I read in another post where a guy used steel wool, but I'm sure that would scratch the chrome. If the razor makes you nervous, another thing you could try is a pots & pans green scrubbing pad. It's abrasive, but not enough to scratch the chrome.

LXotic

Thanx I think i'll try it this Sunday w/ the (pots & pans green scrubbing pad)

1loudLX

Be careful when you do it. Razors work the best but just dont let the corners dig in. I just did the mod too, came out alright i guess. I tried to get all the paint off but didnt suceed. I guess i could still put more elbow grease into it but too much for one week for me. I have detailed pictures on how to take the grille off if you would like me to post them up here i will. If its not needed ied rather not waste my time.

aedgington

man that looks great, you made it sound like you had jacked your grill.

LXotic

nice detailing man and yes, please post the pics
also what kind of rims are those
thanx


P.S. do you wash the car yourself?(Extremely clean)

1loudLX

rgr that, going to post them here in about 20mins

LXotic

all right thanx

aedgington

Yeah, your LX is very nice for being the infamous fading mocha color.

1loudLX

i hate smokey topaz bull****. ****ing hate this color but whatever...its what ive got. I wish i had a black 03 w/ the black windows not the bronze. As you can see by my vivid discription of the color...i really hate it. But my mom picked it out back many years ago. At least i got to choose the truck...she wanted a 2000 4Runner to replace our 1996 we had.


Ok the pictures are coming soon.

LXotic

Hey thanks for the pics it will be a great help

1loudLX

ok there are other steps but this is just an overview because im too lazy to make you guys a full tutorial....and i got fed up with constantly taking pictures. Also, remove the bolts first and take the grille off the car before you unscrew all the philips heads, it would be easier. I forgot about all those screws on the topside.

Also, if you cant figure out how to put the grille back on after taking it off yourself, you shouldnt be doing this mod so please dont ask me how to put it back on if you took it off. Its called reverse order.