Want to repaint a topper

[ClarkB]

I've got a topper or canopy on my Tacoma and unfortunately it doesn't match. I was talking to a body tech and he said that if I take my time and do my research I can probably do a half decent job painting it myself. Here's what I've got:

-Fiberglass topper, been repainted at least once
-Needs to be silver, currently light blue
-Garage space to do the work in

I'm not looking for a great paint job, more along the lines of one that basically matches the truck. I think the "20/20" paint job (looks good at 20' or 20mph) will be fine for me.

What is the process? What materials do I need? Where should I buy paint? Is rattle-canning it going to give me good enough results?

Clark

 

[The_Jeff]

I did this...

 

[river_rat]

Interestingly, I repainted the fiberglass topper on my Tacoma from black to dark green a few months ago...and got a decent enough "20/20" job. The green that is supposed to match is a little darker, but that's the mixer's fault. I did it in my garage with rattle cans.
I think I got 5 cans each of basecoat and clearcoat.
I set the topper on 4 sawhorses and removed all the windows and third brake light. Cleaned it really well with soap and water, then water based dewaxer and water, and then roughed the surface a bit with a Scothbrite pad, then wiped with laquer thinner.
Three coats of base, three of clearcoat. A little rubbing and polishing compounds after curing, then waxed it. Then put it all back together.

 

[river_rat]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
I did this...


That is sweet!
You know in the '20s, brush painting followed by fine wet-sanding with gasoline was standard procedure. Yikes.

 

[wallyuwl]

Is your Tacoma nice? If so, just pay a professional a few hundred bucks to paint it right.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
I did this...


I was hoping that someone would link to the Blue Benz thread...

Is having a shop like Maaco do it a possibility?

 

[river_rat]

Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
Is your Tacoma nice? If so, just pay a professional a few hundred bucks to paint it right.

+1 In retrospect. I spend more than $150 on paint. Should've spent $300 and had it done for me.

 

[ClarkB]

Thanks for the information guys. Pretty amazing job there eljefino!

My Tacoma is in pretty good condition and I had thought about getting it done professionally. All the quotes I got were $200+ and I'm not willing to sink that sort of moola into a cosmetic fix. Besides, the topper does not have a great paint job now and I don't believe that a truck should be babied the way people baby them. It's a truck, not a work of art and I will treat it as such. This opinion is in the minority nowadays but then again, most trucks are not used as trucks.

River rat - I like your method as I think it is most applicable to my situation. Since my topper has been repainted and it has some gouges below the paint would I be better off doing a more aggressive sand after cleaning it up? There seems to be a variety of opinions regarding the sanding steps and not being a body tech I've no idea how to interpret that.

Clark

 

[TooManyWheels]

You could brush-paint it and pretend that the brush marks are the texturing which is often used on Blazer and Bronco toppers. That would satisfy both your financial and philosophical preferences...

Don't do sanding for any purpose other than to rough the paint, you would compare that to putting lipstick on a pig.

 

[ddrumman2004]

I had a topper painted for a truck I used to own to match the truck. The topper was gray, my truck was bright red.

A local body shop painted it and did a dang great job. Best I remember, it cost me right around 300 bucks.

I didn't have a place to do it plus it was one of those toppers that was cab height at the front but "tapered" up towards the rear.

 

[charbaby]

Originally Posted By: river_rat
Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
Is your Tacoma nice? If so, just pay a professional a few hundred bucks to paint it right.

+1 In retrospect. I spend more than $150 on paint. Should've spent $300 and had it done for me.


I have to agree! If your Toco is nice, get it painted professionaly as the fiberglass top may need a gel coat like a boat. If your truck is only OK, I don't have any particular advice.

 

[river_rat]

Originally Posted By: ClarkB
Since my topper has been repainted and it has some gouges below the paint would I be better off doing a more aggressive sand after cleaning it up? There seems to be a variety of opinions regarding the sanding steps and not being a body tech I've no idea how to interpret that.

Clark

Probably feather the gouges out.

 

[ClarkB]

After taking your advice and talking to a friend at church I got the painting job done this weekend. Took all of about two hours and for the most part, it meets my goal of having the "20/20" paint job but more on that later.

Before:

After:

Since my friend had the garage, paint gun and experience painting he was running the show. We started by sanding with 220 over everything and spending more time removing the bumps, gouges, etc. Then we used an air hose to remove the "large" dust followed by wiping it down with a rag soaked in reducer. After that the paint went on.

Once he started spraying my involvement was very little which is what lead to the minor incident for the day. While spraying the one corner a bug got caught in the spray and ended up on the topper. He was not happy with that so he wiped it off with his finger. Sprayed some more then wiped of a larger area with a towel and sprayed again. At this point the paint job is still meeting my expectations.

Nearing completion he decides that something needs to be done with the mistake he has created. Out comes a rag soaked in reducer and he wipes it off again but some of the reducer drips onto other parts of the topper making the blemished area considerably larger. He attempts to cover it with more paint creating some runs or metallic sag as he was calling it. The damage can sort of be seen here:

I was happy with it after the first correction but from there is went steadily downhill. The lesson: learn to leave well enough alone.

Overall I'm happy with the end result. I spent about $80 on paint, reducer and thickener. The topper matches and looks ok from a distance. I'm very grateful for my friends help but wish I would have known how to say to stop to someone who is helping out!

Clark

 

[Mr_Incredible]

Next time a bug drops in to supervise, just pick it out with a pocket knife and carry on. The worst parts of what's left can be fixed with a little tiny bit of sanding when it's dry to knock off the high part(s) and then clear over it like the rest. One dab of light respray if the time lines of the paint mix are still in play.

One tiny bit of bad can hardly be detected in the huge field of awesome that surrounds it..