Out with the old, in with the new(er) - BlackAck's 4Runner thread
#2125
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From: ShitsBurgh
Got some progress made on the headlights last night... I got the main 2 reflector housings blacked out. Here's a before.
I went slow and added light coats to avoid runs, this was first coat
Had the kids watching me the whole time
And here's after 5 coats
And here's the finished product
I was super nervous about these pieces but I think they came out good
Finished product, letting them sit and cure
Also on the way to work this morning, I hit 19K on the Blue Runner, I didn't even realize until it had passed lol
I went slow and added light coats to avoid runs, this was first coat
Had the kids watching me the whole time
And here's after 5 coats
And here's the finished product
I was super nervous about these pieces but I think they came out good
Finished product, letting them sit and cure
Also on the way to work this morning, I hit 19K on the Blue Runner, I didn't even realize until it had passed lol
#2126
I'm no rocket surgeon, but doesn't the black paint significantly cut down on the amount of light that you want to be reflected out and in front of you?
Seems... counter-intuitive.
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97BlackAckCL (08-28-2019)
#2128
I'm assuming he's swapping to a bixenon projector in place of the factory projector, so blacking out the high beam housing won't have any impact. The turn signal though...
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97BlackAckCL (08-28-2019)
#2129
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From: ShitsBurgh
Yes, blacking out reflectors does limit reflection for stock incandescent bulbs, however since I'm doing a retrofit I have no concern about reflectors because the parts I'm installing don't use reflectors.
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00TL-P3.2 (08-28-2019)
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From: ShitsBurgh
Correct, Bixenon projectors and a custom solution for the high beam housing which doesn't use reflectors. The turn signal will be limited, however I'm using bright ass LED bulbs in my turn signals so I don't need the reflection like you would from an incandescent.
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rockstar143 (08-28-2019)
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#2148
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From: Mooresville, NC
Have you thought of maybe going with an LED Board instead of a bulb for the turn signals since you have them apart? Maybe make it go behind the blacked-out reflector so you don't see it.
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00TL-P3.2 (08-29-2019)
#2149
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From: Mooresville, NC
What about installing like 2 or 3 of these inside the turn signal area? https://www.theretrofitsource.com/mo...ed-lights.html
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Midnight Mystery (08-29-2019)
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From: ShitsBurgh
Lots of updates from this weekend, lots of detailing work, I'm sore AF, but it was so worth it. First was a quick and easy cleaning of the engine bay. For a 2 year old car it wasn't too dirty, but didn't meet the BlackAck standards. Also the salt stain on the hood liner had been driving me crazy for a while.
Here you can see how dirty it was getting.
So I did a degreaser engine cleaner foam and scrubbed the hoses and nooks and crannys
Here is the bay all sprayed down, including the cleaned hood liner
Here's everything dried and ready to be shiny
And here's the finished product, sorry for the glare but the sun was right overhead when I took these. Here's the clean hood
And here's the engine all dressed and shiny
Looking good!
Here you can see how dirty it was getting.
So I did a degreaser engine cleaner foam and scrubbed the hoses and nooks and crannys
Here is the bay all sprayed down, including the cleaned hood liner
Here's everything dried and ready to be shiny
And here's the finished product, sorry for the glare but the sun was right overhead when I took these. Here's the clean hood
And here's the engine all dressed and shiny
Looking good!
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From: ShitsBurgh
I also detailed the interior thoroughly. I had a shit ton of dog hair that needed sucked out, and the interior trim needed some love as well. Didn't take very good befores, but here's the floor mats
Washed
And treated with some trim shine
I also spent a lot of time cleaning out the area between the second and third row seats because it's a giant dog hair trap. I put this floor mat down to hopefully help trap some of the dog hair and make it easier to clean in the future.
I did all the interior glass to get rid of dog drool marks, and wiped down and protected all of the interior plastics. Here's a finished shot of the dash.
I also vacuumed and wiped down all the leather and added some protectant to the leather, it looks brand new
The fiancee was impressed that I did the rears of the seats as well, of course I did!
I did all the door trims and leather inserts as well.
Here's a shot of the rear all cleaned up
And here's a shot of the cabin all finished. I have some salt stains that I need to address further, some interior cloth cleaner didn't get it all, need to go after it with vinegar, but it was clean enough for the time being.
Washed
And treated with some trim shine
I also spent a lot of time cleaning out the area between the second and third row seats because it's a giant dog hair trap. I put this floor mat down to hopefully help trap some of the dog hair and make it easier to clean in the future.
I did all the interior glass to get rid of dog drool marks, and wiped down and protected all of the interior plastics. Here's a finished shot of the dash.
I also vacuumed and wiped down all the leather and added some protectant to the leather, it looks brand new
The fiancee was impressed that I did the rears of the seats as well, of course I did!
I did all the door trims and leather inserts as well.
Here's a shot of the rear all cleaned up
And here's a shot of the cabin all finished. I have some salt stains that I need to address further, some interior cloth cleaner didn't get it all, need to go after it with vinegar, but it was clean enough for the time being.
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#2156
Drive that thing into the ground..
I'm parting ways with my 1G in the next couple weeks. Literally can't give the thing away so she's off to greater pastures..
Keeping that front lip though..
I'm parting ways with my 1G in the next couple weeks. Literally can't give the thing away so she's off to greater pastures..
Keeping that front lip though..
#2157
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From: ShitsBurgh
Alright, onto the main part of my 4 day weekend... One issue that I had to deal with was that I ran over cement cutting water on the highway and it not only got all down the side rocker panels of the car, but it got all over the wheel wells and all over my side steps
It was all over the place.
Here's a before
After dealing with all the cement bs, I started with washing the wheels and tires.
This pic is for Colts, RUST!
And here's the wheels and tires all clean and shiny. The tires needed some love, there was definite oxidation, I did 3 rounds of Adam's Tire Rubber Cleaner on each wheel to get them clean.m
Wheels all done, the Ack watching me from afar...
Here's a couple befores of the car washing. I hadn't taken these flag magnets off since I put them on last July 4th, so needless to say I was expecting some ghosting. The pollen under here was crazy! Even washing and clay baring did not remove the ghosting.
Definitely ugly, not as bad as I feared though.
And since I don't plan to reinstall the flag magnets, they found a new home on my tool box.
Here you can see some of the surface scratches that I was addressing
I did 2 pre-washes, this is the first round
This is after the 2nd prewash
This is after 3 washes, and a stripping of all the wax.
Here she is all dry
And here's a before in the garage.
Let the claying begin!
I spent late into Sunday night claying the truck top to bottom. Monday it was time for paint work. Here's a before
And here's the side by side of the polish on the hood. It's amazing how much shine and metal the paint has.
Here's an after of where the American Flag magnets were, as you can see, there is no more ghosting.
Most of you remember that some asshole keyed the passenger side of my truck, befores are a few pages back. I spent a lot of time on the passenger side getting rid of those scratches
My arms loved all this work.
The hard work paid off, the key scratch is completely gone!
No more key scratch
Another issue was that someone hit and ran my rear bumper, the scratches were pretty deep.
I did my best, not perfect, but so much better and less noticeable now.
More pics to come
It was all over the place.
Here's a before
After dealing with all the cement bs, I started with washing the wheels and tires.
This pic is for Colts, RUST!
And here's the wheels and tires all clean and shiny. The tires needed some love, there was definite oxidation, I did 3 rounds of Adam's Tire Rubber Cleaner on each wheel to get them clean.m
Wheels all done, the Ack watching me from afar...
Here's a couple befores of the car washing. I hadn't taken these flag magnets off since I put them on last July 4th, so needless to say I was expecting some ghosting. The pollen under here was crazy! Even washing and clay baring did not remove the ghosting.
Definitely ugly, not as bad as I feared though.
And since I don't plan to reinstall the flag magnets, they found a new home on my tool box.
Here you can see some of the surface scratches that I was addressing
I did 2 pre-washes, this is the first round
This is after the 2nd prewash
This is after 3 washes, and a stripping of all the wax.
Here she is all dry
And here's a before in the garage.
Let the claying begin!
I spent late into Sunday night claying the truck top to bottom. Monday it was time for paint work. Here's a before
And here's the side by side of the polish on the hood. It's amazing how much shine and metal the paint has.
Here's an after of where the American Flag magnets were, as you can see, there is no more ghosting.
Most of you remember that some asshole keyed the passenger side of my truck, befores are a few pages back. I spent a lot of time on the passenger side getting rid of those scratches
My arms loved all this work.
The hard work paid off, the key scratch is completely gone!
No more key scratch
Another issue was that someone hit and ran my rear bumper, the scratches were pretty deep.
I did my best, not perfect, but so much better and less noticeable now.
More pics to come
Last edited by 97BlackAckCL; 09-03-2019 at 10:05 AM.
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