1994 4Runner V6 3.0 aka The Beast..

[kingroon]

Reassembly of the Front Bumper..





..and refit, together with the In Bumper Indicators..





Bumper Spot Light Holes will get Rubber Grommets..

[kingroon]

The original Grill from the 4Runner was tired, dented, cracked and had snapped in one of the corners, so for £29 getting a replacement from KS International was a No Brainer. I did however use the original Badges; the Grill requiring a little surgery to install the V6 moniker. Funny how putting that in place brought a smile to my face.





New Grill clicks and snaps into place with no bother. What a transformation [I have said that a lot on this Thread, I know]..

[kingroon]

Fitted the missing Piece to the Puzzle.. Front Registration Plate..

[kingroon]

Remember that Rear Bumper..? Well, got the Dent knocked out of it for £60 by a Local BodyShop, and they did a superb job.. It was a tricky one, since the dent had pushed up the top of the Bumper, creating a lump, so not just a case of smacking it out from behind etc.




Once home, I set to preparing it for Paint..



..but even as good as the repair was, it needed a little bit of Filler..




I wanted to protect the inside of the Bumper too, so Wire Brushed it down [yes I was intended to Soda Blast, but things change, and I really didn't think Soda Blasting was appropriate when a bit of Elbow Grease was going to get the Job done..



A Baking Hot Summer's Day sorted Paint Drying time, so I could tackle the front on the same day..

[kingroon]

Of course, I treated the Side Bumper Returns to the same inside & out attention..




Little bit of Repair required on one of them..




Inside..



Outside..

[kingroon]

All three Pieces looking great in the Late Afternoon Sun..



Tackled the Plastic Bumper Cover too, which is NLA to order new [although I did find one in Europe, but as damaged stock] and mine was in great condition albeit Weather Worn.. Used some magic Meguiars Ultimate Black, and bingo..!

[kingroon]

Reassembled..



..and ready to fit..



Now that looks better..

[kingroon]

Sticking with the Rear End of things, a little thing that always caught my eye was the Sun Damaged Fog Light..



..and short of sourcing a new one for £150 [!!] from an Ebay Seller in Spain, I could probably get one from a Breaker albeit only in slightly better condition.. So I opted for a Headlamp Restoration Kit..

The Kit involves [if you are not familiar with it] removing scratches and grooves etc. with graded Sandpaper, which can be aggressive to Paint and old Rubber. So, I removed the Lamp Unit entirely and tucked it inside the Tailgate Panel, then masking the Paint surround, bolted the Lens back to the Tailgate.




Using the supplied Drill Bit Sandpaper Applicator, using the graded Wet & Dry paper ensuring there was always plenty of Water applied from 800 to 3000.. Rinsed afterwards and then polished using the Cutting Paste in the Kit..



Once polished, wash the Lens and apply a light coating of the Aerosol Lens Protector and buff to shine..



Bloody hell that looks better..

[kingroon]

Walked down the side of the 4Runner and tackled the unbelievably fogged and jaded Wing mounted Indicator Lenses..



Not sure if these had been removed since they were installed on the Assembly Line in 1994..! Clean up, bit of Paint restore, twist the Fitting into the back of the new Lens, and Bingo..



It's the little things that can make the biggest difference.. Pricey though, £16 from RoughTrax4X4..

[kingroon]

I have been contemplating the [re]fitment of the Fender Flares for some time, pretty much since I removed them back in 2022..! But with the refurbishment of the Bumpers, I have decided that the 4Runner needs them to balance its appearance [MOT Failure notwithstanding]..

The original Fender Flares were shot, cracked and binned soon after removal, and whilst I have the Rears from the Donor Section used for the Bodywork, I am still short a set of Fronts.. Does anyone have a spare set for sale..?



Quick clean to assess any damage revealed a bit of a ding..



Sanded down, washed to remove any contaminants and blasted with my Wife's Hairdryer, it was ready for Filler treatment..



Into the Spray Booth [i.e. hanging from a Tree by a Wire Coathanger] for Plastic Primer, the Work looked pretty bloody good..





Using that lovely bit of Heavily Worn Wet & Dry, I gave the Fender Flare a light going over, before coats of Colour Coded Aerosol by Paint Nuts..



Came out pretty good..







One down, three to go..!

[kingroon]

At last, I have scheduled some time in the Calendar to paint the Doors and Rear Quarters of the 4Runner, I have a Long Long Weekend ahead of me to do it; and not too soon before Winter sets in in earnest. So some Pre Paint jobs were on the agenda, namely making sure that everything was ready for the Painting Prep, right up until the moment that Sanding was due to start.

With the Fenders finished in a rather Fantastic Hue of Glacier White i.e. not bleached and battered by 30 Years of Summers and Winters, I did start to wonder about Colour Matching; new Paint was definitely going to contrast against the aged Bonnet, Front Wings and Tailgate..

Restoring the Paint on the aforementioned ahead of painting the Doors & Quarters would be a good idea I thought, if nothing but to compare to the Fenders so I could see what difference I could expect from the Doors and Rear Quarters..

First things first, a thorough and extensive Clean with AutoGlym Foaming Car Wash. I could feel the Paint under the Sponge during the Wash, resisting the glide a lack of squeaking when a little pressure was applied..

Next, I used a Clay Bar.. I have used this once before, and the result was quite amazing. It really does remove all the dirt and impurities embedded in the Paint, that even a good scrubbing won't budge..



If you haven't used a Clay Bar before, it is quite a simple job.. After a thorough clean, simply spray some Clay Luber on an area [start small to get the idea of it, say 6" x 6"] and with a piece of Clay about the size of half a Golf Ball pressed to a disc, rub the Clay gently into the Paint.. You will instantly feel the Clay move easier as you retrace a pattern in the Paint. Once you have finished that section, fold the Clay disc over with the "dirty side" inward, and repeat the process on the next chosen section of Paint..

I opted for the Heavy Duty Clay Kit because the 4Runner had definitely never seen Clay Bar treatment before, and I wanted to make sure it was as effective as possible before I then used a finishing Polish.



It might seem odd to use a White Polish on White Paint, and I would have agreed with you, that is until I used it. The effect is quite remarkable. Simple application and then buffing after a 15 Minute "curing" time, by hand too so can be done on the Driveway on a Sunday without annoying the Neighbours.

Moment of truth was presenting a freshly painted Fender to the Bonnet and seeing if there was any noticeable difference..



Mucho reliefo.. Sure, there was a difference, but it's not Night & Day..

Now that I was sure I wasn't wasting my time by doing all that work to the Bonnet & Wings, it was time to tackle the Roof & Tailgate..

[kingroon]

Also, remember that Dent..?? Well, had that sorted at the Local BodyShop that repaired my Rear Bumper, and what a great job they did. Again.





I put some Jenolite on it [yes, badly] just to keep the Bare Metal protected from the Elements, until Paint..

[kingroon]

Tailgate up next for the Paint Restore & Polish Treatment.. Order of Play..?

• Measure Badge Positioning
• Remove Badges
• Remove Badge Goo
• Clay Bar
• White Light Polish

Tape Measure to the Rescue..



Badge Removal is easy with a bit of Dental Floss, then out with the Toffee Wheel to remove the Sticky Stuff..



..and Goo Gone to remove the Goo..



Toyota Crest..





..and the V6 Badge attracted similar and the same treatment..

[kingroon]

Clay Bar next, and here is the size and shape of Clay disk you need to be using..



..and as I mentioned above, start with a small area and see how you go.. After a full Clay Barring, the Tailgate was looking much cleaner, and much brighter.. You can just about make out the outline of where the Badges were..

[kingroon]

On to the White Light Polish, and this is where the protection of the newly cleaned Paint comes in, preventing future contamination [or at least, reducing it significantly] and brightening the Paint in the process..



Apply with a clean Cloth and allow to cure for 15 Minutes or so, then buff..







How's that for a Finish..