White Taco hood glare?

[DaveM]

For guys with white tacos, how's the glare from the hood? I know some overlanders will paint their hoods black for dessert conditions to cut back on the glare. I was wondering if you guys with white tacos in dessert areas found that to be a problem.

thanks,
dave

[slooowr6]

I don't know about desert. Went to Death Valley in 110 degree heat and the sun was bright did not notice issue with glare.

[Willman]

There's a thread around here some where...let me do some digging....


:Astrologist:

[Willman]

Here you go:

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5238&highlight=hood+glare

This one is it!

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2313&highlight=hood+glare


Good luck!


And......Welcome to the ExPo

:26_7_2:

[Spikepretorius]

I wanted a black hood but unfortunately they have become the latest fashion down here with all the bling 20inch wheel crowd. Now I can't be seen dead with a black hood.

[Wanderlusty]

I wanted a black hood but unfortunately they have become the latest fashion down here with all the bling 20inch wheel crowd. Now I can't be seen dead with a black hood.

Haha! Yeah...hate it when that happens....

Around here, most black hoods on the bling cars are carbon fiber. So if you went flat black...it would be ok...

[Cackalak Han]

I wanted a black hood but unfortunately they have become the latest fashion down here with all the bling 20inch wheel crowd. Now I can't be seen dead with a black hood.

Paint it red? :jumping:

[Photog]

I wanted a black hood but unfortunately they have become the latest fashion down here with all the bling 20inch wheel crowd. Now I can't be seen dead with a black hood.

Start a new trend. Paint it matte dark green (military paint).

[FlatlandTRD]

I think the main reason for some black hoods, in addition to the overhead lights, was due to the flater style hoods. Whereas the tacoma hoods are more convex. I haven't noticed any problems on hot 100+ days with glare, or on cold snow covered days. My only concern on the hot days would be the heat soak.

[4AFK]

Haha! Yeah...hate it when that happens....

Around here, most black hoods on the bling cars are carbon fiber. So if you went flat black...it would be ok...

Better yet, paint it with bed liner. That would look cool, make it possible to walk on with out scratching and prevent glare.

[Photog]

Bed liner won't make a Tacoma hood strong enough to walk on. But the paint under the bedliner would be scratch free, over the new dent in the hood.:ylsmoke:

Edit: Sorry, I couldn't resist a little poke.

[snipecatcher]

Also, don't try to do a Dukes of Hazzard style hoodslide, it will put a small crease in the driver's side hood curve of the Tacoma.
-Dan

[Martinjmpr]

Never seemed to be a problem on the Taco. There is enough of a curve that any "bright spot" is likely to be very small.

Now, on a vehicle with a completely flat hood, it's a big problem as it is like having another sun sitting right there on top of your hood and burning straight into your eyes.

This was such a problem with my Montero that I eventually rattle-canned it black:

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z256/ZappBranigan/Misc%20pictures/RALLY15.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z256/ZappBranigan/Misc%20pictures/RALLY05.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z256/ZappBranigan/Misc%20pictures/RALLY11.jpg

It worked great, and although I liked the way it looked, the one time I tried to trade it in to buy a new truck the salesman was horrified and insisted he'd have to pay $500 to have the hood repainted. So I told him to shove his $800 trade in allowance and sold it myself for about $3300. :D

[DaveM]

Thanks for the input guys. I read that other thread as well, good info.

I was just curious about the glare problem since I noticed that so many of you have white Tacos in desert areas and I'm mostly drawn to the white myself. I'm looking to pick up a previous gen Taco next year sometime and would prefer white. I guess if it's a problem I can deal with it later. I like the idea of not painting but putting on a black vinyl application.

[Flounder]

My Discovery has a pretty flat hood. While the glare isn't bad, it sure did help to add the blackout. I admit 90% of my reason for doing it was aesthetic but in hindsight, it has helped. In a Disco you sit with your chin right up to the dash and the flat hood.

Being part lazy and part non-committal, I opted for a cheap, easy and temporary option first. I used Spray On Bra from Griot's Garage. I wanted to try the effect without hassling with the big decal or perminantly painting my hood. This stuff went on in 10 minutes and can be peeled off in a flash if I don't need it anymore. It has held up great since June and has to be the most non-reflective material on earth. My hood looked better with two coats which was two cans at $19 each.

14622

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/garage+sale/spray-on+protection+bra.do?search=basic&keyword=spray+on+bra&sortby=newArrivals&page=1

It does look a bit like bed liner so some people wonder what in the world I was thinking, but to me it just looks rugged.

I JUST NOTICED - SPRAY ON BRA IS NOW ON SALE!!! BUY 2 CANS AND TRY IT!!

[Photog]

I don't understand what difference it makes to paint it, or put a sticker on it, or spray bed liner on it. The base paint is ruined either way. Do you think you will be able to remove the sticker or bed liner, and not notice the color difference?

Bed liner makes no sense on Taco or LC hood, it is not a high wear area. It isn't a Series LR.

I bet you can't remove a vinyl sticker without peeling some paint.

If you used a rattlecan, you could buff it off with polishing compound, if you had to remove it, for some reason.

Take it to a body shop and have it painted properly. If you take the hood off the truck, and deliver it to the body shop, it won't cost much. They could even leave a pinstripe around the edge, so it doesn't look like a bone-yard part.

The spray on bra idea sounds good; but there will still be color differences when it is removed.

Just ideas to think about.

[Photog]

My Discovery has a pretty flat hood.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14622

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/garage+sale/spray-on+protection+bra.do?search=basic&keyword=spray+on+bra&sortby=newArrivals&page=1

It does look a bit like bed liner so some people wonder what in the world I was thinking, but to me it just looks rugged.

That makes your LR look really good. It keeps the hood from looking so large. Nicely styled.

[Flounder]

The spray on bra idea sounds good; but there will still be color differences when it is removed.

I was worried about that, but in October I peeled it off in about 2 minutes in one big sheet and wouldn't you know....the hood looked perfect. Granted, that was only with 5-6 months in the AZ sun, but I expected worse.

A buddy of mine applied the spray on bra to his light blue BMW M3 for a track day and left it there for almost a year. No discoloration.

It's really great stuff. I even used it to protect my chainstay and downtube on my carbon fiber mountain bike.

[richard cabesa]

How flexable is this stuff? Do you think it would hold up on the plastic fender flairs?

[Terracoma]

I only noticed a bit of glare from the hood on a snowy November trek last year.

... Then again, if I had some prescription sunglasses, I may not have noticed it at all.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/calnorthernGRW/2007-11-09%20Bridgeport/th_Bridgeport024.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/calnorthernGRW/2007-11-09%20Bridgeport/Bridgeport024.jpg)

[p1michaud]

If you are concerned about color matching or discoloration, one could always buy a can of vehicle specific color but in a dull/matt finish as opposed to the glossy/metallic paint of your color. Does that make sense?
What I’m trying to say is get a nearly identical pain to your vehicle but in a dull finish.

Cheers :beer:,
P

[ntsqd]

There is a "flattener" made for paint. Can have it added to most automotive paints when they're blending it.

CalTrans trucks (CA state hiway trucks) have had flat black hoods for years and years. I'm told that the paint used on them is particularly expensive. Most flat paints are porous, this paint is nearly flat but not porous. Rat rod guys use the flattener in some of their paints. Porosity is a problem for them, water permeates the paint & rust forms.

[Photog]

I was worried about that, but in October I peeled it off in about 2 minutes in one big sheet and wouldn't you know....the hood looked perfect. Granted, that was only with 5-6 months in the AZ sun, but I expected worse.

A buddy of mine applied the spray on bra to his light blue BMW M3 for a track day and left it there for almost a year. No discoloration.

It's really great stuff. I even used it to protect my chainstay and downtube on my carbon fiber mountain bike.

This says two things. BMW paint does not fade quickly, and the spray on Bra does not discolor the paint. Both good things.

I'm not sure Tacoma paint would be as robust.:confused:

The Bra spray would be interesting to use as a removable graphic design material.... Hmmmmm??? Something to try, before using real paint.

[Photog]

There is a "flattener" made for paint. Can have it added to most automotive paints when they're blending it.

CalTrans trucks (CA state hiway trucks) have had flat black hoods for years and years. I'm told that the paint used on them is particularly expensive. Most flat paints are porous, this paint is nearly flat but not porous. Rat rod guys use the flattener in some of their paints. Porosity is a problem for them, water permeates the paint & rust forms.

Primer (like seen on old Camaro's) is porous and it definitely does not prevent rust. It was never designed for a protective layer.

Doest the "flattener" additive make the top coat porous also, or does it retain its protective qualities?

[Schattenjager]

I just did a simple vinyl decal to my hood - it was a noticeable improvement.

[ntsqd]

About 12 years ago an auto body shop owning friend told me that it's the skin on the paint that makes it both glossy and impermeable. Color sanding paint opens up it's pores, which is why properly done an unmolested final clear coat is shot over anything color sanded.
To get flat or satin and impermeable is the spendy part.

So I guess that the way to go about this would be to spray the flat paint over gloss paint. My friend cautioned on that too, but I forget what the problem was. Might have simply been adhesion w/o scuffing the bottom layer, which would open the pores of the paint up and now we're back where we started......