Removing **and reinstalling** LX450 cladding / trim / tupperware (1 Viewer)

[Heckraiser]

Hi Folks,

Does anyone have experience with removing and reinstalling the LX450 body tupperware? I know tons remove it, but few put it back. Looking for pointers and pictures, how many clips should I expect to break, overall impressions of the job.

I suspect I have some rust hiding under the plastic, so I would like to pull the cladding to inspect/repair. I like the flare-less look, but don't think I can stomach the cost of filling all those holes and I'm just not a bedliner kinda guy. I've also grown to appreciate the parking-lot protection of having a plastic bumper surrounding the whole vehicle

Please and thank you!

 

[mistercrave]

This should be interesting.

When I finally finished removing all the cladding off of mine I knew for fact there was no way I'd ever attempt to put it back on.

 

[Heckraiser]

That's good feedback too--can you elaborate as to why?

 

[Red Merle]

That's good feedback too--can you elaborate as to why?

I am thinking it has to do with the fact that it's a lot of holes to line up and many of the little male and female ends will break off when you pull them and I am not sure the little clips and such are still available from Mr.T without buying the whole chunk of cladding. The flares on my '94 LC needed to come off and go back on and there are at least two types of female clip accepters and the male fittings that screw into the flare are NLA unless you buy the whole flare and it won't be color matched.

I think if you used a little heat and a good body panel prybar set you could probably pop it off without f-ing it up though. If you get frustrated take a break and think about how you could get them off without mangling anything.

 

[ATXLX]

And then there's the rubber gasket that is probably hard as a rock and will come off in chunks. Had to use one of those big rubber eraser-like discs on a drill to get it all off. God, that was a PITA.

 

[rolliges]

The flare-less look is pretty cool. Add some tall & skinnies to complete the look.

 

[ATXLX]

I like the flare-less look, but don't think I can stomach the cost of filling all those holes and I'm just not a bedliner kinda guy.

FWIW, I've used the "slap some aluminum tape over the holes" method for over 2 years now with 0 problems/tears. Not sure if you're trying to preserve the stock look (that would be a dealbreaker for the aluminum tape method)

 

[Heckraiser]

FWIW, I've used the "slap some aluminum tape over the holes" method for over 2 years now with 0 problems/tears. Not sure if you're trying to preserve the stock look (that would be a dealbreaker for the aluminum tape method)

I would want something that can be finished with paint. The tape is easy, but has to be covered up by bedliner in order to not be plainly visible.

 

[Heckraiser]

I am thinking it has to do with the fact that it's a lot of holes to line up and many of the little male and female ends will break off when you pull them and I am not sure the little clips and such are still available from Mr.T without buying the whole chunk of cladding. The flares on my '94 LC needed to come off and go back on and there are at least two types of female clip accepters and the male fittings that screw into the flare are NLA unless you buy the whole flare and it won't be color matched.

I think if you used a little heat and a good body panel prybar set you could probably pop it off without f-ing it up though. If you get frustrated take a break and think about how you could get them off without mangling anything.

Didn't realize the clips are NLA, that is concerning. I tend to break little plastic bits when I work on stuff like this (had to replace about half the clips when I pulled and replaced my wife's acura bumper).

 

[scottryana]

Not only did I break the clips I also broke the tupperware when I took mine off. I would have had to try and glue them back together. I am sure there are some tricks but I certainly didn't know them and I thought I was being careful. lol.

 

[mistercrave]

Removing everything was fairly straightforward. There are a few areas that have double-sided tape of some sort

That's good feedback too--can you elaborate as to why?

@Red Merle summed it up pretty well. I definitely broke most of the clips during the process, and I was being pretty careful.

 

[musthave]

I was just working on an LX 450 a few weeks ago taking off the cladding. I’ll admit I didn’t find an easy way to do it. Broke several clips, And I was taking my time. I’m sure there is a right way to do it. After taking it off I Couldn’t imagine trying to put it back on again.

 

[Heckraiser]

hmmm

 

[Red Merle]

hmmm

I am not trying to rub your nose in it, but the issue you have is one of the main reasons I would rather have the LC over the 450.

I would think about something that might be able to salvage much of the original paint above the cladding and make a tape line.

From a "pay for bodywork" perspective, it doesn't make sense. That said, if the reason for wanting to do this is to get rid of rust, it doesn't matter anymore. Your truck won't be a museum piece and neither will mine. It will last a long time though and if you treat the edges of the holes with something in the epoxy paint realm, you'll be fine. If you know anyone that builds cedar strip canoes, they might be able to make you a nice set of cladding pieces out of steam bent cedar and oak. I could probably figure out how to do that(I already know how and I have two separate steam boxes with two separate heat sources and a huge pile of exotic and rare wood ), but I just bought the Land Cruiser instead, so I don't have to worry about it.

Not lying about the steam bending. This is a ski waxing jig I made out of white oak that was cut down 180 years ago and redwood that came out of a tree that was at least a 1000 years old and a Saris bike rack part that will slide along that corrugated square tube once it is on the bench. This is rough sanded and still needs a ton of finish work but it's spring and I am sure you can get the idea. I would love to toy around with the idea of wooden replacement panels for known trouble spots on these.

I would look at the different liner options and about their features.

 

[Frank Cloud]

Has anyone tried to replace the gaskets without removing the flares?

 

[Heckraiser]

I am not trying to rub your nose in it, but the issue you have is one of the main reasons I would rather have the LC over the 450.

I would think about something that might be able to salvage much of the original paint above the cladding and make a tape line.

From a "pay for bodywork" perspective, it doesn't make sense. That said, if the reason for wanting to do this is to get rid of rust, it doesn't matter anymore. Your truck won't be a museum piece and neither will mine. It will last a long time though and if you treat the edges of the holes with something in the epoxy paint realm, you'll be fine. If you know anyone that builds cedar strip canoes, they might be able to make you a nice set of cladding pieces out of steam bent cedar and oak. I could probably figure out how to do that(I already know how and I have two separate steam boxes with two separate heat sources and a huge pile of exotic and rare wood ), but I just bought the Land Cruiser instead, so I don't have to worry about it.

Not lying about the steam bending. This is a ski waxing jig I made out of white oak that was cut down 180 years ago and redwood that came out of a tree that was at least a 1000 years old and a Saris bike rack part that will slide along that corrugated square tube once it is on the bench. This is rough sanded and still needs a ton of finish work but it's spring and I am sure you can get the idea. I would love to toy around with the idea of wooden replacement panels for known trouble spots on these.

I would look at the different liner options and about their features.

View attachment 1939698

View attachment 1939699

Totally not going to happen, but I have always had a fondness for woody wagons

 

[SucioP]

I had to remove the rocker cladding to get at some rust. Has anyone found an aftermarket source for the male clips?

 

[rhc404]

I had to remove the rocker cladding to get at some rust. Has anyone found an aftermarket source for the male clips?

Did you ever figure this out? I'm about to refinish the cladding. Are there DIY attachment methods that would work?

 

[SucioP]

It’s been a minute but think I found most of what I need on Partsouq.

 

[FirstToy]

If you want to reinstall the cladding, I would take all the door cards off to reach the backside of all the plastic clips.
Otherwise, the risk of breaking clips and brackets is high. There are probably a 100 clips total.

Here's a good idea of a guy filling in all the holes- I remember someone here doing the same years ago.
All of this is tons of work...