The Noble Savage (2000 LX470 Mall Crusher Build)

[Nuspee]

I bought this LX in the Spring of 2016 with the idea of having a vehicle that could be used to go camping, pull a boat, carry a family of 5, and be capable of some mild trail riding.
It spent its entire life before I bought it as a South Texas mall cruiser. The Lexus service record and the rust free chassis confirmed it. Since I bought it I’ve baselined every fluid with the exception of brake fluid, replaced spark plugs & coils, timing belt, water pump, fan clutch, fan bracket, done several complete AHC fluid swaps (AHC still works perfectly), several mobil one oil changes, and done a host of upgrades.

The most obvious would be the full Monstaliner paint job.

I'm going to detail some of the things I've done and figured out to hopefully save some some other 100 series owners some heartache especially seeing as how much the forum has helped me over the last 2 years.

 

[Nuspee]

Door Trim sun fade fix:

Use SEM Color Coat 15713 Color Coat Spray:

Makes it look brand new again:

 

[Nuspee]

How to make quick work of stripping the paint from your front grill if you are wanting to repaint or just show the shine underneath.

at first I started with just using a scotch pad but grew impatient with my progress so i grabbed a spray can of chemical stripper
taped around the grill and put tarp underneath to protect everything else from the chemical stripper:

This of course worked like a charm I only had to spray the pro stripper on and then hosed it off and this is what it did:

 

[Nuspee]

I can't really think of any one thing that does more for a 100 series than a pair of new shoes.

After that I really started assessing the paint situation on my truck. It was bad. Years and years of south Texas exposure had taken its toll and no matter what I tried there was no bringing it back. I got some quotes on repainting it and a realized that it would silly to spend that kind of money on something that would probably get scratched up on the trail anyway.

The answer... Monstaliner

This FJ Cruiser is my inspiration. After seeing this on a FJ cruiser forum I knew thats what I wanted to do.

 

[Nuspee]

A two gallon kit runs about $275 and contains pretty much everything you will need. Additionally, I purchased more tape, a big can of MEK, some sandpaper and extra rollers. Buy extra rollers, I can't stress that enough. I also got a spray can of adhesion promoter where I was applying monstaliner to plastic trim and some flat black paint for parts I didn't want to be completely covered in monstaliner like door handles.

 

[Nuspee]

Prep is the most important thing here. Make sure you have plenty of time set aside for it. I spent Friday Evening all the way through Saturday night just doing prep. I washed the truck very thoroughly and removed taillights, emblems, etc. Then wiped the entire thing down with MEK. Next I sanded and scuffed it down, you can use the pads that come with the kit or 120-180 grit paper, I used both. The only places I didn't have good adhesion were the places I got lazy on prep so keep in mind the prep is 90% of this. After the sanding I did a final wipe down with MEK and decided to wait until the next morning to apply the first coat.

 

[Nuspee]

You absolutely have to have all of your prep completely done before you mix the catalyst with the bed liner. the instructions will tell you that have 6-10 hours to use the monstaliner once it has been mixed, but honestly I found that realistically its much closer to 4 hours before its consistency has changed. As far as applying I rolled it instead of spraying but I've seen good results from both methods. Change your rollers early and often. I finished the first coat around lunchtime on Sunday.

I started the 2nd coat Sunday evening after giving the first coat plenty of time to dry. It help to to have good lighting but I think no matter what you will probably find a spot or two later on that weren't perfect one. The good news is Monstaliner has a touch up kit for $20 that can take care of any imperfections you find after the main work is done.

Finished Product -Not a perfect job by any means, but I was pretty darn proud of the way it turned out.

 

[IanwantsaFJ80]

That's awesome..I've been thinking of dipping my LX to a chocolate brown. Nice to see someone switching it up!

 

[suboptimusprime]

This is awesome. My paint is still in nice shape (and I like the color) but would consider doing the bumpers and plastic trim and this makes it seem fairly straightforward.

 

[gamecock2009]

Following this now, what size tires? Im looking at a 470 with your color and love your setup. And AHC at full height?

 

[Nuspee]

285/75/R16 poser pic at full height, but you could always make it go higher if you wanted to.

Unfortunately, I'm putting this truck up for sale and moving on to a new project. 2000 LX470 For Sale