I just bought an '07 Tacoma that has some paint damage that I would like to repair the best I can doing it myself. Most of the paint looks great but there are a variety of scratches from clear coat scratches to metal scratches that have rusted. Also some scratches down to plastic body pieces.

I have paint and body experience from the Datsun 240z resto project I'm doing so I'm likely well equipped to handle these issues as far as tools and primer/prep go, but my experience is limited to metal bumping up through high build primer. I do have a basecoat/CC gun and some clearcoat on hand though.

I'm going to post some pictures below and I'm curious what all would be involved in these repairs. It's a truck after all and will be used like one so the repairs don't have to be absolutely perfect, but I want them to last.

Thanks for any advice.

It's pretty straightforward:

Grind/Sand out damage, down to metal. Feather out to a wide area, nice and flat.
Body filler. Many posts on this topic...
Primer.
Base/Clear.

The problem you will have is the blends. That color is not an easy match so you have to check the variants and do a few spray-out cards to get your settings right for a blendable match. If the damage is all over the truck sometimes it becomes easier to just repaint the entire thing (or large parts of it).

For the bumper it's basically the same thing. You can use normal filler on small damage like that, or you can use bumper repair products. Thread here with details:

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=17258

Thanks for the advice Chris. I've never blended paint before -- sounds pretty tricky.

How far around the damage do I need to sand/scuff?

I'm guessing anywhere I apply paint all of the clear coat needs to be removed beforehand?

jkelly240 wrote:
I'm guessing anywhere I apply paint all of the clear coat needs to be removed beforehand?

clear can be a great substrate for new base so long as its prepped properly.