[ByKaizen]

Looks thug, either a bronze or matte gold alloys will enhance much.

[RoadRambo]

Looks too good now! I suggest getting the alloys painted black as well . Would give the Fortuner an even more menacing look!!!

[svsantosh]

Hello Graaja,

Please black out the door handles and the wheels too. It will look really nice.

You can go the extra mile and take out the fender lips + roof rails and paint them body color glossy finish. It will look spectacular.

[sharmanova]

Originally Posted by graaja

Stealth Mode On: De-Chroming the Fortuner
The door handles are still chrome; painting them black would further improve the look. However, as the door handles are heavily used, paint or wrap may peel off soon. Need to figure out a better solution for this.

That's all folks I have for now!

Your car needs Black outside door handles, Black alloys and Legender's headlamps. That completes the aesthetic modifications of your Fortuner.

Something like this!!



Source

[SA-G13B]

Originally Posted by graaja

Stealth Mode On: De-Chroming the Fortuner

Once I got the car, I did a small photo shoot. Below are some pictures of the car after the dechroming operation. The front skid plate makes a huge difference in the front view.

Looking great!
How did you go about removing the emblems? More importantly, what did you use to stick them back?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by viXit

Sand the handles similar to the other chrome bits
Ceramic coat on the handles and proper curing will help it be scratch resistant.

Originally Posted by sarathlal

Do you know how difficult it is, to coat the alloys black? Both in terms of doing it once as well as maintaining it. Was this considered?

Originally Posted by lordrayden

More than the actual de-chroming work, i appreciated the effort it took to get the 'before and after' photos from the same camera angles, the same zoom and above all, the same amount of steering angle in the car in the first 'before and after' photo .

Originally Posted by ishan0278

This elevates the Fortuner So much, lovely job. Would recommend doing chrome delete on the door handles as well...

Originally Posted by Utopian

The thought of having the door handles painted black came to my mind as well while going through the pics...

Originally Posted by Kelly66

If feasible, painting the alloys black would make it even more menacing.

Originally Posted by ByKaizen

Looks thug, either a bronze or matte gold alloys will enhance much.

Originally Posted by RoadRambo

Looks too good now! I suggest getting the alloys painted black as well . Would give the Fortuner an even more menacing look!!!

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Please black out the door handles and the wheels too. It will look really nice.

Originally Posted by sharmanova

Your car needs Black outside door handles, Black alloys and Legender's headlamps...

Thank you all for the kind words and appreciation

Soon, I will get the door handles painted black. For now, I do not have any plans of painting the alloys. I have to read about the process used to paint the alloys, how durable these paints are, which color to use etc. Will do this at a later time.

Originally Posted by SA-G13B

Looking great!
How did you go about removing the emblems? More importantly, what did you use to stick them back?

The emblems are usually stuck using adhesive. They must have heated it and used a string to remove it. I was told they are stuck back using 3M double-sided tape.

[Sandegov]

Toyota has oem black door handles at a reasonable price, Fortuner GRS is listed as compatible. This would be an ideal choice if it works out.

[Domuv]

This looks sharp. Can really make any grown man go weak on their knees and the accuracy of the pics is just phenomenal. It's like find the difference type riddle.

I have been trying to get the parts dechromed of my xuv500 for sometime now. I managed to get my alloys painted around 4.5 years back from a workshop at Cochin, touchwood it's been intact till now. Blackening out a vehicle really enhances the look ...

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by graaja

..
The last modification on my list was to dechrome the Fortuner. The Fortuner in black looks fantastic. ..

Looks excellent graaja! Never liked the fortuner looks, but in black it looks kickass! Especially the straight ahead looks imposing.

Originally Posted by viXit

Sand the handles similar to the other chrome bits
Ceramic coat on the handles and proper curing will help it be scratch resistant.

I think the door handles can be a different color. The side profile is HUGE and the handles break the monotony. Just my opinion.

This is also why I left out the rear chrome strip in my Endeavor. Also, to an extent not to make it look like a modded car.

[viXit]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Looks excellent graaja! Never liked the fortuner looks, but in black it looks kickass! Especially the straight ahead looks imposing.

I think the door handles can be a different color. The side profile is HUGE and the handles break the monotony. Just my opinion.

This is also why I left out the rear chrome strip in my Endeavor. Also, to an extent not to make it look like a modded car.
Attachment 2730918

100%
the design of the endy is such that it needs something to divide the top and bottom halves, especially with the bright strip extending into the tail lights.

On the fortuner though, I think the handles are nice in body color.
I love the way the GR sport with body colored rear chrome strip and door handles look. May be subjective to white color.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Sandegov

Toyota has oem black door handles at a reasonable price, Fortuner GRS is listed as compatible. This would be an ideal choice if it works out.

Thank you for the reference. I checked Boodmo and can see black handles for the rear doors, but for the front doors, it is chrome. So anyway, I will have to paint them only.

Originally Posted by Domuv

This looks sharp. Can really make any grown man go weak on their knees and the accuracy of the pics is just phenomenal. It's like find the difference type riddle.

I have been trying to get the parts dechromed of my xuv500 for sometime now. I managed to get my alloys painted around 4.5 years back from a workshop at Cochin...

Thank you for the kind words! The black XUV looks fantastic with the black wheels!

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Looks excellent graaja! Never liked the fortuner looks, but in black it looks kickass! Especially the straight ahead looks imposing.

I think the door handles can be a different color. The side profile is HUGE and the handles break the monotony. Just my opinion.

Thank you for the kind words and a different point of view about the handles Let me think this over.

[graaja]

A Relaxed Sunday Morning Drive:

I went for a relaxed Sunday morning drive on the winding forest roads of Anaikkatty and Sholayur. The drive was through some nice scenery—winding roads through forests, valleys, and windmills. I found a couple of spots to take a few nice pictures of the Fortuner.

Had a cup of coffee and a plate of vadas to finish the drive.

A few pictures from this drive.

[graaja]

Weekend Drive to Bekal

A couple of weeks back, some of my driving buddies - Dr.AD, RSudarsanan, and PraveenBalan, were discussing a drive to Bekal for a couple of days. As it has been a long time since I met them, I too signed up for the trip. The plan was for them to drive to Bekal from Bangalore, and I would drive from Coimbatore and meet them in Bekal. A small report on this trip.

The Onward Journey:

I left Coimbatore at 5:00 AM on Saturday, and took the route that GMaps suggested - Coimbatore -> Palakkad -> Kozhikode -> Kannur -> Bekal. The drive was quite good till Kozhikode. Once I hit NH66, it was bad. Almost 70% of the NH66 stretch between Kozhikode and Bekal was under construction, and there were constant diversions onto single-lane roads. It took me about 3:30 hours for the first 180 kilometers to Kozhikode, and 6 hours for the next 180 kilometers from Kozhikode to Bekal.

I arrived at the property at around 2:45 PM.


My friends had arrived already, and I parked the Fortuner with their BMWs.


About the Property - Gateway Bekal:

We stayed at Gateway, Bekal. This is a new property that has been opened recently. Still, a few facilities like the Spa, the bar, etc., are not yet open. The property is located along a river and has very well-maintained landscapes, a huge swimming pool, and nice rooms. A few pictures of the property.

Compact, but very comfortable room.


The room had a spacious balcony.


The early morning view from the balcony. Venus shines bright in the eastern sky!


The huge swimming pool. I enjoyed a nice swim on one of the mornings.


They have a pathway around the property for walks.


The property is tastefully decorated with various statues, antiques etc. A huge boat statue in front of the main building.


A Buddha statue in front of the main building.


A few elephant statues in the reception area.


Another elephant statue in the garden.


A handloom.


The food was just superb. The Chef was from Kerala and made some very tasty Kerala dishes like mango fish curry, kozhi varutharacha curry, malabar parottas, appam with egg curry etc.





We also had some yummy desserts!

[graaja]

Weekend Drive to Bekal [Contd...]

Evening Boat Ride:

Dr.AD had booked an evening boat ride in the backwaters near the property on the first day. This was a very short ride of about 20 minutes. They took us through the backwaters to the place where the river merges with the sea. During summer, the water level is low and the sand in the beach forms a barrier between the river and the sea. During monsoon, the water level rises and the river flows into the sea. A few pictures from this boat ride.









Car Photoshoot:

The next morning, I spent some time taking pictures of the cars.

RSUDARSANAN's 320d


Dr.AD's 320d


PraveenBalan's 330i


My Fortuner in front of the Buddha.




The 330i, the Fortuner and the Buddha!


The three Bimmers!


The 330i and the Fortuner with the rising sun in the background.


Another picture of the 330i and the Fortuner.


All the four cars.

[graaja]

Weekend Drive to Bekal [Contd...]

Sundowner Houseboat Ride:

On Sunday, we spent the day relaxing in the hotel. We had booked a 2-hour houseboat ride in the evening. This was from Nileshwar, which was about 45 45-minute drive from Bekal. After a relaxed lunch, we left the hotel around 3:15 PM and reached the jetty at around 4:00 PM. The boat ride started at 4:30. It was a small houseboat with a single bedroom, an open area with a table and chairs, and a kitchen. It was a 2-hour ride through the backwaters with high tea and snacks. Towards the end of the ride, we had a view of the beautiful sunset. A few pictures from the boat ride.

At the jetty. This is some other houseboat that had just returned from a ride.


Fortuner parked under coconut trees.


Our houseboat.


The boat is owned by a company Bekal Ripples


The captain's seat.


The kitchen.


Another houseboat in the backwater.


A couple of fishermen are casting their nets. The boat driver explained to us that they cast the nets in the evening and because of these nets, houseboats are not allowed in the backwaters after 6:30 PM.


The horizon where the backwater merges with the sea.


Snacks are being prepared.


Tea and snacks.


The boat driver showed us various areas in the backwaters like some islands, a deep sea fishing port, the place where the backwater merges with the sea etc.


The view of the golden sun above the backwaters.


The view of the golden sun above a bridge.


The water turned gold from the reflection of the setting sun.


The sun about to set, seen over the bridge. The electric pole and the wire are an eyesore in the frame!


The sun setting behind coconut trees.






After the boat ride, we returned back to the hotel, had our dinner and called it a day.

The Return Journey:

On Monday, I had an early breakfast and started my drive at 8:00 AM. Others had a leisurely breakfast and left around 10:00 AM.

I decided to take a different route through forest roads and 2 lane roads. The route was Bekal -> Iritty -> Wayanad -> Perinthalmanna -> Palakkad -> Coimbatore. This route is 420km long which is 60km more than the onward route, and also takes about 11:30 hours. But it was a refreshing drive through scenic forest roads and traffic free 2 lane roads till Perinthalmanna. I encountered some traffic around Wayanad, and then after Perinthalmanna.

I had a nice early dinner in Palakkad, and reached home around 8:30 PM.

Closing this report with a few pictures of the Fortuner during the return drive.













That's all folks, I have for now!