5th gen hoods, do they chip easy from road debris?

[93civEJ1]

My 5th gen currently has part of it covered with a matte vinyl wrap on the front and up some of the hood. Previous owner had it on there. I actually dont care for it and planned on taking it off. BUT...then I got to thinking, it may be doing a great job of keeping the paint nice and chip free under it.

SO, how easily do the fronts of the 4runners chip up?

 

[jhguth]

very easily

 

[5thToy]

The entire front fascia is a chip magnet, including the hood's leading edge. :sad:

 

[cb1111]

You can always replace the wrap with paint protection film on the leading edge of the hood, fenders and bumpers.

 

[93civEJ1]

The entire front fascia is a chip magnet, including the hood's leading edge. :sad:

Ive got an offroad front bumper, so not too concern with that, was just curious about the hood front and fender corners.

 

[5thToy]

Ive got an offroad front bumper, so not too concern with that, was just curious about the hood front and fender corners.

Not too concerned with what? Your bumper doesn't eliminate the whole front end.

 

[97BlackAckCL]

Super easy, I had a rock chip on the hood in the first week of owning my truck

 

[93civEJ1]

Not too concerned with what? Your bumper doesn't eliminate the whole front end.

with the steel powdercoated bumper

 

[ElectroBoy]

It sure seems like the paint is softer and chips easier than paint from 15-20 years ago. You’re gonna get chips on the hood edge and front end. Accept it and touch them up occasionally so they don’t rust. I use a Dr Colorchip kit.

 

[the_fornicator]

FYI Not sure if someone's mentioned it or not but vinyl wrap doesn't protect your paint at all. It's super thin. The smallest pebbles that won't chip your paint can break/puncture the vinyl.

In order to protect your paint, the proper way to do it if you want vinyl on there is to apply the vinyl wrap and then apply PPF (e.g. 3M) on top of the vinyl.

Think of vinyl as delicate as loose leaf paper in how it response to rocks.