I Used to Have a Disdain for Bug Deflectors...

K

KP Texan

New member
...until this past weekend. I now know why some people have them! Was driving down the road in my wife's 4Runner, and a vehicle in the lane adjacent kicked up a big rock. As soon as it happened, I knew there was going to be some damage.

Short of a new hood/repaint, what course of action can be taken with this? Although it's down to the bare steel, I'm pretty sure the scratch can be touched up to my satisfaction. It's the dent that looks the worst. Think this is something a paintless dent repair guy could get mostly out?

Worst case, I guess I could touch it up and then slap a deflector over it... would've prevented this situation to begin with, haha. :frusty:
 

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KP Texan said:
...until this past weekend. I now know why some people have them! Was driving down the road in my wife's 4Runner, and a vehicle in the lane adjacent kicked up a big rock. As soon as it happened, I knew there was going to be some damage.

Short of a new hood/repaint, what course of action can be taken with this? Although it's down to the bare steel, I'm pretty sure the scratch can be touched up to my satisfaction. It's the dent that looks the worst. Think this is something a paintless dent repair guy could get mostly out?

Worst case, I guess I could touch it up and then slap a deflector over it... would've prevented this situation to begin with, haha. :frusty:
Click to expand...
PDR the dent and touch it up. Other wise its PDR, body filler and paint the whole hood.
 
Touch up the paint, and leave the dent.
Tell people Chuck Norris spit on the truck as a sign of approval! :lmao:

I'd bet that rock big and fast enough to do that probably would have shattered a bug deflector.
 
Last edited:
Soneill said:
PDR the dent and touch it up. Other wise its PDR, body filler and paint the whole hood.
Click to expand...

I think I'm going to try PDR/touchup. I'm trying to avoid hood painting, since I understand they would have to blend the fenders most likely and I'm not looking for all that (not to mention the cost and having non-OE paint).
 
Friggin Idiot said:
Touch up the paint, and leave the dent.
Tell people Chuck Norris spit on the truck as a sign of approval! :lmao:

I'd bet that rock big and fast enough to do that probably would have shattered a bug deflector.
Click to expand...

I'll have to remember that one for the future! :lmao:
 
Put a bug deflector on it now and you won't see the dent.
I've had a couple of those on trucks and a rock like that will shatter them.
Then you stand along the road and break the rest of it off so it doesn't beat all the paint off your hood.
 
Funny, I just pulled the bug-deflector OFF of my 4th gen. I'd been hunting the source of a horrible exterior rattle for months, and a member on here suggested the bug deflector as my likely source from the disrupted air flow over the mirror area. Son of a gun he was right. I'd take a dent and scratch over that racket any day.
 
I slapped a deflector on my Runner right after buying it since it had a similar type of dent. It had been there a while too since the paint started to bubble. I did my best to make it better, then threw the deflector on to cover it. I’m not sure I expect the deflector to do much in the way of protection moving forward but it looks muuuuuuuuch better now.

And I haven’t picked up any noise that my cargo basket doesn’t cancel out. Haha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
A coworker has one on his truck that looks like bedliner material.
Have to see who makes it later, it sticks right on the hood and looks like it would do a much better job than a plastic one.
 
re:

Me personally, unless your hood is in bad shape I wouldn't paint the whole thing. I'd get a good paintless dent removal guy to work on it. Given the dent doesn't appear to go over the hood crease they may be able to work it all out. Clean the metal then touch it up with paint the best you can. Best case you may not need the bug deflector. Anyway, good luck.
 
WVhillbilly said:
A coworker has one on his truck that looks like bedliner material.
Have to see who makes it later, it sticks right on the hood and looks like it would do a much better job than a plastic one.
Click to expand...

Interesting. So it's like a thick film? In my case it may have protected from the scratch, but not the dent. It's hard to see in the photo, but my wife's 4Runner actually has 3m paint protection film (it's fairly thick stuff) and that rock cut right through it. Wonder how much worse it would've been with out it?!
 
AVS has a bug deflector called the Aeroskin. It sits tight against the hood all around, as opposed to leaving a gap between the hood and deflector. Looks like quite a few guys on here have installed it. Google the images and see if they look like they will cover the spot where your dent is. Definitely seal up the dent before installing it though.
 
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