Updated opines on bug deflectors?

C

cognus

New member
Gang I have a new-to-me 07 SR5. I've been reading and reading here and all over about weathertech, AVS, Toyota [and is there one called 'westin'?] bug deflectors bug shields - It seems like the pattern is:
1. Bought it, it installed ok, and we're happy... early in the process
2. Bought it, it won't install correctly, I'm mad :wacko:
3. My buddy had one on his and it looks fab :der:
4. I have had one on my truck for 3 years, and finally snooped around to see how it is working. OH NO! dents in the grill, paint worn off, rust forming from collective debris!:shocked:
5. Was on there when I got it... seems ok.
6. Works great...:clap2:

so I'm hesitant. don't care what it costs, within reason. I had a much loved camry I put 272K on, and that leading edge of the hood literally looked like it was hit repeatedly by bird shot [hunting accidents...]. down to the bare metal.
Hence the question.

if you have longish term experience and it is good... which one for 4th Gen?
I'm including clear stickies here and bras... I'm agnostic! Just trying to get the collective wisdom

thank you for advice
c
 
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I have used them on several different kinds of vehicles,and for the most part they work fine for deflecting bugs, and protecting the edge of the hood. I have never had one installed that came in contact with the hood, i never let the back side of them fill up with mud or rocks and stuff. I do kinda like the clear bra thing also, it does protect against rock chips. Thats just my .02
 
among them, do you now have a favorite Brand &/or type?

thank you for responding - helping me through the minefield.
 
Opinions...

i like um b/c they keep the leading edge of the hood clean. But this means the real big ones end up on the windshield:infidel:
 
I won't do a bra because I've never heard how on earth anyone [maker or user] could protect the paint from them. any little speck of grit caught under there becomes a dremel tool.

question about the clear strips: what's the fear of those? yellowing? that they could destroy clear coat when removed? to the comment about bug/rock deflection, I did read quite a few posts here [gen 5 and 4] and elsewhere that the owner felt that the big deflectors [mostly AVS and Weathertech and a few Toyota OEM] sent the rocks etc right into the upper windshield and roof edge. that is believable... I mean, they're going to go somewhere. so, brought up the idea of clear or otherwise protectors for mirrors, molding, roof edge. which begs the question again: what's the knock against modern, current vintage plasti-strips?
 
+1 for a quality clear bra. Dealer installed on my '04 when new and driven daily in the rocky mountains where the "sand" they spread on the road in the winter is really just ground up granite. Colorado's known as the land of broken windshields because of this. Yet the paint under the clear bra is flawless, the bra itself is flawless, but the paint around the edges of the bra (particularly the trim piece under the headlights) is, as you described, "hit with birdshot" - at this point it's more chips than paint.

I wouldn't hesitate putting a quality clear bra (supposedly 3M, but do your own research) on a freshly painted hood. In fact, in Colorado, I'd consider it negligent not to do so.
 
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should I depend on an accessory shop for this, or just order one and DIY?
Any brand recos would be helpful.
thx
 
I have an OEM Toyota one I will ship for 35 bucks. ALloyd you need is the mounting hardware from toyota. Try it out!
 
I removed an OEM deflector from my 3rd Gen when I bought it...at that point it had most likely been installed for 15 years. The paint behind the deflector was clean and free of bugs (as expected), but it was very rough compared to the rest of the paint. After a clay bar and some more polishing it began to come back to life, but it was always slightly different from the rest of the hood. So I suppose the moral of the story is that if you feel the need to install a bug deflector, be sure to remove it occasionally to clean and wax the paint behind it so that it stays in the same condition as the rest of the paint.
 
Reading this thread and finding yourself interested in a bug deflector? I have one you can pick up for free. I removed it from my 2007, it is in good condition & waiting for you in central VT. I don't want to ship it, the shape would make it a PITA. PM if you want to swing by and grab it. :dance:
 
I've always put a QUALITY (Colgan) vinyl bra on used vehicles including this one, mostly because the front ends are already gravel-chipped so it's a matter of covering up the ugliness and preventing further chipping. A nice feature is they have a bugscreen sewed in to keep bugs out of the radiator fins. Debris sometimes sneaks under the bra, but with a quality bra theres a felt underliner so said debris doesn't act as a grinding wheel.

Clearbra is a great product for new paint, not much point applying it over chipped paint. This '07 I bought had clearbra on it since new but there were some scrapes and scuffs on the bumper so $180 for a Colgan bra to take them out of sight.
 
cognus said:
I won't do a bra because I've never heard how on earth anyone [maker or user] could protect the paint from them. any little speck of grit caught under there becomes a dremel tool.

question about the clear strips: what's the fear of those? yellowing? that they could destroy clear coat when removed? to the comment about bug/rock deflection, I did read quite a few posts here [gen 5 and 4] and elsewhere that the owner felt that the big deflectors [mostly AVS and Weathertech and a few Toyota OEM] sent the rocks etc right into the upper windshield and roof edge. that is believable... I mean, they're going to go somewhere. so, brought up the idea of clear or otherwise protectors for mirrors, molding, roof edge. which begs the question again: what's the knock against modern, current vintage plasti-strips?
Click to expand...

Vinyl bras don't end up scratching the paint. They're not for everybody, but paint damage is not a reason to avoid them. I've had bra's on eight vehicles since 1990, no problems with scratching, if the bra doesn't move then there is no Dremel action that can happen.
 
I don't like bras because they trap moisture which leads to mold and if you leave them on for long periods of time the paint no longer matches the rest of the vehicle. Also getting them to fit properly is a PITA. If you live in a sandy environment like mine that felt backing fills up with sand which means constantly removing it to clean it or rubbing the clear coat off.

As for a hood deflector they only protect the leading edge of the hood. Not the windshield. If a rock hits the hood it will most likely hit the windshield anyway. With the deflector you have a small chance it will redirect the debris enough to clear the glass which is better than none. And most deflectors I have installed come with soft rubber dots you are supposed to install to keep the back from hitting the hood and protecting the paint. Here in New Mexico in the desert mountains with high winds I have seen the difference of with and without on several of my vehicles and definitely would go with given the choice.

The clear bra is an excellent choice for fresh paint and so are vinyl wraps for covering the front end. Might as well throw out Pladtidip as an option as well.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
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clearbra: is that a generic term? what I see when searching are kits of custom cut laminate [like the 3M product] and tools etc to install. is that what you meant?

flipflopnfly said:
I've always put a QUALITY (Colgan) vinyl bra on used vehicles including this one, mostly because the front ends are already gravel-chipped so it's a matter of covering up the ugliness and preventing further chipping. A nice feature is they have a bugscreen sewed in to keep bugs out of the radiator fins. Debris sometimes sneaks under the bra, but with a quality bra theres a felt underliner so said debris doesn't act as a grinding wheel.

Clearbra is a great product for new paint, not much point applying it over chipped paint. This '07 I bought had clearbra on it since new but there were some scrapes and scuffs on the bumper so $180 for a Colgan bra to take them out of sight.
Click to expand...
 
I always liked the look of the air deflector. They do protect the vehicle from rock chips. Some are better then others though.

I had the Toyota air deflector on the 08 T4R when I bought the vehicle. I liked it at first, but over time I descovered it flaws. The problems were when it rained, it would allow the rain to be thrown into the windshield. It also caused a vibration in the grill because of the way Toyota attaches it to the grill (Toyota installed the air deflector at the time of sale for the original owner - it was perfectly installed). I kept hearing a noise near the left outside mirror, and the problem finally solved itself once I changed out the chrome grill for a painted grill. The bottom grill supports were busted and were causing the grill and air deflector to vibrate sending the noise to the driver's side. When I installed the new grill I left off the air deflector and the noise went away. There is no doubt because of the way the air deflector mounts to the grill that it contributed to the grill supports being busted. There's a lot of wind force on the air deflector and even with the slots in the air deflector I believe it helped cause the grill to fail. The Toyota air deflector is quite strong. It's rigid but flexible at the same time. It would have to take a major hit to break it. When I broke it up to throw it in the garbage it took a lot of effort to bend it. It would not snap. I always thought they looked good and cool to have one, but I think clear bras are the way to go. The air deflector was quite good, in fact excellent, in keeping the hood free of rock chips for 7 years.

On the 07 T4R I put on a 3M clear bra and I loved it. It absorbs and deflects the rock chips with no damage to the hood. It also looks better than air deflector. I would not hesitate to have a clear bra installed again vs an air deflector. 3M has a better one now, but there are other manufactors of clear bras. 3M has a good warranty against yellowing. Keep your receipt if you buy one.

I personally like the clear bra better then the air deflector.

I haven't put one on the 08 yet.
 
cognus said:
Gang I have a new-to-me 07 SR5. I've been reading and reading here and all over about weathertech, AVS, Toyota [and is there one called 'westin'?] bug deflectors bug shields - It seems like the pattern is:
1. Bought it, it installed ok, and we're happy... early in the process
2. Bought it, it won't install correctly, I'm mad :wacko:
3. My buddy had one on his and it looks fab :der:
4. I have had one on my truck for 3 years, and finally snooped around to see how it is working. OH NO! dents in the grill, paint worn off, rust forming from collective debris!:shocked:
5. Was on there when I got it... seems ok.
6. Works great...:clap2:

so I'm hesitant. don't care what it costs, within reason. I had a much loved camry I put 272K on, and that leading edge of the hood literally looked like it was hit repeatedly by bird shot [hunting accidents...]. down to the bare metal.
Hence the question.

if you have longish term experience and it is good... which one for 4th Gen?
I'm including clear stickies here and bras... I'm agnostic! Just trying to get the collective wisdom

thank you for advice
c
Click to expand...
So what did you end up doing?
 
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