Hood Protector Installed

[minuteman3]

I realize I'll probably be in the minority here, but we've had a lot of good experiences with having a hood protector to ward off chips and bugs. A lot of folks probably prefer wraps or protective film, but I don't like the look much after a year or two of fading. So, today was install day for the Ford Accessories protector (~$90)!!

Step 1 was removing the E X P L O R E R letters from the hood. Nah, I wasn't nervous at all! But it actually went pretty well.


Step 2 was a deep cleaning and polish/sealer/ceramic coating of the hood area that will be covered by the protector.

Finally, the protector install. Other than struggling at times with Ford's picture instructions, it really went on easily. Four brackets along the front of the hood plus one on each end. The final result ...

Again, not everyone will like this ... but we sure do. With all of the rain and muck we see 300 days out of the year, this has always worked well for us ... and I'm sure it will work well on our ST as well!!

Cheers!!

Ken

 

[STTOM]

I like that

 

[CapTom]

We live in the "Flying Bug" capital of the world. That looks like a great idea.

 

[MScott]

Was removing the letters necessary or just preference? Looks like a pain to install but the results came out great.

 

[minuteman3]

Was removing the letters necessary or just preference? Looks like a pain to install but the results came out great.

I removed the letters in order to clean easier underneath the protector. It was actually pretty easy to install once I figured out the pictures on the instruction sheet!!

Ken

 

[Taz]

That looks really good. I wonder how that would look on a black ST. It blends with the shape of the headlights very well.

 

[Kruppa]

I realize I'll probably be in the minority here, but we've had a lot of good experiences with having a hood protector to ward off chips and bugs. A lot of folks probably prefer wraps or protective film, but I don't like the look much after a year or two of fading. So, today was install day for the Ford Accessories protector (~$90)!!

Step 1 was removing the E X P L O R E R letters from the hood. Nah, I wasn't nervous at all! But it actually went pretty well.
View attachment 1304
View attachment 1305
Step 2 was a deep cleaning and polish/sealer/ceramic coating of the hood area that will be covered by the protector.
View attachment 1306
Finally, the protector install. Other than struggling at times with Ford's picture instructions, it really went on easily. Four brackets along the front of the hood plus one on each end. The final result ...
View attachment 1307
Again, not everyone will like this ... but we sure do. With all of the rain and muck we see 300 days out of the year, this has always worked well for us ... and I'm sure it will work well on our ST as well!!

Cheers!!

Ken

looks good! I assume taking Explorer letters off is same as any other emblem - heat it up, fishing line, then clay bar, polish, seal etc? I’m so sick of my sponge getting caught in the letters and it always looks dirty in the small spaces of the letters

 

[minuteman3]

looks good! I assume taking Explorer letters off is same as any other emblem - heat it up, fishing line, then clay bar, polish, seal etc? I’m so sick of my sponge getting caught in the letters and it always looks dirty in the small spaces of the letters

Yup, they came off quite easily.

Ken

 

[dawnpatrol]

Hello Ken, is it fairly easy to access to hood under the shield for cleaning and waxing purposes? Any chance you could post a picture of the distance from the hood to the shield?

Looks good..thanks

 

[minuteman3]

Hello Ken, is it fairly easy to access to hood under the shield for cleaning and waxing purposes? Any chance you could post a picture of the distance from the hood to the shield?

Looks good..thanks

Sorry to take so long to respond ... ton of work took away my free time!!

It is easy to get underneath the shield for cleaning and so on. I use Griot's Garage stuff, including an oribital for surface prep and polishing, I do have to switch to using my fingers underneath the shield but it only adds a few seconds to the job!! Here's the best shots I could get ... the little rubber stubs are part of the kit and protect the plastic during car washes, etc. Seems to work well as I have not had any issues at all!!



I put my key fob on the hood to give you an idea of scale.

Hope these help!!

Ken

 

[dawnpatrol]

Much appreciated. Thank you