• Sign Up! To view all forums and unlock additional cool features

    Welcome to the #1 Explorer ST Forum and Explorer ST community dedicated to Explorer ST owners and enthusiasts. Register for an account, it's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the Explorer ST Forum today!


Hood Protector Installed

minuteman3

Member
U.S. Air Force Veteran
Messages
102
Reactions
129
Points
37
Location
Tacoma, WA, USA
Vehicle
2020 Explorer ST
#1
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.
Hood Protctor-2.jpg
Hood Protctor-6.jpg
Step 2 was a deep cleaning and polish/sealer/ceramic coating of the hood area that will be covered by the protector.
Hood Protctor-8.jpg
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 ...
Hood Protctor-17.jpg
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
 

Messages
244
Reactions
111
Points
37
Location
Tucson, AZ
#2
I like that
 

CapTom

Member
U.S. Army Veteran
Firefighter/EMT
Messages
236
Reactions
203
Points
37
Location
Anderson, SC, USA
Vehicle
2020 Explorer ST
#3
We live in the "Flying Bug" capital of the world. That looks like a great idea.
 

Messages
99
Reactions
45
Points
17
Location
Baton Rouge, LA, USA
#4
Was removing the letters necessary or just preference? Looks like a pain to install but the results came out great.
 

OP
minuteman3

minuteman3

Member
U.S. Air Force Veteran
Messages
102
Reactions
129
Points
37
Location
Tacoma, WA, USA
Vehicle
2020 Explorer ST
Thread Starter #5
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

Member
Messages
54
Reactions
23
Points
7
Location
Somerset, NJ, USA
#6
That looks really good. I wonder how that would look on a black ST. It blends with the shape of the headlights very well.
 

Messages
294
Reactions
219
Points
37
Location
Grosse Pointe, MI, USA
#7
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
 

OP
minuteman3

minuteman3

Member
U.S. Air Force Veteran
Messages
102
Reactions
129
Points
37
Location
Tacoma, WA, USA
Vehicle
2020 Explorer ST
Thread Starter #8
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
 

Messages
10
Reactions
20
Points
2
Location
New Mexico
#9
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
 

OP
minuteman3

minuteman3

Member
U.S. Air Force Veteran
Messages
102
Reactions
129
Points
37
Location
Tacoma, WA, USA
Vehicle
2020 Explorer ST
Thread Starter #10
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!!
Dungeness Park-123.jpg
Dungeness Park-125.jpg

I put my key fob on the hood to give you an idea of scale.
Dungeness Park-124.jpg
Hope these help!!

Ken
 



Top