Hi there!
I have the Harley bug deflector on mine and has anyone got the same problem I do? The deflector seems to be gouging the paint off the front of my truck on the edge where the hood comes down all along the front edge. What a mess. Wonder if theres a way I could sand the edges of the thing or something?
Thanks,
Cindy.

 

Yes, you aren't the only one. I was a bit disappointed considering that I put the guard on to protect the paint. I used a razor blade and cut down some of the sharp edges that were gouging, but it didn't really seem to help that much. At least you can't see the marks when the hood is closed. I think someone else had mentioned having this problem some time ago. Let us know if you or anyone else comes up with any other solutions.

 

I have a Lund bug deflector on mine and it would rub in 2 spots, so what I did was I took some velcro and placed it in between the contact points. So now it only rubs on the velcro and not on the paint. I have done this with every F150 I have owned and never had my paint get damaged.

 

I have the HD flector, and it only started rubbing in two little spots on the underside of the hood. No big problem. Did you guys put the little rubber stick-on things on the hood to keep the shield from pressing down too far? That might have something to do with it. just a thought

 

Yep, the rubber things are in place. The rubbing is occurring on the grill surround above the headlights. The bottom of the deflector is rubbing the top part of the surround. Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

 

I have installed bug deflectors on other vehicles and don't think they ever really helped much keeping bugs off the car. Never installed a deflector on the HD truck for that reason -- I live in "bug country," here in Iowa and I get bugs all over the windshield, etc. no matter if there is a bug deflector or not.

Do they actually work for you guys???? Any thoughts?

 

As you say, they really don't help too much with the bugs. Maybe I get fewer than I would otherwise. The main reason I got mine was to protect the paint on the hood from stone chips and other debris. I have seen many a vehicles get the snot beat out of the front edge and top of the hood by rocks, gravel, etc.. This is just a sacrificial lamb to hopefully extend the life of the paint on my hood.

 

i think they help some. I get a bunch of bugs on my bumper and mirrors, but few on my windshield. Anyway, the main reason i got mine was because the front end of my blue 85 is riddled with chips from debris, and i didn't want this to happen with my black HD cuz it would definately show too much. My bumper is bad enough, don't want the hood messed up too, especially since i enter her in car shows.
anyway, i was thinking and here may be a couple of factors for the guard rubbing
1. rubber bumpers aren't in the exact right spot to help enough to stop rubbing ???
2. Hood shuts a hair too low, i think you can adjust this by unscrewing the hood stops above the fan shroud just a little. I think that this is probably the main reason, and just adjusting it a little could help alot
3. that velcroe thing is a good idea, just stick the soft side on the bottom of the flector, and hopefully it would stop it.

I checked mine out, and i have 2 little spots that rubbed off on the top of the grille, (between headlights and grille edge) But ya can't see it unless the hood's open. A little touch-up will fix it. I think that a few rubbing spots under the hood is worth the sacrifice, and no chips on the hood.

 

Same here...cept the spots have chipped the paint completely off down to the bare metal.

Pissed me off royally since the truck came with the deflector when i bought it new at the dealership.

Deflecting bugs my ***...its the ONLY clean part on the front of my truck. Everything else is covered in bugs.

 

I was checkin out under the hood today (man do i have to clean the engine bay but anyway) and i was checking out the bug shield. It rubs on the left side between teh grille and headlight. i thought it started rubbing in the middle, but it was only polish that was dried on, (what a relieve lol). When the hood is closed, when i looked in the gap between shield and grille, it just barely touches on the left side, hence the rubbing, and it has a small gap on the right side, so no rubbing. So hopefully, since i raised the one bumpstop on the left for my hood about 1/8 to 1/4 inch, it will stop. This is probably the main reason many of your's are rubbing the paint off. Just unscrew the 2 bump stops a little at a time, and see how the gap looks between the hood and shield. My hood still fits perfect and it actually lines up better with the fenders height when you feel the very slight difference. Hopefully this will help you guys. Let me know how you make out

 

anyone try this yet?