Fighting with rust on the bonnet / hood and installation of a hood / bonnet deflector for the VW Touran 2012

It all started with buying the car from Germany. The bonnet had been repainted. Visible from the relief, it had been damaged before repainting from a stone hit or scratches from sand, solt etc. The car is lovely, family-friendly, wide, I’d say lovely.

Problem with the Paint on the Hood / Bonnet

But with each passing month, several new dots could be counted, or rather “holes” in the blue paint on the metal bonnet / hood. The majority of the stones, small sands por salt flying from the front cars pierced the new (and old under it) paint straight to the metal of the hood (bonnet). This means that they did also break through the anti-corrosion primer between the paint and the lid.

The result of the above was that rust was beginning to appear in each of the damaged places on the bonnet / hood and the frame of the passenger compartment around the windshield. That’s where it started… I had to constantly process the emerging “fresh” holes with a painting brush and a rust converters. After waiting hours for the chemical to convert the rust, I also applied a red anti-corrosion primer, which I often smeared and went beyond the dot. And when it dries, I go again, I began to clean the excess primer and paint with these small bottles of paint (like nail polish) that are sold from China online. Unfortunately I didn’t buy the right color, matching my car paint, even though they wrote in their listing that it was the same. 🙂 And from the nice new car, at front of it was became a terrible view…

In The Official Dealer’s Service

Ok! So far, it’s was nightmare, but I had not given up! 🙂 I figured out that the car had a 15-year warranty on the paint from Volkswagen. Or at least that was written in the manual. And I went to VW’s official service near the capital. The staff there was very helpful. They came and touched an appliance next to the hood (bonnet), similar to a barcode reader, and said the following. That the paint is normal thickness – the right number of microns and there is no defect in the paint. “How it comes that I get new holes in it every week then?” I asked. They told me that the roads in our country are bad, there are pebbles, sand and salt everywhere (in addition to the fact that they throw such in the winter because of the snow). And that if I’ve driven the Volkswagen Touran a lot over long distances, behind trucks, then that’s why I have so many holes. But that didn’t calm me down. The only solution they managed to offer me was to repaint it through the insurer and put it on the so-called “bras” of arty leather for a bonnet. But these leather deflectors can retain water or moisture and they don’t look pretty, at least to me. Besides, I don’t know how much they’re going to help, considering they’re clinging to the hood.

Hood / Bonnet deflector

I learned unexpectedly about the solution to the problem of pebbles, paint and rust – a hood deflector / bonnet deflector / bug shield / bug deflector. I understood from clients later that it also protects the windshield. This fiberglass spoiler looked stylish on most cars, and it was also a pretty practical solution. Once I was able to get hold of the bug deflector, it was time to repaint the bonnet or hood of the car and install it.

Repainting and Insurance- Expenses

Repainting a bonnet / hood and front bumper in a trusted service of an insurance company costed me about €260 in 2017. Also the bumper was scratched (its paint only). The insurer never paid me, even though I disputed it with a complaint. They claimed to be old damages (despite the new damage to the bumper paint and the new pebble points on the bonnet). It stayed at my expense. And the insurance didn’t save me. So the investment of €35-40 for a deflector was much more profitable than the few repaints on the bonnet that would have been ahead of me.

Installation / Fitting of the Bonnet / Hood Deflector

The bug shield came with the fasteners (clips) in a bag and a mounting / installation scheme. I cleaned the bonnet / hood, fitted the deflector following the instructions (it was good that there was someone to hold and help) and ready… for about 25-30 minutes it was already on the car. I didn’t take photos during the installation, but here are some other photos I found that might be helpful:

I like the way it looks. It makes the car even more stylish. But most importantly – protect from pebbles, sand, salt, bugs and rust! 🙂 It’s a good idea that there’s already a warehouse to buy it in the European Union. And it’s just about to get popular. Here are some photos. I recommend!