How To Install Tough Stuff Paint Protectors (Hellbender?s New Products) Large Thread

[Daless2]

How To Install Tough Stuff Paint Protectors (Hellbender?s New Products)

For those of you who are not aware of this, one of our own, Hellbender has decided to pull together a small team of folks and start a business making some rather unique Jeep Parts and Accessories..

If anyone has an interest in learning more about Hellbenders product line here is the address to Tough Stuff Products, Inc.

http://www.toughstuffproducts.com/


I have had the chance to install and review several of these new products. I thought I would share my observations and do a write-up of installations instructions that others may find useful.

The products I have installed are the Paint Protector Products for my Jeep?s Fenders, Doors and Tailgate Sill plate, and a Stainless Steel Tailgate Bump Guard.

As I get the time I will put up instructions for each of these.



Fender Protectors

These are really neat folks. They simply stick on, and provide what appears to be a very tough surface to protect the tops of my Jeep fenders from the tools that I am always placing up there.

The material being used appears to be some type of semi-flexible plastic with a rough textured finish to it. Sort of like Bed Liner, only much more uniform and fine in texture.

I don?t think I have ever seen anything quite like this stuff. They did a great job of covering up the many little dents and scratches accumulated over the last 6 years in the tops of my fenders. (I lay my tools there all the time.)

Here?s a picture of one of my finders with the protector in place.







General Instructions

As I said, I installed three of the paint protector products. Here are a few thoughts dealing with the installations that you may find helpful.

All the Tough Stuff Protective Products I installed appear to use a waterproof contact type adhesive. Folks this is incredibly sticky stuff.

Here are a few thoughts that I would recommend that might aid in your installation.

1. Make sure the surface temperature of your Jeep, the Tough Stuff Protectors, and the air temperature are above 60 Degrees F .

2. Don?t try to install these in direct sunlight. This glue is incredibly sticky and the heat really seams to activate it farther. I made sure my Jeep was in the shade and cooled down.

3. All the Paint Protector Products come rolled up in the box for shipping. I found it helpful to lay them out on a clean flat surface in the sun for a minute or too before installing. This helped get the curve out of them and made for an easier installation.

Here?s a picture.




4. Clean! Clean! Clean!!!!! Proper surface preparation is vitally important for proper adhesion. I cleaned the tops of my fenders 4 times using 70% Isopropyl Alcohol that I had sitting in my bathroom medicine cabinet for years. This gets old wax, road film and grease/oil off the surface of the paint and lets this super sticky contact cement adhere the paint protectors in a way that I doubt would ever come off.

(Check your bathroom medicine cabinet or you can get this at Wal-Mart / K-Mart / CVS / Rite Aid for about $0.53 a bottle.)





5. DO NOT remove the Adhesive Backing Paper from the back of the paint protectors until the instruction that come with it tell you to do so. Trust me on this one folks!




Tools:

Here?s a list of the simple tools I used to install the Fender Protectors


70% Isopropyl Alcohol
Paper Towels
Basic Hand Tools
Single Edge Razor Blade
Masking Tape
Sharp Scissors




Detailed Instructions for the Fender Protectors

Step 1 - Remove Hood Latch Components

I did my installation on my TJ. I don?t thing it is necessary to remove any hood latch hardware if you are doing this on a CJ, but I don?t know for sure.

I do know the hood latch hardware does indeed have to be removed to put the Fender Protectors on a YJ.





Open your hood fully. It may help me during the installation to rest the hood against the windshield frame.






Remove your Hood Latches by unscrewing the retaining nut underneath the fender.

On my TJ this was a 15 mm nut.






Remove your Rubber Hood Bumpers.

PLEASE NOTE: If your rubber hood bumpers are getting old and weather cracked, you may damage them by removal (You could get a new set from your Jeep dealer for a few bucks or simply trim the Fender Protectors around them.)

The Rubber Hood Bumpers are held in place by two small nipples that extend through holes on the top of the fender. The bumpers can be removed by carefully pulling to one side, then wetting underneath (to lubricate) with water, window cleaner or alcohol. Work them side to side, they will come out.







Here is the Hood Latch and Rubber Bumper you should have removed from each fender.








Step 2 ? Cleaning / Surface Preparation

*** Surface CLEANING is vital for proper adhesion. I cannot over emphasize this Folks!! ***


Place the Fender Protectors on top of your fenders where you would like to install them.

Take note of the area that the Fender Protector covers, plus another ?-inch around the outside edge of the Fender Protectors.

Remove the Fender Protectors and thoroughly clean each area three (3) times.

Use a generous amount of rubbing alcohol and clean paper towels each time (rub hard). Allow the alcohol to air dry on the top of the fenders.






Clean each fender top one more time (fourth time). This time dry the alcohol off with a clean dry paper towel. If you see any dirt/wax film streaks while doing this repeat the cleaning process until spotless.

This is important folks. Get carried away with your cleaning effort.



Step 3 ? Installation

*** The tops of your fenders are clean, right? ***

Place the Fender Protectors on your fenders and check for the proper fit. You should see a 1/8-inch to ?-inch gap around all outside edges.

If you find any areas need trimming, trim with a sharp scissors or a razor to fit to your liking. Mine fit perfectly without any trimming.

Tape the Fender Protectors in the proper location using masking tape. Make sure there are no voids or air bubbles under the Protectors.






Double-check the location of your Protectors. You might want to close your Jeep?s hood to make sure you are satisfied with this location.






Next, carefully remove the masking tape ONLY on the rear half of the Protector. Leave the front half securely taped in place. (This will keeps everything located where you want it.)






Peel the adhesive backing paper off the un-taped area of the Protector;




Then tear the paper off the rear half and discard.

Lightly lay the rear half of the fender protector onto the fender. DO NOT rub down hard until after the installation is complete, but DO make sure there are no voids under the Protector.

If the location is off, you can pull it up and relocate the Protector before final rub down.

Remove the masking tape and carefully peel the adhesive backing paper off the front half of the protector.





Continue to lay the front half of the Protector down onto the fender. DO NOT rub down yet. If the location is off you can lift the protector and re-align it.






When you are satisfied with the alignment and installation, use a clean dry paper towel or the Protector Backing Paper and thoroughly rub down the enter Protector to finish adhesion.





Rub from the center of the Protector out toward the edges. This will help eliminate air pockets.

If you have an air bubble you cannot work to an outside edge cut a small slit in the center of the bubble and press the air out.






Step 4 ? Reinstall Removed Hood Latch and Bumper


Locate the mounting holes for the rubber bumper and hood latch under the Fender Protector with your finger. Press down to make small indentations in the Protector over the holes.






Press a Philips Head screwdriver into each indentation to open up the five (5) holes in the top of the fender needed to mouth the latch and bumper.







Enlarge these holes by rotating the screwdriver to their proper size.






To install the Rubber Bumper first lubricate the two nipples with water or a window cleaning solution. Then insert a small screwdriver into the holes on the top of the rubber bumper and press it into place through the Protector and into the fender.







Reinstall the Hood Latches using the 15 mm nut from the underside of the fender.








MAINTENANCE
There doesn?t appear to e any real maintenance required for any of these paint protector products. The instructions tell you to just clean them up with a soft brush or sponge and some soapy water.


They also tell you to be careful you do NOT direct a pressure washer spray at an angle around the edges of the Protectors for 14 days after installation. This is to ensure the adhesive cures properly.

That?s all I have on the Fender Protectors folks. Of the handful of Touch Stuff Products that I have installed on my Jeep I like these the best!

I will do a much shorter write-up on installing the Door Protectors, Tailgate Sill Protector, and the Stainless Steel Tailgate Bump Guard as time permits. (Life just keeps getting in my way sometimes.)

If you have an interest in seeing some of the other products Hellbender and team are bringing to market you can check them out at their web site.

www.toughstuffproducts.com


I cannot and do not in any way wish to give direction on future products, Hellbender can do that, but it is my understanding a much more complete and robust product line is in the work. I do know the lead engineer here and I can tell you folks, you?re going to like what you see coming down the pike.

Brad (Hellbender) and his team have been major contributors to the Jeeping Forums for years. Personally I think it is wonderful that they have come together to offer some rather unique products to the hobby. I wish them all the success they are able to earn in the market place!

From what I have seen in my limited exposure to what they are already producing the quality is first class!

Frank

PS: I?ll get some of the other instructions up a bit later.

[MoeDaddy]

Great job as usual!

Those are just what the doctor ordered for my fenders.

Thanks for the info and I can't wait to try some out myself.

[Daless2]

Door Protectors







Note: It appears the Tough Stuff Door Protectors will Only Fit JEEP Vehicles with Factory Full Doors. Lucky for me that's what I have!

These Door Protectors appear to be made out of the same material that the Fender Protectors are made of. I am not exactly sure what this material is, but it isn?t like any ?Grip Tape? I have ever seen. As I said in the first note, it?s kinda like Truck Bed Liner only far more consistent and uniform in texture and quite a bit harder as well.

To bad this forum doesn?t provide the ability to post a physical sample. That would be the best way to communicate this. (Can someone work on this? I?d like to post the physical sample down in the lower left hand corner of the thread!


The Door Protectors fit inside the stamped indented area of the upper door on Jeep CJ, YJ, and TJ.

This is a one size fits all product, meaning minor trimming with a scissors is required on the front edge of the Door Protector to fit some doors. This is to address the minor differences in the length of the door indentation even within the same model type.

My installation did not require any trimming to these Door Protectors to fit my 97 TJ Factory Hard Doors. My estimate is these protectors would need about 1/8 to ? inch trimmed off the front edge to perfectly fit the CJ doors.



General Instructions
The General instructions I posted for the Fender Protectors apply equally to the Door Protectors and to the best of my knowledge all the other Tough Stuff Paint Protector products as well. In the interest in being complete, here they are again.

1. Make sure the surface temperature of your Jeep, the Tough Stuff Protectors, and the air temperature are above 60 Degrees F .

2. Don?t try to install these in direct sunlight. This glue is incredibly sticky and the heat really seams to activate it farther. I made sure my Jeep was in the shade and cooled down.

3. All the Paint Protector Products come rolled up in the box for shipping. I found it helpful to lay them out on a clean flat surface in the sun for a minute or too before installing. This helped get the curve out of them and made for an easier installation.

Here?s a picture.





4. Clean! Clean! Clean!!!!! Proper surface preparation is vitally important for proper adhesion. I cleaned the doors 4 times using 70% Isopropyl Alcohol that I had sitting in my bathroom medicine cabinet for years. This gets old wax, road film and grease/oil off the surface of the paint and lets this super sticky contact cement adhere the paint protectors in a way that I doubt would ever come off.

(Check your bathroom medicine cabinet or you can get this at Wal-Mart / K-Mart / CVS / Rite Aid for about $0.53 a bottle.)






5. DO NOT remove the Adhesive Backing Paper from the back of the paint protectors until the instruction that come with the Door Protectors tell you to.




Tools:

Here?s what I had to use to install the Door Protectors


70% Isopropyl Alcohol
Paper Towels
Single Edge Razor Blade
Masking Tape
Sharp Scissors




Detailed Instructions: Door Protectors


Step 1 ? Cleaning / Surface Preparation


Hold the Door Protectors up on your Jeep?s doors so you can see where they will be installed.

Take note of the area that the Door Protector covers, plus another ?-inch around the outside edge of the Door Protectors. This is the area you need to get carried away cleaning.





Clean this area three (3) times using the rubbing alcohol and clean paper towels. As with the Fender Protectors allow the alcohol to air dry on the doors between each cleaning. .





Clean each door top one more time (fourth time). This time dry the alcohol off with a clean dry paper towel. If you see any dirt or wax film streaks when you are done with this is isn?t clean enough. I would advise that you do it again till it is spotless.




Step 2 ? Installation

*** The tops of your doors are clean, right? ***


You need to hold the Door Protectors up to the Jeep doors again to check for proper fit.


As I said before, the Door Protectors are longer then need be for some Jeep Models. This is required to address differences in the doors for all models (CJ, YJ, TJ) and slight differences within the same models between years.

You may need to trim as much as ?-inch from the front edge of the Door Protector to properly fit your doors.

If you find any areas need trimming, trim with a sharp scissors to fit to your liking.


I pre-position masking tape around the perimeter of the door indentation.





Then I put the Door Protector on the door and position it where I want it.

Pay particular attention to the areas around the door lock and the door handle surround.

Your time and effort here is well invested so don?t rush it. It only takes a minute or two to line this up right and get it to fit perfectly for you.





Tape the rest of the Door Protector in the proper location using masking tape. Make sure there are no voids under the Protectors.





Double-check the location of your Door Protectors. I found it helpful to stand back and look across the entire edge to make sure you have the fit and location you want.

Carefully remove the masking tape ONLY on the rear half of the Protector. Leave the front half securely taped in place. (This will keep the Protector properly located where you want it.)


Carefully peel the adhesive backing paper off the rear half of the Door Protector.






Then tear the paper off the rear half and discard.

DO NOT pull back to hard on the Door Protector. If you pull back too tightly it may stretch in the thin areas around the door handle surrounds. I did not have this happen to me but I imagine it could if you?re not careful.

Lightly lay the rear half of the Door protector onto the Door. DO NOT rub down hard until after the installation is complete, but DO make sure there are no voids under the Protector.

If the location is off, you can pull it up and relocate the Protector before final rub down.

Remove the masking tape and carefully peel the adhesive backing paper off the front half of the protector.






Continue to lay the front half of the Protector down onto the Door. DO NOT rub down yet. If the location is off you can lift the protector and re-align it.

When you are satisfied with the alignment and installation, use a clean dry paper towel or the Door Protector Backing Paper and thoroughly rub down the enter Protector to finish adhesion.






Rub from the center of the Protector out toward the edges. This will help eliminate air pockets.

If you have an air bubble you cannot work to an outside edge cut a small slit in the center of the bubble and press the air out.








MAINTENANCE
Like the Fender Protectors there doesn?t appear to be any real maintenance required for the Door Protectors. Just clean them up with a soft brush or sponge and some soapy water.

Do not use a power washer for 14 days to let the adhesive cure.



The Door Protectors fit my TJ factory doors very nicely, covering up almost 7 years of ?Jeep Pin-striping? caused by brush and branches and everything else I have come across off road to rub on the sides of my Jeep.

Wish I had these sooner. But then again, they sure covered up a multitude of scratches for the area they do cover. I also like the looks. I think they create a nice contrast.

I have had these paint protective products on my Jeep for a while now and have received more then a good share of inquires and questions on them.

While I am certain not everyone has an interest in paint protective products like these, I am pleased to finally be able to let folks know how they can get their hands on these things inexpensive items.

Frank

[jeepik]

nice write up frank...

you got wayyyyyy too much time on your hand

[Tim]

brad, i ordered a set of your fender protectors today from bob. (does he always sound so sleepy??)

great write-up frank, top-notch as always.

i was curious if xylene/xylol is an acceptable pre cleaner to use with this type of adhesive.

[TObject]

Xylene is an aromatic solvent, like gasoline. I will not speculate, but this may be bad for the paint. After all they do use Xylene as thinner for some paints. I may be mistaken, and it could be you can use Xylene just fine.

Isopropanol is an alcohol. I understand the reason for use alcohol is to cleanup the wax buildup. Just go to your local drugstore and spend 99 cents on a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Don?t try to be different.

When I need to clean something up, I usually start with methanol or isopropanol. And if that doesn't help, I then move to more aggressive stuff, like dimethylformamide, then I'd use acetone or dichloromethane, and if that doesn't work, the most kick ass thing I used for cleanup is formic acid. I guess the idea is to start with less aggressive solvent/cleaner and work your way up if it doesn't work.

Always observe safety precautions.

[Hellbender]

T. Dome--

The manufacturer of the material recco's 70% isopropyl alcohol, so I am sticking to it . "D

Seriously, the other solvents MAY be OK for 1 kind of paint (say a urethane) but would damage others (a laquer) so I think the alcohol is safe for everything.

The main thing is to remove ALL traces of wax or other residue, and leave a surface that is pure paint.

Some of the Silicone based waxes really need a scrubbing to remove. Really wet the surface well, and keep it wet while scrubbing, and use clean paper towels between each cleaning.

I think anything that did not leave any film and would not damage the paint would be fine, but I would still use the alcohol bath after any other cleaning, to be safe.

Thanks for the order!! Did you get Black or Clear? Tell me what you think after you get them on!

HB

[Tim]

i got black for my white TJ. everything else seems to be black so i wasnt going to be different in that respect:P

i only asked about the xylene because i have it around. i will use alcohol this time as you suggested.

thanks

[Daless2]

Removing The Paint Protector Products

When I wanted to test what happens when the Tough Stuff Paint Protectors were removed from a Jeep, Hellbender agreed to replace any product I removed while doing this test, provide I would share all the info, good or bad on the forums. (Watch out for this guy, he is a risk taker! )


I?ll tell you, I have to tip my hat to Brad.

This is a brave man and clearly someone who believes in his product.

In hindsight I think he knew there wasn?t ?risk? in this, simply because he knew how the product would perform; and now I do as well.


During this effort I managed to take my Door Protectors off, and learned in the process a few small tips I would like to pass on. Perhaps you may find them useful.


Bottom line ? There was no damage, of any kind, to the paint or finish on my Jeep as a result of having the Door Protectors in place and then removing them.


Here is a picture of my driver side door after I removed the Door Protector. The paint and finish are every bit as good as they were prior to their installation.





Tools I used


Here?s a picture and a list of the tools I found most useful to remove the Door Protectors and the residual adhesive that remained on the paint.




70% Isopropyl Alcohol
Paper Towels
Duck Tape
Hair Blow Drier


The Peeling Process

Please note, while I do have a commercial grade heat gun, I did not use it in this effort. The product instructions say you can use a hair drier so that is what I used. I would imagine a heat gun would only make this process faster.

The first thing I did was to try and pull back the Door Protectors from the door without using any heat. This was difficult to do.

I would imagine I could do this if I wanted to take all day, but I didn?t have the time. In truth I wanted to see just how ?sticky? this stuff was. (It does stick!)

I?m impressed. Especially considering this door sat in direct sunlight for more then three (3) hours on a 90+-degree day.


I barrowed my daughters hair drier and asked her for her help. She took all the pictures while I did this two-handed operation. (Brad, there is nothing in your instructions that says ?Two Hands Are Required? I guess it is implied?? J)

Following the instructions I heated one corner of the Door Protector with the hair drier for about 15 seconds. Then I was able to lift and peel back on the edge.





Heat folks, is definitely a requirement to get these things off.

As long as I continued to apply the heat from the drier (setting on ?high?) I was able to ?peel? the Door Protector right off without any trouble.






As you can see, removing the paint protector is destructive to the protector. The product instructions do indeed tell you this. So please don?t expect to take them off and reuse them. It won?t work.

As I peeled the paint protectors off I found about ? of the adhesive stayed on the back of the Door Protector, and the other half remained ?stuck to the paint?.

Here you can begin to see what I am talking about.

See the Adhesive on the door?





Here is a photo of my door after I peeled the paint protector completely off.





As you can see there was more then a little bit of adhesive that still needed to be removed.

Notice the ?voids? in the glue pattern in the picture above? (Toward the left)

Being this was an experiment on how to best remove these things I played around a bit with the hair drier.

The spots with the least amount of adhesive are in those areas where I lingered for a bit longer in applying the heat from the hair drier.

Once ?really hot? I pulled the paint protector off at a 90-degree angle to the door. This clearly removed more of the adhesive from the door during the ?peeling process? then any other technique I tried.

Heat is your friend folks, at least on this project it is.



The Adhesive Removal Process #1

Ok so we now I knew what was in front of me.

The Mission ? Remove the residual adhesive that was stuck to the door without causing any damage to the paint on the door.

Once again, I experimented with a few different ways of doing this with the hope of finding the best way (at least for me) to get the adhesive off.

I worked in the area behind the door handle surround first. It looked like this when I started.





Following the product instructions and Brad?s recommendations I poured some Isopropyl Alcohol (rubbing alcohol) onto a paper towel and soaked the adhesive with it.

The alcohol does indeed ?cut? the adhesive, and with a little elbow grease you can remove most of the adhesive this way..

I then took a small piece of the ?paint protector? I just removed and folded it over, sticky side out. I used this to kinda ?blot? the remaining adhesive off the door.

Here is a picture of what things looked like after the alcohol and just before I started to ?blot? with the old paint protector material.




See those big globs of adhesive? They do indeed come right up this way.

It appears to me, removal of the paint protector products does indeed work as advertised.



The Adhesive Removal Process #2

Never being one to accept the status quote (That?s my way of saying I know I am a bit eccentric), I figured I could come up with a better way of doing this. And I did! At least for me.

I figured if a little alcohol and the old ?sticky? side of the recently removed paint protector could take the adhesive off easily, imagine what I could do with my favorite stand by, Duck Tape!

I covered the adhesive on the door with a couple of strips of Ducked Tape, making sure I pressed it down firmly as I went along.








Then I simply pulled the Duck Tape off, slowly at a 90-degree angle to the door.





This folks, worked so well I stopped experimenting. (Why mess with perfection, right?)

To remove the few remaining adhesive balls from my door I took a small piece of Duck Tape and rolled it up into a little ball, sticky side out. I used this to blot them off.

All in all, it took ? the time to do the large area in front of the door handle using the Duck Tape technique, then it did to do the small area behind the door handle using the alcohol method.


I completed the removal by washing the door area down with a paper towel soaked in rubbing alcohol and let it dry. Then I inspected the door very carefully.





I could not detect the slightest damage to the door or the paint that wasn?t there before. (Jeep Pin Striping).

For what my opinion and word might be worth, I am satisfied that these paint protector products can be put on, and at some point in time, taken off if you want to, without any adverse effects to the finish on my Jeep.

I would however understand that the finish on my Jeep was in excellent order, but for the typical scratches before I put these on. I would not expect the same results, when taking these off if the finish were badly chipped, oxidized or rusted. In truth I don?t know what would happen then.

Also, I do not have any idea what the results would be 5 years down the calendar either.



Passenger Door Time Trials

Once I perfected this (Hummer me) I figured I would time how long it would take to do this using the Duck Tape method on the Passenger Door Paint Protector. Start to absolutely clean door took 37 minutes.


I hope some will find this useful information.

Please have a great night. I plan to,

Frank

[Daless2]

Tailgate Sill Protector








General Instructions

Rather then be very redundant folks, please take a look at the previous general instructions I put up on this thread. Clean everything well, and do not install these paint protector products when it is too hot or too cold. Please be sure to read the General Instructions at the front of this thread. Thanks.


Tools I Used

Here?s a list of the tools I used or had handy for this installation.

70% Isopropyl Alcohol
Paper Towels
Yard Stick (Straight Edge)
Masking Tape
Scissors


Detailed Instructions:


Step 1 ? Cleaning / Surface Preparation


Thoroughly clean both the vertical and horizontal surfaces of the Tailgate Sill located below the rear door.



Use a generous amount of rubbing alcohol and clean paper towels each time (rub hard). Allow the alcohol to air dry on the Tailgate Sill.


Please Note: The Tailgate Sill Protector covers the Vertical area under the rear door and the Horizontal area inside the rear door jam. Both surfaces must be cleaned well.





Step 2 ? Installation

I did not have to trim the Sill Protector in any way to fit my TJ, however I did decide to pre-form or bend the Protector before installing it.

I used a yardstick as a straight edge and place it on the backside of the Sill Protector ?-inch from the long edge.





Then I formed the edge of the Sill Protector up to form an angle close to 90 degrees. This angle does not have to be a perfect, but do take care to make the bend in a straight line across the entire protector.





Place the Tailgate Sill Protector on the Tailgate Sill and position it where you want it. Pay particular attention to the area where the protector bends into the rear door jam.

Securely tape the Tailgate Sill Protector in the proper location using masking tape. Make sure there are no voids under the Protector.







Double-check the location and reposition as needed.

I removed the masking tape and backing paper from the right side of the Protector, leaving the left side taped in place. (This kept the Protector properly located where I wanted it.)







I carefully set the Sill Protector onto the sill at the ?Edge of the Bend?. This created a perfect alignment.






Then I removed the masking tape and carefully peeled the adhesive backing paper off the left side of the protector.






Continue to lay the left side of the Protector down along the bent edge onto the Tailgate.

When I was satisfied with the alignment I pressed the short ?-inch (horizontal) section down with my fingertips working from the center-to-right and center-to-left.





Then I worked the vertical surface of the protector down against the Sill using the backside of my finger to work out any air pockets.




Finally I used the Tailgate Sill Protector Backing Paper and rubbed down the enter Sill Protector to make sure it would stick.





Rub from the center of the Protector out toward the edges. This will help eliminate air pockets.

I did have one small air pocket I had to get rid of. Using a utility knife I put a small cut in the material by the bubble. This allowed me to press the air out and seal the material back down.

All in all this was a very easy installation, no cutting, trimming or alignment problems. And the Sill Protector is now covering up more then a few scratches I had there.



Frank

[Jeff Weston]

Frank,

Who did you have to pay off to get that license plate?

[Daless2]

Tailgate Bump Guard




Installing the Stainless Steel Tailgate Bump Guard is really a no brainer. This can almost be done without any instructions at all accept for a few notes.


When I removed the Bump Guard from the box my first thought was that they sent me the wrong part. This one was ?white? and it was suppose to be Stainless Steel. (I like SS!)

It turned out the ?white? was a protective covering that was so well attached to the Bump Guard that it looked like power coat paint! (Another blonde day on my part.)


The Bump Guard simply presses and sticks in place right on top of the painted bump at the edge of the Jeep tailgate opening.


The Stainless Steel Bump Guard is a ?U-Shaped Channel?.

When you look at the edge of the Bump Guard Channel you can see that one leg is not quite bent into a 90-degree angle. This edge goes toward the front (inside) of the Jeep. (The 90-degree leg goes toward the back (outside) of the Jeep.)


Here is a picture.






On the inside of the u-channel there is a blue tape, which covers the adhesive used to attach? the Bump Guard to your Jeep.

Simply pull an inch or so of this blue adhesive covering off and place the Bump Guard in place on the Jeep.

Then pull the remainder of the blue adhesive cover off and press the Bump Guard down so the adhesive sticks.






All that is left is to pull the ?white? protective cover off the Bump Guard and the installation is complete.






All in all folks I have installed four of the new Tough Stuff Products. I like them all but I am particularly happy with the Fender Protectors and the Rear Tailgate Bump Guard.

I have a set of Rear Corner Protectors and Rocker Guard Protectors on their way. If I find anything unique to their installation I will be sure to share that info on this thread.

Have a great night folks.

Frank

[Daless2]

Originally posted by Jeff Weston
Frank,

Who did you have to pay off to get that license plate?

Hi Jeff,

Getting this plate was one of the flukier happenstances of my life.

Last year (2002) my grown daughter gave me a gift certificate for a personalized plate. It wasn't until August when I finally got around to doing something about it.

Here in Kentucky you get your plates at the county court house. So I went down there with a list of things I would want (in priority order) on my plate. Now bare in mind we are limited to only 6 letters and/or numbers here.

I had 30 plate ideas, like 97JEEP JEEPTJ, 1SUV ect........ All 30 were taken.

Sarcastically I said to the young lady behind the counter, "You would have thought I asked for the word JEEP!"

And she responded: "JEEP is available, do you want it?"

I thought she was kidding, but then I came to my senses and took it.

I guess I was just like everyone else and just assumed it would already be taken.

Bottom like, I was successful by accident!

Frank

PS: Do you know for sure that JEEP is already taken out in CA?
(I can hear the telephones at motor vehicle ringing now all across the land! )

[Jeff Weston]

Wow, that's amazing. Yes, I've checked and JEEP is already taken in CA (surprise, surprise). With the most registered vehicles of any state, most the good plates are taken.

You can check availability and all the different types of plates at the DMV's WEBSITE

[HIGLET]

Hey a website issue for the toughstuffproducts.com.

When attempting to view a firearm security vault (not a bad idea) you are asked for a password. Which of course makes viewing impossible.

A price list would be nifty as well, especially since you don't sell directly to the public and have only one vendor.

[Hellbender]

Sean---Yes, the pricelist, we have been debating whether to include one on the site or to direct people to our dealer's, we haven't made a final decision, we actually want to get several dealer's input on this. So....maybe, we'll see.

But FYI, all the Protectors are from $16.95 (Tailgate Sill) to $29.95 (Corners), Most (Door, Fender, Tailgate Bump Guard) are $19.95 Retail.

The Rocker Guard Gaskets (different material) are $24.95

The Skids are $99.95 (YJ), $119.95 (03+ TJ), $139.95 (97-02 TJ)

The Firearm Vault side is still password protected until my dealer's give me the OK to open.

Should be several more dealer's on the site in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks,
HB

[Tim]

heres a look at the black protectors on my white jeep.

edit: the plastic dealie on my fender is a tape smoother i used when i was an hvac tech. it puts on the protectors witn no bubbles. use it like a squeegee.

[Hellbender]

T. Dome,

What do you think of them?

Any problems on the install?

Fit good? (I think they LOOK good, but I may be guided by ulterior motives )

Those Windshield Frames (above and below your light brackets) look pretty bare, now!

Thanks,
HB

[Tim]

the are pretty nifty. they are holding tools and a beer right this moment

the install was a snap. i just eye-balled them after a careful prep and they look perfect. i did notice a difference between franks rubber bumper thingeys and mine.

mine run with the edge of the hood and his are sideways. weird thing is they are both 97s. it must be the sahara package!

guess i need to put my lights back on since i dont think ill be riding with the windshield down till next summer. which will lead to my next post. (not gonna hi-jack this one).