Hood blackouts improve visibility, add attitude and are easy to install on the new Wrangler.
Adding a vinyl hood blackout to your Jeep Wrangler gives it a more aggressive look while dramatically cutting down on the glare of the sun. As the video above shows, adding a high quality vinyl blackout to your hood is incredibly easy even for someone who has never tried to install one, leaving lots of room for error when you follow the simple instructions.
Why Add a Blackout?
If you have spent much time driving a Jeep Wrangler or any vehicle with a hood that is very flat, you have undoubtedly dealt with glare blinding you at some point. This is especially common when climbing a steep hill on a sunny day, as the angle of the hood relative to the driver is just about perfect to direct the sunlight right into the driver’s eyes.
Adding a vinyl hood blackout cuts way down on that glare, while also giving the Wrangler a sportier, more aggressive look with most Jeeps that aren’t painted black.
These are the two key reasons why Jeep puts a blackout on the hood of their purpose-built off-road packages, but they are often reserved for the premium models. For those people with lower-cost models, there is no blackout available, but one can be added with ease.
The Blackout DIY
The video above was posted by the Quadratec YouTube channel. This company offers a vinyl blackout for the new JL Jeep Wrangler and to show how easily it can be installed they put together a great DIY video.
The video begins with the host talking about the advantages of the Quadratec hood blackout before getting into the install and it really is as simple as putting a huge sticker on your Wrangler.
Step one is to make sure that your Jeep’s hood is clean and dry. If the vehicle has been on the road for a while, you will want to hit the hood with a clay bar to get any debris off of the paint. To keep other debris from landing on the hood or on the vinyl during application, you want to install the piece inside, but you can do it outside on a wind-free day.
Once the Jeep is clean, you want to prepare the installation solution, adding a few drops of baby shampoo to a spray bottle of normal water. You want to then soak the hood with this solution.
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