Wagon owners: you put anything on to protect your rear bumper step?

I'm a big hatchback/wagon guy and I've always had something to protect the rear bumper for when things are being put into/pulled out of the cargo area. Most vehicles have a factory option for this but not the MK4 Jetta Wagon. Anybody have a good solution for this?

I'm thinking of either cutting a matte black piece of vinyl, or maybe even Plasti-Dipping something there. Any better ideas?

Mine has some kind of laminate clear plastic sticker type thing on it. It looks pretty bad, though.

Interested in what you come up with!

I installed 3M clear paint protection on (her) 2015 GSW. Almost invisible, and very durable, but not the same as a solid protector. You can get it cut to fit by model year, but it's not cheap for the good stuff.

One of our members used to sell the sill and bumper covers (gerwazy) but he hasn't been active in about 4 months. You might check out his thread.

I have the film on the hood of my wife's new Subaru. It works fine for small stone chips, but I wouldn't use it for the bumper step. It gets too much damage for a film to last. Just buy one of the countless rubber/plastic guards that are available on the market.

Anybody ever try Plasti-Dip for this? Or Bumper and Trim paint?

I have the protection piece from a mid-2000's Honda Pilot



You can kind of see it here



I will need to trim it and find some way to adhere it, but that's my plan ... it's one of MANY projects that have not moved very far over the last 5 years.

McGuillicuddy said:

Anybody ever try Plasti-Dip for this? Or Bumper and Trim paint?

Click to expand...

Plastidip would get torn up really quick.

RexNICO said:

I have the protection piece from a mid-2000's Honda Pilot



You can kind of see it here

I will need to trim it and find some way to adhere it, but that's my plan ... it's one of MANY projects that have not moved very far over the last 5 years.

Click to expand...

You have one that you have fitted up against the Jetta Wagon bumper? Fit is good?

McGuillicuddy said:

You have one that you have fitted up against the Jetta Wagon bumper? Fit is good?

Click to expand...

Yes, I have one.


I did a physical compare to both a shorty bumper and a 2003 & up bigger bumper. One will require less work than the other, but both will require the bottom (mating side) to be smoothed (or holes drilled in bumper cover!??!) and most likely that downward lip to be removed.


I should look for other examples.


This is not a "plug and play" solution.


There is also a couple options that "fold out" from the cargo area and cover the rear bumper. I have 1 from an Audi A6, that I should check out too.

My clear plastic sticker was probably there since new so it's all cracked and nasty looking.

I might paint it with bed liner. My wagon is dark green so I don't think it can look that bad.

Plasti dip will work until you slide something on top of it. It'll rub right off.

I found this XPEL rocker protection film in black (below). Think it would work but it's a bit pricey. You have to buy much more than you need. Can't find it in a cheaper, more appropriate quantity.

https://www.amazon.ca/R3028-1XPEL-B...8?ie=UTF8&qid=1534434050&sr=8-8&keywords=xpel

i bought my protector at canadian tire,said it was for mini van works great. been 9 yrs still on.

My wagon has the film on the rear bumper. You can get the thicker stuff or see if another film is available at local vinyl/graphics shops that's either clear or the same color as your paint. I haven't seen any pieces that fit on top of that part of the bumper, such as a plastic piece, but maybe they had something in europe? Another suggestion is to tape it all up, trace out the shape you need, use a razor/xacto knife to cut that shape out(carefully) and then spray on a bedliner type of material. You can do rubberrized or one that's a bit more slick and is more similar to plastic. It's the same as a fender liner product for cars/trucks or offroad use. Some are more textured finish and some are smoother. It's definitely thicker than vinyl film, but should be more durable. I don't think you'll be using it as a step, so good quality film would be my pick, but you've got choices.

I bgt a new Alltrack and went on Amazon which has both chrome and black rubber self adhering units the fit what ever car or wagon you have . Mine is black rubber or vinyl and has been on 2 yrs and looks like OEM. I think it was $60.

I went back and forth on a protector for jr's golf... there was so much other stuff going on with both the rear and front bumpers I went ahead and sprayed them. Went extra thick with the clear where that step is, so can buff out when bad things happen. It should last as long as the car will so I'm not too worried about further protection.

I put this on my Audi wagon two years ago. It looks--and works--great!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019BV7N62/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1