Full repair or armor upgrade?

[Tob]

A couple days ago my dad backed into my Jeep. All tub damage. There's no bumper or spare because I was about to finish installing a new bumper that same morning.

I had my paint and body guy look at it and he said he could either get it back as straight as possible and repaint, or get it straight enough to put trail armor on the corners and paint the armor. He also said the prices may be close depending on how expensive the armor is. Which route should I go with?

 

[Chris]

I'd repair it as I'm not a fan of armor or the way it traps moisture between the body and the armor, thus being a very easy recipe for rust.

The armor thing is a personal preference though

 

[toximus]

Is armor part of your long term build plans? If so, beat it back as best you can with a hammer, paint it so it won't rust, and fit the armor over top.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

Armor over the corners will look exactly like armor over the corners. It only looks bad to people that think it looks bad. It doesn't really bother me but I have no plans to use it. In your case with the "maybe close price" I think the armor may look better than "straight as possible and repaint".

FWIW, if you go with armor be sure to use as much (Fluid Film/cosmoline/something) as possible on the body and on the armor before bolting it on. It will help keep rust away.

 

[scottgraham]

What was your dad driving?
It would be a coincidence if it was a BMW cause my kid just backed his TJ into my BMW two days ago...and kept going after the first hit. It's only gonna cost him $750. My wife told me not to make him pay, I said bullshit.
Personally not into corner armor as well, btw. Maybe hang some old tires off the back, that's what I'm gonna do

 

[Goatman]

To color match yellow is one of the hardest to match. I'm not a fan of armor, but this might be one of the cases I would consider it.

 

[06lj]

I had a bus back into my previous TJ. I opted to just straighten the tub and covered it with armor. I got a set of Savvy full corners. With paint at a glance you wouldn't even notice. This probably won't be the cheapest option but full corners do look the best.