Need overhead hatchback protection

I back into the garage for this very reason. I have thought about putting some padding on the metal bits, but haven't gotten to it yet. Perhaps some pipe insulation left over from a grill blocking could be taped up?

sorry, i see you are in LA. you probably won't be doing grill blocking. : )

 

Instead, prevent the hatch from opening that much.

There's a photo and description how in the User-Guide
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My parents had this problem when they got their Ford Focus hatchback in 2001. They used pipe insulation to cover the metal braces.

 

We used leftover batting (has shiny on one side) from the blanket around the hot water heater and stapled it to our wooden door. You can get pieces of foam with sticky backing at any hardware store- used for blocking window /door air leaks. You will need a wide one.

 

Find the ethafoam pipe insulation. Glue it on with contact cement. Use either 1/2" or 3/4" pipe insulation. It's soft enough yet rugged enough to withstand whatever you do to it.

You can still scuff the paint if it's dirty or if the ethafoam is dirty.

Ethafoam is the stuff used for packing of largish objects in boxes. It's usually white or pink in this use and glued to the cardboard. The stuff used for pipe insulation is usually black or gray.

The other pipe insulation used is a rubbery foam, usually used for air conditioning pipes because it's softer and easier to bend around the sharp corners air conditioning pipes often have. It's usually black. It would work as well. Again, contact cement works well to glue it. You can now get water based contact cement, if you're worried about the aggressive solvents in the "standard" old style contact cement.

I use ethafoam stapled to the walls to protect the doors when thrown open as my garage is rather narrow. It's available in 1/4" and 1/2" sheet. For this use you can usually recycle packing material as the amount needed is small (provided you can ensure the parking position is tightly controlled).

 

Adhesive backed rubber foam, used for insulating referigerator doors, etc. You can get 1" wjde and stick it on the braces. Or, back in, like I did before we got our roll-up door, now, no problem anymore.