csertich

My stone guards need replacing. It is my understanding (from doing a search) that the stone guards came from the factory in clear, GP white and Polar Silver. I am considering going with the Invinca shield product, which will be clear. Is there any reason that I should buy the factory item in Polar Silver instead? Has anyone with Polar Silver replaced their stone guard with clear guards?

Thanks in advance for any replies,
chuck

Viken

Factory colors were clear, grand prix white, glacier white, polar silver and arctic silver. If you can remove your old film and can preserve the paint underneath, I don't see why you couldn't use an aftermarket product.

rockwoodfarm

I've got a major scuff in my stone guard, and have though about removing and replacing them. I've held back because of concerns about the paint. Is there a reliable way to remove them without risking paint damage?

vee12

I have a GP white car, and the dealer replaced ONE side with a clear stoneguard instead of the colored style. The clear side yellowed in a very short amount of time, and generally looked like crap. I'd go back with the color tinted stoneguard in a heartbeat regardless of cost.

Mike in Chi

My special order paint Polar Silver '97 cab was delivered with Artic Silver stone guards as the PS guards were no longer available.

The AS ones were replaced with clear.

Looks fine.

CarmG993

How easy is it to remove the stone guards? Is there a special method? Tools, solvents, etc.
Mine were yellowed, I believe I have colored GW guards, and they cleaned up a little but not perfect.
Would consider replacing and DYI if relatively easy without any problems.

Conekilr

I have polar silver and they're not an exact match with the paint, so I'll be replacing them with clear for a more stealth look...

Bull

You need heat, as in hair dryer on high setting, or hotter, but don't melt the paint.

It all depends on the quality of the clear replacements. Good ones will not yellow.

kkim

Could you elaborate on which are the good ones?

Reuben

I used my old Polar Silver stoneguards as templates to shape new stoneguards of 3M clear film (same as Invincashield). Easy to apply and looks great too.

Reuben

rainmn

I wanted to do this too, especially after checking on the price of the OEM pieces. (What on Earth makes one side more expensive than the other????)
Where did you get the 3M film?

CarmG993

Reuben, how easy was it to get your old ones off? What did you use besides heating and peeling back.?

Luis A.

I used a heat gun very judiciously applied, on the *low* setting. Just imagine how hot the car would get on the hottest summer day sitting in the hot sun and have it be that hot or just a bit over that. I found the fender is a very effective heatsink and it's not that easy to get it too hot, especially in a cold (50) garage in winter.

What worked well for me was to pull the old stoneguard it in the same plane --say, at 0 to 5 degrees-- so as to "stretch it off" as opposed to folding it over 180 degrees (over itself) and pulling in that direction. By doing this, I found I had nearly no adhesive left over on the car. The leftover adhesive was a *itch to remove (took a long time), even using a suitable solvent such as 3M's, a teflon "scraper" and microfiber towels (to avoid scratches) so you want as little as possible left over.

Reuben

I removed the old stoneguard material on a warm day, and just pulled slowly. No heat gun necessary. I cleaned up the surface with 3M solvent before applying the new film, which can be bought in rolls from 3M distributors (www.3M.com - no affiliation). I cut all the pieces I needed using the old, pitted film as template.

Carmen NJ + Ray: If you are anywhere near Princeton you're welcome to drop by and I'll lend you a hand.

Bull

As suggested by others, 3M is the way to go. Of course, the Dealer replacement parts also work well.