ryguy993

So like the title says I have started the daunting task of replacing my 15 year old 3M stone guards! I started today on the passenger side and after about 4 hours I have gotten 3/4 of the passenger side off. I have been using a hairdryer and a credit card to get the old guard off. Problem is that even with the heat it cracks into hundreds of tiny pieces when you try to get it off.

Then for the second problem, The adhesive! I started using goo-gone automotive formula. This really didn't work that well and after spending another 2 hours getting as much of it off as I could, I started using a clay bar to get the last bit of adhesive off. Now I seem to have a swirl mark / scratch in the clear coat that wasn't there before! I am going to borrow a friends Porter Cable this week and see if I can buff/polish the entire fender after I get the rest of the stone guard off. Hopefully I didn't damage the paint in my quest to install new stone guards on the car!

Do most people polish the area after getting the old guards off, then strip all wax to install the new guards? I just wanted to clean up the area and detail it before installing the new stone guards. I know that I will have to strip all the wax material off before I can install the new 3M stone guards other wise they won't stick.

Thanks,
Ryan

e9stibi

3M Adhesive remover worked fine for me but it came off in one piece ... The Texas heat must help with the removal process. Good luck and patience!

Nuff

Wow! Sorry for your pain! Mine came off really easily - each side came off in one piece. No residue. I still clay barred and Zaino'd before the new stone guard went on. The new ones are clear 3m so they should be easy to replace later.

Resident Sicko

Fingernails and elbow grease...Very sucky job, but well worth it. If I hold on to mine, I plan on replacing every other year if the car sees a lot of sunlight to make brittle. Never want to go through that again..

hawk14414

I did mine this weekend. Interestingly - one side came off clean, in one piece. The other side came off in bits and pieces, and left all of the adhesive residue on the car. I tried both Lift Off and Goof Off, and found the Goof Off/hair dryer combo to be the most effective. Rather than a credit card, I used a plastic bondo spreader to scrap with - it worked much better and was sourced for a couple of bucks at the local Autozone. It still took an hour or so to get it all off. I did clay the area on both sides, and then hit it with my Porter Cable and some polish - end result was perfect. Install of the new stone guards was a snap - they go one MUCH easier than the old ones come off!

Matt Lane

This is one of those jobs that can either go really well, or not so well. I was pretty lucky, as mine were original - about an hour and a half taking it easy did the trick... I think garage strage out of sunlight made a big difference as they were still pliable.

But no matter how bad it is, if you are sitting on the fence, just do it. The new guards look soooo much better. As suggested above, I see these getting replaced every 4 years or so to minimize the aggravation.

Best,

Matt

TAI2

Opps or 3M Adhesive Remover, hair dryer and plastic scraper does the job. You can't use too much Opps.

porschemikeandnancy

I had mine done - a year or so apart. The passenger side - did take a bit of paint off with the coating. But I anticipated this and had original paint in a small can to "dab" the small spots. After drying, the new coating was put on - and you could not tell that anything (beneath the guard) had been done.
Only cost $30 to have the passenger side done by a professional.

NC TRACKRAT

I again highly recommend RAPIDTAC, usually available from sign makers. Beats all the other adhesive remover products hands down. Also, stop by an auto glass installer and get a Pilkington scraper. It's a white, hard plastic stick about 6 inches long with a scraper blade on one end and a rounded point on the other. Much better and safer than any other tool.