When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I didn't want to do a matte black stick over solution (although maybe now I'm kicking myself). The drivers side looks awesome and I set out to do a clear film replacement on passenger side. I enlisted a local body shop whom I know the owner of, he had his Xpel guy do the work.
Problem is, the stone guard was a bitch to get off using steam, and it seemed to have softened the clear film over the rocker panel/side skirt and damage occurred during the scraping process. I don't know how the F this professional wasn't able to be delicate around that rocker panel, but the stone guard does go right up next to it.
Body shop (who works on lots of Porsche and Audi) says he can paint over he film and make it look good, which has me concerned. I think we have to remove that film, paint, then put replacement film over (Xpel)? Small project turning into a disaster....body shop is being reasonable about pricing ($300 for the stone guard....$300 now to paint).
Should I be super pissed that this collateral damage happened, or was this just a risk? I want to be fair, but I'm just annoyed this happened, it really looks like the guy was scrapping too far down into the rocker panel film and not being careful. New stone guard looks great, but now just replaced with another problem of larger magnitude.
Ouch! I think you have a right to be upset. If paint came up during the removal process,
I'd be understanding. However, it appears that damage was done by scraping.
It's possible that the chip coat beneath the paint (the bumpy part of the lower body)
softened during heating might have resulted in the paint scraping off. However,
a pro should have been aware of this potential problem.
And if the shop does a spot respray, you definitely need to remove the film.
I have never heard of anyone painting over a stone guard.
Can you repost a better photo pulled back a bit showing more of the area and less reflection?
Looks like the scratches/scrape marks are at the very bottom edge of where decal sits correct?
Last edited by groovzilla; 03-31-2022 at 11:14 PM.
Where are you??? Because everywhere you turn, you are getting bad everything- advice/ work etc. As noted above, we need better pics and info on cars age and any history of body work being done. The original OEM guards are 3M products (the best there is) . Time and UV exposure will oxidize them (just like us). The adhesive is acrylic based and responds to heat. Steam is not necessary as the adhesive is not sensitive to water. People use steam only because it by definition limits the maximum temp so ham hands doesn't overheat and burn the material. Problem is steam is not hot enough. A heat gun is the tool with an operator with a brain and patience and you will be able to soften the adhesive to a point that it will release. Sometimes this is fairly straightforward and almost easy and sometimes hard. However you need to get it to release, go slow. Worse case is the adhesive releases from the stone guard material before it lets go of the urethane clear coat on the car. Then you get to clean off the "glue" residue with naphtha or your favorite adhesive remover. If the car has had body work or stone guards replaced earlier in its life, then you could actually have a real mess. You can't, won't and shouldn't paint OVER a problem. When you get the removal sorted out, use only the OEM stoneguards as the 3M material used is thicker than the stuff you can buy. Do not use denatured alcohol for anything!!!
Report back
I wonder if some sort of solvent was used in combination with, or after the steamer?
The steam itself should not have softened the paint. A solvent on the other hand definitely would do that. Use of the solvent combined with haphazard use of a tool for scraping (probably scraping the adhesive residue after the film had been removed) would have caused this damage.
I didn't want to do a matte black stick over solution (although maybe now I'm kicking myself). The drivers side looks awesome and I set out to do a clear film replacement on passenger side. I enlisted a local body shop whom I know the owner of, he had his Xpel guy do the work.
Problem is, the stone guard was a bitch to get off using steam, and it seemed to have softened the clear film over the rocker panel/side skirt and damage occurred during the scraping process. I don't know how the F this professional wasn't able to be delicate around that rocker panel, but the stone guard does go right up next to it.
Body shop (who works on lots of Porsche and Audi) says he can paint over he film and make it look good, which has me concerned. I think we have to remove that film, paint, then put replacement film over (Xpel)? Small project turning into a disaster....body shop is being reasonable about pricing ($300 for the stone guard....$300 now to paint).
Should I be super pissed that this collateral damage happened, or was this just a risk? I want to be fair, but I'm just annoyed this happened, it really looks like the guy was scrapping too far down into the rocker panel film and not being careful. New stone guard looks great, but now just replaced with another problem of larger magnitude.
And the magic question is how old are the stone guards? If they're more than 8 years old or so, I'd say thats on you. If the guy does xpel for a living, thats one of the easiest jobs in his realm. If it sits to long we all know it can become a serious problem. It's like a mechanic doing engine work, if a 10 year old hose breaks they typically aren't responsible. Good luck and yes make sure they paint the body not the film.
I don’t think the age of the stone guards should matter. When I bought my 2007 it seemed it was the original. No problem getting it off and no visible damage. Go check out the I Am Detailing guys too. (No affiliation but they did the paint correct and ceramic coat on my car). They are constantly taking stone guards off 993s and older without problems. A competent shop would have had the ability to do it right.
Had same issue when I did it myself recently. When scraping, that part becomes super delicate.. or maybe it’s from the rapid tac I was using.. anyway mine was more chips and I used touchup which made it very hard to see.
Why didn't he mask the area around the stone guard prior to removing it. The person didn't only go through the clear coat, he went through the paint exposing the primer. The whole rocker needs to be repainted.
Has anyone actually had personal experience with this work? I ask because upon close inspection, it almost seems like Porsche creates the rocker panel with the protective layer BEFORE painting it. Then they paint over the film. It doesn't make much sense to me in regards to paint protection, but maybe it has more to do with rust prevention.
From factory, it just looks like the paint is over the film, not under it.
Has anyone actually had personal experience with this work? I ask because upon close inspection, it almost seems like Porsche creates the rocker panel with the protective layer BEFORE painting it. Then they paint over the film. It doesn't make much sense to me in regards to paint protection, but maybe it has more to do with rust prevention.
From factory, it just looks like the paint is over the film, not under it.
03-31-2022, 09:59 PM
Problem: stone guard removal, resulting rocker film damaged
