JCD911S

The factory installed rear quarter stone guards on the car started to yellow so I replaced them with brand-new OEM ones. The problem is the new ones don't look that much better because they already have a yellow tint and sticks out very easy on the white paint.

I'd like to hear from those who don't have them installed at all. Do your quarter panels get chipped?

Tcc1999

Mine are still in place but there are a few scruffs and abrasions on them; those marks would have been in the (soft) paint otherwise. Sorry that I can't tell you if the marks would have been significant without the guards.

toper

Can't speak for the narrow body, but the rear quarters on my 4S stick out far enough that I would be scared not to have stone guards there. I also notice marks on mine as well. I agree about the color mismatch that is present on a white car, but I'll probably look into black stone guards to change up the look when it's time to replace these.

CosmosC4S

I'm thinking of replacing those rear quarter panel originals with the 3M film that I have on my front bumper, hood and mirrors. The yellowish tint does look old, and even dirt-stained.

I can tell you that my previous 02 C4S did not have those rear quarter protective films, and I did get a few rock chips around those areas. I had them fixed and painted once, but it happened again!

Ezkill

There is a cleaner out there made by eXpel that will take most if not all of that yellow out. Works pretty well...you can get it back to almost perfect. Just cleans into the pores of the material where oil and road grime get stuck to cause the yellow tinge.

I picked up a couple chips there just recently on my C2S. Just dr color chipped them and polished out a ligth rock scuff. eXpel guy is coming later this week to do that area.

oalvarez

Replaced my yellowed scuffed ones with new 3M film.....much better.

Captsteve123

The black guards look really good! I have the clear, and they have scuffs, but I'm leaving them alone as they don't bother me.

AWay

Replaced my factor clear guards with Expel Ultimate when I had the front re-wrapped. They're basically invisible.

Edgy01

Go with the aftermarket material from 3M. You never really know how long the factory stuff has been sitting on their shelves before it even got to you.

david

When I purchased my c4s last October I removed the yellowed original stone guards and replaced them with magnetic black stone guards which are working well. I remove them often to clean and care for the paint underneath the guards.

I wouldn't consider running without stone guards although even with them, I have a couple of nicks around the area that is covered.

Rotmilky

From your avatar, your car looks white like mine. I had the clear on, then went black. I like the contrast. Then no need to worry about yellowing. Since the cost of the stone guard is like $40, it's cheap enough to give it a try and if you don't like the looks, go back to clear.

Captsteve123

I like the look of the black.

Philster

Magnetic "stone guard" is advertised as an aesthetic... not an actual guardian against chips.

JCD911S

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'll keep it protected, but have it custom cut using Xpel film. I'm sure the OEM ones I received are old stock, hence the yellowing despite being new.

Ezkill

Xpel will yellow eventually but more from junk on the roads, water+oil, rather then age and UV exposure. Xpel has a really good cleaner thought that takes most of the yellow off. I've had Xpel on a different vehicle for 3 years, just cleaned it, and it brought it back to 100%.