What is this and can I remove it without damage?

[AirborneSniper]

There is a little protective sheet of plastic at the front of the rear wheel well and it's faded and yellow. Can I remove it without disturbing the paint? Thanks for the help!

 

[Chuckles89]

It's a scratch protector for gravel and other stuff flung up by the wheels. I removed one of mine because somebody tried to in the past. I used a hairdryer and a little plastic scraper. It still has a lot of sticky stuff on the paint and I scraped some of the paint off in one place... oops. If you go slow, you should be fine.

 

[Ghostrider]

That is a "stone guard". On my 2001 it came from the factory. I would be skeptical about removal. It's been on the paint for a number of years. My only suggestion would be to run it by a paint shop and ask for an opinion.

 

[Brique]

It's got a purpose there. If it's not too expensive, it might be worthwhile to have it replaced professionally rather than just removing it.

 

[MtnT4R]

Your thread title caught my eye because whenever I think that to myself, I usually remove the item and I usually cause damage haha. In your case though, if you still want the protection offered by that guard, why not just mask it and paint it to match your fenders?

 

[Predatorhouse]

Im thinking you dont want it there because of the dirt you cant get out of the edge. I think the hair dryer and plastic scrapper will work you can also go to your local parts stor and get something to help the process. I romoved mine no problem that way but I also rihno lined the bottom half of my runner.

 

[KANO]

If it gives you piece of mind, look at it this way:

Any car manufacturer will take great caution in adding anything to a vehicle that would cause damage when removed (ie - stickers, badges, decals, trim tape, etc).

With that being said, it's been on there for a long time so take caution and go slow. Warm it up, have some Goo Gone on hand, and use dental floss or a plastic scraper and it should come off no problem.

**Also consider this, the sun has obviously affected that area over the years, enough to turn the vinyl yellow. When you remove that square, your paint underneath will be as clean as the day it rolled off the lot. You will have a square piece of clean paint there, that will not match the surrounding panels...... I don't know which is worse. I've seen some people use Rhino liner or black vinyl strips on the lower leading edge (about 15 inches?) of the doors/sills. That might be a neat look since your black plastics look like they are in good condition?

 

[shootmymime]

Guys. He can take it off because it's not protecting anything. Look, he still has his running boards on. Not like rocks will get around those.

 

[Brilliant]

3m adhesive remover...these come right off.

 

[AirborneSniper]

Well, my plan is to remove the running boards, just ordered the front guards from the stealership (ouch). I'm so nervous about removing these protectors ��...

 

[slides]

remove the running board, remove the yellow guard and replace with some 3M guard all along the bottom of your doors if you want or just cut to fit. also get some more adhesive.