86-951 Rock Chip Sticker Removal

[no1biscuit]

Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to remove the rock chip sticker around the car so I can install new ones.
Thanks
Thom

[p0r2chby]

Best trick I have found so far is to use a heat gun. Go slow and work from a corner. Using a putty-knife or something similar will probably scratch up your paint. I used a bondo scrapper blade. If you cant find a heat gun, a very hot blow dryer will work, just takes longer.

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[no1biscuit]

I don't have a heat gun. So I am in the process of using googone and a hair dryer. The hair dryer doesn't appear to be doing anything though. I will give you and update on the faded paint when I get done.
Thom

[hoff944]

When I had my car painted (Original Guards Red) the shop I took it too (Stephens Auto Body. They specialize in european cars.) and they had troubles getting mine off because they had been on for so long. They actually had to sand them off. The heat gun wouldn't remove mine.

[thamlin000]

My advice-don't remove the rock gaurds unless you are planning to repaint. I did it and I ended up nicking/scratching the paint, peeling up the paint and dulling the paint. So when I did this, luckily I had access to and paint booth and with the new rock guards, I traced the guards onto the side of the car, taped and covered the surrounding areas and painted the small area where the guards go. The paint lines and rock guard edges should line up. Long, tough process (and potentially expensive) but the results are great. I hate the sight of yellow, cracked rock guards on most of these beautiful automobiles.

But maybe I had bad luck, maybe some 944's rock guards will peel off without incident.

Good luck.

[thamlin000]

They're not supposed to be cracked, but most are.

[no1biscuit]

Ok Everybody,
Here is how to take them off. After many hours of trying I have finally got it. You must use a heatgun not a hair dryer. First get a comfortable seat to sit on. Then get yourself 1 to 2 1-1/2" plastic putty knives per sticker. Then take your heat gun that is on High and wave over the corner once or twice and start pealing with the putty knife. This is a slow and I mean slow. The key I have found is not to get hot, because if the sticker gets too hot it melts and when that happens it gloes itself to car and makes it very difficult to remove. Then to remove the goo that is left over I used and old cotton shirt and a product called Goo Gone. Make you test your paint before using. Also a paste made from baking soda and water worked well. Now comes the difficult part which I need help with. Should I wax the minor surface scratches out before applying the sticker or just live with the scratches?
Thanks in advance for all of your guys help.
Thom

[stray15]

How much did you get the new stickers for and where did you get them? Thanks

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There is no substitute,
Tim
'83 944

[no1biscuit]

I paid 100 for the set but if you hurry there is a set on ebaymotors that was 66 as of yesterday. I bought mine local. you can also get them from tweeks.com. You have to order there free catalog, but it is nice to have for reference puposes.
Thanks
Thom

[Flight 951]

Well, I just completed this task on my 951 and it was a pain. The shop working on my car got me started and were able to take the guards off with a heat gun and plastic putty knives. (We also removed a tape pinstripe from the sides of the car too.) The guards were very badly cracked -- the two bigger ones before the rear wheels were in 20-25 pieces each...

A couple tips: We used 3M adhesive remover to wipe the glue residue off the car's paint. It was strong smelling and made short work of the glue, but didn't hurt the paint. Use it in the shade or it evaporates quickly. I also used 3M Imperial Hand Glaze to buff out the scratches and some nicks before installing the new guards.

This swap made my car look MUCH better, but did leave some nicks and scratches that are (barely) noticeable from a couple feet away. This was about what I had expected considering the poor condition of the old guards. BTW, I bought new 3M guards from Hendrick Porsche for about $110 mail order.