Home
Up

To apply StonGard to my car to protect the painted surfaces where the splash guards wrapped around the edge of the wheel wells, here's what I tried and what I recommend.  Standard disclaimers apply: You are solely responsible for any damage you do to your vehicle in the course of following my advice.

The trick was pre-cutting the StonGard plastic sheet to the right size and shape before it's on the car.  You could (but you'd be a MORON if you did so DO NOT) trim the StonGard with a sharp knife or other cutting tool AFTER it was on your car.  DAMAGE TO YOUR CAR'S PAINT AND FINISH WILL RESULT.  So, I took a roll of 2 inch wide masking tape and placed two pieces where the splash guard would eventually sit.

NOTE: The wheel well curves too much for this to be done with a single piece of 2" tape without 'twisting' the tape.  This will screw up your pattern.  As it turns out, there's also a troublesome gap between the lower body valance/cladding and the wheel well.  Conveniently, this gap is the perfect place to cut the tape and the StonGard.  Here are the steps I eventually worked out:

Assuming you're working on a driver's side (i.e., left side) wheel well,

1) Tear off a small piece of tape about an inch long.

2) While holding the splash guard in place on the car with one hand (make sure it's snug and properly aligned, as though you were going to install it), mark the top of the splash guard on the edge of the wheel well with the tape.  Put the splash guard aside.

3) Attach a long (as in long enough, but not too long) piece of 2" tape so that the front edge (that is, the edge toward the front of the car) hits the edge of the wheel well where the small piece of tape is/was and where that lower cladding meets the fender panel.

4) Peel the tape back from the lower cladding enough to trim it even with the gap between the fender and the cladding.  Press the tape back in place.

5) Attach another long piece of tape so that the front edge of THAT piece follows the edge of the cladding down and under the car.

6) Trim this lower piece of tape even with the edge of the upper piece at the cladding-fender gap.

7) Carefully tear or trim the front edges of both pieces of tape even with the edge of the wheel well and mark the wheel well edge on the tape pieces with a pen (I recommend a fine tip [for accuracy] permanent marker [since you'll be handling it a lot and don't want the pattern to rub off].)

8) Retrieve the splash guard and put it in place on the car again, making sure it is snug and properly aligned on the car.  You want as little exposed StonGard as possible when you're done, so press the splash guard firmly against the wheel well as you...

9) Trace the entire edge of the splash guard onto the two pieces of tape with your pen.

10) Set the splash guard aside, again.  Remove the lower piece of tape and carefully apply it to the StonGard side (vs. the adhesive backing side) of your StonGard sheet, aligning it with the edges of the StonGard so as to minimize waste.  (StonGard ain't cheap at $20 sq. ft.!)

11) Do the same with the upper piece of tape.

Tip: Before cutting either pattern from the StonGard, lift one edge of the tape and tear the tape across the pattern in the middle of the pattern but do NOT remove it.  Just tear it and then smooth it back down in place.  Otherwise, you'll end up with a perfectly shaped piece of StonGard sandwiched between the adhesive backing and masking tape (which is a LOT stickier than the adhesive backing).  You will not be able to work with the StonGard with the masking tape on it and you'll get very cross eyed and frustrated trying to remove the masking tape.  If you've torn the tape, though, you'll have a very easy time peeling the two halves of your pattern off the StonGard.

From here on out, use the StonGard instructions for applying the StonGard.  Use the two corners where the fender-cladding gap meets the edge of the wheel well to align your StonGard.  I let mine dry/cure for at least a week (just because I couldn't get back to it for a while).  A few days should be plenty.