This may belong in the exterior section, so redirect if needed:

My car is in the shop getting repainted. I have always hated the stone guard (the bubbled, textured paint, six inches from the bottom of the car) mainly because it fades and it hard to correct. No other car I have owned has had this, but my paint guy is adamant that it be repainted on to protect the paint. Has anyone removed it and regretted it? I plan on driving my car a lot when it is finished. It will not be a garage queen.

 

Lots of people remove it when repainting. It is a tougher coating that protects the metal underneath. The Rx7 is low and does incur some stone chips over the miles.

It's original, and I'd recommend to keep it. But, it's just a personal choice. Probably depends on the style of build you're going for.

 

I'd keep it, especially if this FD is going to be driven often. Otherwise when the rock chips start accumulating you'll regret not having the rock guard.

 

I'm not sure how well it truly works all things considered. One of the guys in Pensacola had his car repainted and had it removed, looks SO much better.

Personally when it FINALLY comes time to get my car painted I'm removing it. If it becomes a concern I would look at doing a clear wrap or something there.

I think it's a personal preference. Also I really don't know how much that coating truly helps.

Dale

 

If you remove it,depending on the paint color, it can actually show potential rock chips/debris nicks even more. Something to consider especially if you plan to drive a lot more. The textured finish sorta helps disguise it

 

“Body Schutz”. Used on nearly ever car before protective film. Back in the day we always removed the old and replaced it prior to refinishing as it doesn’t sand. Remove permanently at your own risk. In my experience it does make a difference over time and you’ll hate the look of chipped paint and dented metal a lot more. That’s why your shop is adamant.
You could try substituting film but it should probably be a little heavier-duty by a mil or two than what’s used on the nose and there would likely still be a visible line. But unless it’s a show car I’d use something.

 

Huh, after reading this I just noticed that my BRZ also has this "Body Schutz", but only about an inch and a half from the bottom up before it stops. So perhaps that's another option, removing much of it, but leaving enough on the bottom to do its job without being too in-your-face.

 

I have been wondering how I was going to get a patch of this material repaired due to some rust damage. Body shop.

 

I would keep it, it's there for a reason.

 

I figured Mazda put it there and I wanted my car to look as near factory-fresh as possible (paint and body wise), so I kept it when I had my FD repainted

​​​​​​​https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tes-08864

 

it is one of those things where it looks ugly, but you can see it from far away. its like the black paint on the rocker panel pinch weld, if its not right, you can tell from ~20 feet away. i don't know if everyone does this, but i start looking for other crash damage, incorrect parts.

TL;DR? it looks better, but its also a huge red flag, to me

 

Ive been away from that work for a lot of years and it might be offered in aerosol these days. But if you’re dyi’ing and buy bulk, we used a specialize gun for it.