I have the factory HHR splash guards and I had mine painted to match my silverstone paint. When they were installed by my bodyshop, they also used the screws and the double sided tape. Mine are tight and scratch free.

 

Yep. I have running boards and splash guards painted the same color as the car. The rear guards are already have areas blasted clean of paint by the crap that gets thrown up. Without the guards it would have been the lower part of the quarter panels(?) that took the hit.

 

Where can you get the 3M clear protective tape mentioned in post #11?

The 3M site says they don't sell it to consumers, only installer shops.

Sounds like I would only need maybe 1 sq. ft of the stuff.

 

I bought one here, they have different kits.

http://www.invisiblemask.com/cgi-bin...&submodel=3926

Check around for pricing.

 

I don't need a kit, I just need a piece of it to to protect the paint when I put on the molded spash guards. I've found some on eBay, but I don't need as much as they are selling.

 

I ended up using 3M automotive double sided tape, I believe it was 1/4". Here's basicly what I did,

1. Place the splash guard on the car ( it works better with a helper ), using a pencil outline where the guard comes in contact with the body ( painted surface ) of the car.

2. Take your 3M tape and go maybe a 1/16th of an inch farther out from the pencil mark.

3. If you like what it looks like finish mounting your splash guard normal fashion.

The 3M tape won't hold the spash guards on but it acts as a buffer between the splash guard and the painted surface of the car...I've had mine on for 5K miles and it looks as good as the first day I installed the guards.

Make sure the painted surface is clean before installing the 3M tape, sorry if I didn't explain it well enough but that's the best I can do.