De-Badging....

Luster · 07-02-03, 12:20

America must have a love affair with car badges, decals and stickers!!!!

I see cars daily state Make, Model, Series, Dealer, Engine Displacement, Number of Valves, "Special Edition", Suspension type, 4x4, 4x2, V8, V6, RamAir, etc......the list goes on and on!!!!!!

My Grand Prix had a total of 11 badges, when I picked it up from the dealer. And that's a low number compared to some!

Now, thanks to the wonder of a hair-dryer and some Goo-Gone, I have a very smooth, clean-looking car with NO BADGES!.

A completely smooth car sometimes makes people ask "What kind of car is that?".

And don't even get me started on bumper stickers!

Finally to my point....HAVE YOU DEBADGED? or am I all alone on this?

IndigoGTI · 07-02-03, 12:25

I am going to, but I have to get the indentaion behind the VW emblem on the hatch filled. I am still considering shaving the hatch handle too.

TortoiseAWD · 07-02-03, 12:44

I'm partially debadged . . . I removed the "S U B A R U" lettering from the trunk, but left my Impreza/WRX badge. I'm starting to think about pulling it off, too, though; I get sick of cleaning polish/wax out of it.

Tort

ShadowMan · 07-02-03, 01:08

I've begun the de-badging process. It all started with the "V6" emblem on the passenger side. I figured, if somebody pulls up next to me with a V8, or even a turbo-four like Tortoise or Indigo...why would they give a crap about my V6? It's not impressing anyone, and it's ruining the lines of my fenders. I think I'll also be removing the "ESCAPE XLT" badges from the rear, but not the sides, I like the way those look on the doors.

Instead of removing the Ford logos, I've seen replacement logos that you can buy with your body color in the background instead of the Ford blue. I think that might look pretty sweet.

Luster · 07-02-03, 01:16

Quote:

Originally posted by ShadowMan

Instead of removing the Ford logos, I've seen replacement logos that you can buy with your body color in the background ...

That sounds great! Why didn't I think of that!

KCDoug · 07-02-03, 01:26

Quote:

Originally posted by Luster

Now, thanks to the wonder of a hair-dryer and some Goo-Gone, I have a very smooth, clean-looking car with NO BADGES!.

A completely smooth car sometimes makes people ask "What kind of car is that?".

And don't even get me started on bumper stickers!

Finally to my point....HAVE YOU DEBADGED? or am I all alone on this?

I'm interested in debadging the dealer name on my cars. Anybody have procedural suggestions? Two cars have plastic adhesive name plates, one has that painted- on like appearance that really throws me on how to remove, though I haven't studied it closely.

**Shadowman - are those car color matched emblems available for non-Fords? If so, can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks,
-KCD-

Luster · 07-02-03, 01:31

Quote:

Originally posted by KCDoug
I'm interested in debadging the dealer name on my cars. Anybody have procedural suggestions? Two cars have plastic adhesive name plates, one has that painted- on like appearance that really throws me on how to remove, though I haven't studied it closely.

Thanks,
-KCD-

For the plastic/adhesive ones, I used a hair-dryer to heat the adhesive (don't use a heat gun!), and some dental floss to peel off the badges. Then a quick follow up with Goo Gone took the rest off.

For the one that looks "painted-on", its probably a thin decal. They are harder to get off. Once again, I used a hair-dryer and my fingernail, being gentle enough to not scratch the paint. This took 3 times longer to do than the plastic badges.

Good luck.

Bill

Dave N · 07-02-03, 01:47

Be careful when debadging. I removed my "Off Road" quarter panel decals one hot summer day (didn't think I needed to use a hair dryer because it was so hot), and this is what happened:

The white smeary lines are reflections. The damage is the dozen or so little specs of paint that pulled off with the decal. Of course the Tacoma is known for crappy paint.

Jake11375 · 07-02-03, 02:00

Just recently removed the crappy dealership logo and the "Civic EX" from the rear end. Looks so much better. Also, removed the honda badge on the front nose. All that's left is the honda logo on the trunk. I'm cotemplating removing that as well.

Old Rattle Flat · 07-02-03, 02:02

Before removing dealer logos, I always inquire whether the dealer will pay you an advertising fee.

I usually suggest $25 a month. Just can't understand it â€” no one has been willing to pay me, yet.

ShadowMan · 07-03-03, 10:50

KCDoug & Luster,
The sites that I know of only sell Ford logos, but I'm sure that there must be someone out there selling non-Ford body color emblems. Keep us posted if you find any.

Dios · 07-03-03, 11:04

my rear has been repainted do u think it is still safe to remove my 323is badge from the back??