HawkI

So I want to de-badge the trunk lid like I know some of you have. Had it done to my previous car but I had the dealer do it shortly after I bought it from them when it was in for a service. Now, I'm thinking I'll just do it myself as I have no reason to drive it to the dealer right now and they would just charge me for it anyway I'm sure. I know the basics behind it: heat up the letters and then use some sort of string like fishing line or floss maybe to peel off the letters, and then get some googone or other adhesive remover to get leftover residue, clean the area as well etc. etc. Anything I'm missing? Any tips to make sure it comes out clean and looking good? Never done it myself before and I don't want to run into any issues that would leave me having to repaint the trunk lid or something lol, that would be a nightmare. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

777mycoolangelo

You GOT IT!...Just be patient when using the fishing string.

FYAH TL

The emblems are thin plastic. I was able to get all emblems off without even heating up the letters...It's an easy process just need some patience. Use the fishing line or floss to lift the emblems up and then just pull them off.

I'll be careful using those adhesive remover because some has strong enough ingredients to remove paint. Recommend you use something light like isopropyl alcohol to clean the area after the emblems are removed followed by car wax.

Funniebonzs

try using some goo-gone (works like a charm) to remove the leftover residue

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

use dental floss instead of fishing line, its stronger...if you leave the car out in the sun for a while it will help, its really easy to do, and dont try to take off the A on the trunk as you will find out, it has holes in the trunk to keep it in place and anything short of filling the holes and respraying the trunk wont do...

HawkI

Yea I wont be touching the "A" logo, I like the look with it on and wasn't planning on touching it. I figured it was bolted on as most cars have their "flagship" emblem actually attached to the vehicle.

I'm going to give it a go this afternoon. I'll post a pic or two even though I'm not doing anything ground breaking here haha. Thanks for the tips.

Mr Marco

Depending on how long they have been on the car you may need to buff off the dirt line. If you don't get rid of it, you will see the outline of the letters. Did mine on the RDX after 3 years and I still need to hit it again with the buffer. Not to mention the swirl remover afterword.

jspagna1

Yes do it while the car is still new. The longer you wait the harder it is. Other good things to use if you need to are the Bug & Tar Remover or Goof Off.

DuRtYwUrKs

have a hair dryer / heat gun handy...makes it a lot easier. I took mine off and had a bunch of residue left over on the paint. I hit it with the hair dryer and some goo gone for about 10 min and it came right off.

HawkI

Just got the letters off. I hit it with the hair dryer and the googone, and it was pretty easy. I can still see the letter outline or ghosting if you will like you mentioned Mr. Marco. I cleaned the area and put some cleaner wax on it and it looks better but can still see some outline. Going to pick up some quick clay stuff and try again. I heard some sun exposure also helps. Any truth to that? Other tips for getting rid of the outline?

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

clay isnt going to help, your going to want to use some swirl remover/polish followed by some wax or sealant....

meguiars scratch x is decent for over the counter if you dont have something already...you may have to go at it over and over again two or three times to get the results your looking for....

if you have a pc or udm it would help the process...if you were in my area i would fix you right up...

HawkI

Good to know. I'm going to go make a run now and pick up a couple options like that meguiars you mentioned.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

you will be fine....i was able to debadge my last acura and it cleaned up fine with over the counter stuff and i didnt have a machine at that time...take some pics a let us know how it works out...

HawkI

Alright, well here are a couple pics of what it looks like now.



Still have some outline issues as you can see from this close up attempt.

Nexson

Hm,

I wouldn't recommended this to someone who is not comfortable, but laquer thinner may take that off. I know know this because I have done it in the past and I paint as a side job, so I know the durability of clearcoat.

other then that 2k wetsanding would do the job, of course you would have to buff it, and a professional would need to do that.

HawkI

Yea I don't have any experience with laquer thinner so not sure how comfortable I would feel with that like you said. I have used rubbing compound on small area of the hood of an explorer I had that had a stain from an old leaky pipe that dripped on it once haha. That worked in that circumstance. That was a terrible garage and apartment but a story for another time. Maybe give rubbing compound a try?

I plan on getting the rear trim painted so I may just bring this to their attention when I have that done and let some pros handle it. In the meantime I've just been trying some over the counter scratch and swirl mark remover.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

that will come off with polishing, its going to take some elbo grease if your going at it by hand, but fear not, it will come off...

DuRtYwUrKs

do you have access to a Porter Cable? I had the same kind of outlines. A little swirl x on a black pad and i was able to get it out.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

thats what i was telling him, i think he is going to go at it by hand, which will take a little elbo grease and maybe a few beers....probably a few cus words and soo on!

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

not even a beer or a few cuss words....just elbow grease.
it takes probably less than 5 mins, if you really scrub at it.

jspagna1

Anything you try should be done with caution. If you can fine a test area on the car that would be helpful in determining if you should use it on your car. With that being said,I have used this product on some stubburn surfaces to remove residue. Use with care!!!

http://www.goofoffstainremover.com/

HawkI

No unfortunately I don't have a porter cable handy. I haven't really given it a good go yet with some swirl x stuff. After spending some time yesterday to get the letters off I just ran out of minutes and had other things to do. I'm just going to put some elbow grease in to it today and see what I can make of it. I told myself when I was getting ready to do it that this might happen and if all else fails I can just put the letters back on and it will be like it never happened, basically a win/win situation. I'm not going to get too worked up about it (I do hope it works out though). Anyway, I appreciate the suggestions and tips from everyone. I'll post a pic if I get it all worked out here soon.

omgthedonny

I did this last week, I had the outline of the letters like you as well..

3 things.
1) Use some googone to get any of the sticky that might be stuck inside the paint
2) use 1 coat of wax and let the wax sit on it for 30minutes then rub that shit out HARD with some damn elbow greeeeese power!
3) repeat step 2 again


Done - u will not see any outline after that - if you do still see a very slight slight slight outline do the wax one more time... but if you rub it our enough both wax times you wont see shit after that

Enjoy!

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

what product did you use, you said you used wax, but wax doesnt offer any polishing quailities in it...i suspect you used some kind of cleaner wax which would have a cleaner in it to aid in removing the outline...btw, leaving it on for 30 minutes did nothing except allow you time to put back a few brews!!

also, be careful what you use to apply the polish, and how hard you rub...you dont want to induce any marring/scratching...ie hazing

Mr Marco

LOL! I keep explaining to the wife that this is part of the process, but she keeps giving me shit.

HawkI

Well, gentlemen I believe I have combined all of your advice, and it was much appreciated. Maybe it was just me, but my dirt line/outline was pretty stubborn. I polished the areas repeatedly using all the proper techniques as you all described and it looks a lot better. I still have a very slight outline left, basically unnoticeable if you don't know what I did, but I if you get real close and in the right light/angle you can still see some. I think after a few more proper attempts it will be gone, but now with snow on the ground in Iowa and more to come the consecutive days or even minutes of having a clean car to go at this are over for awhile. Next time I give it a good wash I'll polish it again. Just wanted to wrap up my progress and the thread (since I know you were all on the edge of your seats to see what happened LOL). Thanks again for the input everyone.