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HOW TO: Debadge a vehicle


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Great job Dylan!

 

I debadged my G8 within 5 miles of picking it up. I just have a Commodore V on it now and the Pontiac insignias. The front one has holes to mount it, and the back one breaks up the back a bit.

 

The large rear emblems kill me. Heck the G8 actually said PONTIAC G8 and GT on the back as well as having the Pontiac insignia, and of course the GM chicklits they brought back for a few years. GONE!

 

I will add that when removing DO NOT pry, or be VERY careful prying, because the one side can actually dig down into the paint when you lift up on the other side. (learned the hard way a few cars ago) lol

 

Chris

Edited by Chewy
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IMO it is a sad state of automotive design when the body designs are so like each other (bland) that we need to wear labels to let others know what we are driving.

 

Though I haven't debadged our cars I have almost always admired the cars that are debadged (except for some that were just plain ugly, like Rich said). When debadged it seems to me that you can see the car and body lines for what they really are without having some pre-conceived idea based on who made it or what model it is.

 

The way I see it, most badges are pretty ugly. Case in point the big gold bowtie on the tailgate... plus, until the manufactures start paying me to act as a rolling billboard I don't feel compelled to keep them :D

 

I know some people like to flaunt the trim they bought... and the only way you know they bought the top of the line version vs. just the base model is sometimes the badging (example LS truck vs LTZ truck)

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i hate badges, they are so convoluted and ugly they also take away from the design of the vehicle. they are the WORST on small vehicles or on tailgates where there isnt much paint.

 

Besides, it makes it a breeze to polish & wax :jester:

 

i really see the whole police not being able to "identify" a vehicle as a non issue

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The way I see it, most badges are pretty ugly. Case in point the big gold bowtie on the tailgate... plus, until the manufactures start paying me to act as a rolling billboard I don't feel compelled to keep them :D

 

I know some people like to flaunt the trim they bought... and the only way you know they bought the top of the line version vs. just the base model is sometimes the badging (example LS truck vs LTZ truck)

 

I agree with you those bright yellow bowties on the back of the NNBS trucks are very ugly, If I had one I would have removed it ASAP. I know what you mean about them not paying you to advertise. The first thing I do if I buy a vehicle that comes with a dealers license plate is reomve it, they are not paying me to advertise there dealership.

 

I love the look of Debadged vehicles but sometimes I like to leave some of them on.

 

I removed the GM Chicklets from my 06 G6, also reomved the Pontiac and G6 Emblem from it as well but left the GTP, because I wanted to show off that it was the performance model.

I did something similar on my wifes 03 Tahoe. I removed the Ugly Gray Chevrolet badge on the rear but left the Z71 Badges, but I plan on removing the ugly gold ones and replace them with the ones from the NNBS Tahoes.

 

I will never debadge my Silverado SS because it only has the SS markings.

Edited by Diggerdan11
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That face Dylan is making whilst HotGunning that thing...is the same face he wears just before we go into the Cheekymonk Belgian Beer House when he's here...shortly thereafter, Dylan is grinning ear to ear.

 

:lol:

 

LOL!

 

Before Cheeky Monk:

no__meme_by_dylrocks95-d3jlcc7.png

 

 

After Cheeky Monk:

226558118131.jpg

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You should take the side molding off and do a HOW TO for that too :)

 

I'd love to do it to my Colorado but I'm a little nervous since its such a large piece.

 

Its the EXACT same process, only easier b/c the molding is flexible so you can pull a little bit of a time and simply bend it back. Also on a lot of GM's they don't use a solid piece of the foam backed tape, its just a ring that borders the edge all the way around.

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Its the EXACT same process, only easier b/c the molding is flexible so you can pull a little bit of a time and simply bend it back. Also on a lot of GM's they don't use a solid piece of the foam backed tape, its just a ring that borders the edge all the way around.

 

Do you think it would have guide holes?

 

I was going to do all of my truck this weekend.

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taking the mouldings off is a total pita, a good half a day to a days worth of work depending on how old they are. 3M adhesive remover is a must along with the eraser wheel. Otherwise its the same process with the fishing line and patience. You may want a few beers at hand to help get you though :jester: the outcome is certainly worth the time though.

 

The best time to remove any badge is when the car is directly off the truck and hasnt sat for a while in the sun. I did my mini in record time (about 15 minutes) from start to finish. This was because it was literly off the boat, loaded on a truck and picked up the following day. The adhesive never had a chance to "bond"

 

make sure your Colorado doesn't have guide holes behind them, i know the full sized trucks dont have them. Do your research.

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Do you think it would have guide holes?

 

I was going to do all of my truck this weekend.

 

I'd be shocked if it did, but I'd consult a colorado forum or 2 to be sure... I've pulled moldings off trucks ranging from S10's to Denali's and never had any holes behind door moldings FWIW.

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How do you remove the ones that look like straight up stickers that were put on by dealerships? Are they just that, stickers? Wife and I are looking at a couple different cars from carmax and that is going to be one of the first things I want to remove, is their sticker on the back.

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How do you remove the ones that look like straight up stickers that were put on by dealerships? Are they just that, stickers? Wife and I are looking at a couple different cars from carmax and that is going to be one of the first things I want to remove, is their sticker on the back.

 

Just start a corner using a finger nail, and pull... the key to keeping the adhesive on the sticker and not on the paint is to pull at a very shallow angle to the panel (if that makes sense) don't pull the sticker at 90*, pull it more at 45*.

 

Adhesive remover for anything left behind and you're done.

 

I pulled both of the big Z71 stickers off of the bed yesterday in less than 30 minutes.

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Had a car pass me on the highway over the weekend that was completely debadged. To me it looked ridiculous. Nothing to identify it or set it apart. I don't even know what it was..........it just looked like every other car on the road. Could have been anything.

But the thought crossed my mind that if I couldn't identify what kind of car it was, how would police identify it if they needed to? I mean, if they were in a high speed chase and had to call it in, what would they say? I have a feeling that debadging will be illegal in a year or two.

 

This reminded me of how I can tell a car by it's headlights and tail lights, well most cars. :help::willy: Hahahaha!

 

Personally, I prefer SOME badging, as it adds a little more character. There are some cars that can pull off being completely debadged, while there are others that don't look that good debadged. For example, my SS. I don't like the debadged look on it, and I actually added another emblem to it that wasn't stock. I like the look.

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This reminded me of how I can tell a car by it's headlights and tail lights, well most cars.

 

"I know a lot about cars, man. I can look at any car's headlights and tell you exactly which way it's coming." - Mitch Hedberg

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