Removing Car Emblems
Helpful DIY tips!

Basics of Removing Car Emblems

Before you start out on your project to debadge your car, it will be helpful to go through a preliminary checklist first. By reviewing these initial pointers, you may either come to the conclusion that this DIY project is for you, or you may decide to hire a professional like myself to perform the car emblem removal project for you; either way I can help.

• Removing car emblems is best done when the car is brand new.
• The longer car emblems are in place, the more difficult they are to remove.
• Most car emblem removal jobs are left incomplete due to lack of experience, or lack of patience.
• Most car emblems are attached using double sided tape and therefore can be removed. If ever in doubt, consult with either a body shop or the dealer of your particular make of car, as they will usually already know from experience. With that said, my experience has shown that every center logo on the back end of cars containing the company logo, will be attached with fasteners that go through the sheet metal of your car, so leave these alone; eg. Mercedes 3-point emblem, BMW blue and white emblem, Hyundai stylized "H" logo, etc. Also the newest versions of the Ford F-150, F-250, etc., emblems attached throughout the truck panels.

Mercedes ML350 4 Matic Emblem Removal

I will be taking you through the steps of removing car emblems on this Mercedes ML350 today. When it comes to the car emblem removal process, working on dark colored paints such as this black are the most difficult.

The before shot of this Mercedes before removing car emblems. By removing the ML350 and the 4MATIC, we can clean up the back end, put your Mercedes in "stealth mode" as far as particular model, and make for easier washing and detailing of this area by removing additional emblems to wash and wax around.

The Emblems for Removal

Just above is a close-up of the two sets of emblems to be removed. You might notice that the 4MATIC has wax residue surrounding it; this is the stellar detail job done at the dealership from which my customer bought it from!

Step 1

Removing the hard plastic car emblems is first on our list of removing car emblems job. These are usually made of lightweight, chromed plastic. Often, car emblems can be made of a rubberized plastic that makes them pliable, such as the case with the emblems on the Porsche models. Regardless of material, these must be pried up and lifted off. The double sided tape used to attach these emblems to the car come in varying thicknesses depending on the make of the car. Mercedes happens to use a rather thin double sided tape. Removing these emblems can be accomplished in one of the following ways:

• Dental floss
• Fishing line
• Even grabbing the edge with your finger nail and lifting up.

Darren's Tip

Since I am a big fan of "cutting to the chase", I will actually use a pair of pliers and literally grab the car emblem without touching the paint, and lift straight off from the paint; this is a very quick way to get to the end result of removing car emblems! Of course a very steady hand is required for this effective process. If you like this idea but are unsure of your steady hand, you can apply some blue painters tape to protect the surrounding paint as a safe guard from damage by the pliers. Otherwise, simply use the dental floss or fishing line as shown at right, to literally cut and saw through the double sided tape. A little over half way through, you will be able to lift the emblem up and finish pulling away from the car with your fingers.

If the car emblem is new enough, I have found that in many instances, I can pry these car emblems up with my finger nail as they are that easy. I have also found that the underlying double sided tape is much easier to remove when removing car emblems is done very early on; which leads into our next step.

Step 2

The picture to the right shows what is left over after the initial removing car emblems step. This step of removing the remaining double sided tape and adhesive will be the most challenging in my opinion. Most people get freaked out with the removal of the emblems themselves, and this is understandable as during removal, you realize that there is no going back at this point! But anyone with experience removing car emblems will tell you that removal of the underlying adhesive is the most difficult, and is the step that also produces the most damage to the paint underneath. There is no wonder product that will simply dissolve this adhesive and double sided tape easily. Regardless of the adhesive removal product you use, the material will break down gradually through repeated rubbing and application of the removal product; some products simply "break down" this adhesive quicker than others. When you have completely removed any last traces of adhesive or double sided tape, you will now have a clean and scratched paint surface! Yes, I did say scratched! This will be the result of so much rubbing with the cloth and adhesive remover. On light colored paint this will be much less noticeable, and this is the reason removing car emblems from dark colored cars is more difficult; its not the removing car emblems process that is difficult, it is the removing the scratching left behind that becomes difficult with dark colored cars.

Darren's Tip

The removing car emblems project is time consuming enough, so I recommend using some commercial grade adhesive remover like the 3M product in the right column. If you want to go the cheap and time consuming route, rubbing alcohol will work to remove the adhesive residue, but will take substantially longer and leave you with more scratching left behind to polish out. I also recommend using a micro-fiber towel to use the adhesive remover with as this will keep the scratching down to a minimum. If you are adept at using a high speed polisher, then scratching is less a problem as you will be able to remove all trace scratching as the final step of car emblem removal, and in this case, I use a terry cloth towel to remove the adhesive as a terry cloth towel offers more "bite" than that of a micro-fiber. If you are lucky enough to have the luxury of removing these car emblems when the car is very new, often, the double sided tape can be rolled off the paint using your fingers, with very little adhesive residue left over. Remember though, even if you think your car is brand new, it may have sat at the dealer lot for many, many months before you actually bought it, so those car emblems you think are freshly applied, may indeed have been attached for some time!
The removal of the adhesive and double sided tape is also one of the areas where people get impatient, and they fail to remove completely. When you think you have completely removed, wipe some car wax over the area and remove, as this will enhance the area and show you if you have left a spot or two of adhesive; it is better to find out now rather than later...trust me!

Step 3

Despite your not being able to see it, this car was left with its share of scratches to the paint. This next step of polishing is what separates the novice from the professional. It is one thing to "cover" scratches up using polish and wax, but an entirely different thing to actual remove the scratching through the use of a rotary buffer. Since I remove any trace scratching completely when removing car emblems through use of a rotary polisher, it is mandatory to protect vulnerable edges using blue painters tape as seen in the picture above. Not only does this protect vulnerable ares from damage, but keeps polish from getting into areas between body panels it doesn't belong. If you are some what experienced with the rotary buffer and have yet to find the winning combination of quality polishes, I recommend the line from Meguiar's located in the third column at right, under the Professional Detailers list of products. The Meguiar's 105 and 205 are excellent polishes I use exclusively in my professional auto detailing business. If you do not own or know how to use a rotary or high speed buffer, you have a couple options at this point:

• Simply use one of the polishes at right, under the DIY section, and polish the best you can by hand.
• Purchase the Meguiar's Flex Polishing Kit at right that includes what is called a DA (Dual Action) polisher, and comes complete with polish pads and the Meguiar's 105 and 205 polishes. This kit is the very same kit professionals use as a final step of polishing after they have used a high speed buffer. Perfect for any novice looking to perform professional levels of polishing, without the fear of damage from a high speed buffer. The Flex polisher will not only give you professional results with removing car emblems, but is also the perfect set-up for performing quality polish jobs on your entire car. If you have been sitting on the fence as to whether to take the next step in your car detailing abilities, this is a perfect choice!

Step 4

The 4th step of removing car emblems is the removal of scratches with a rotary polisher as you can see me doing in the picture at right. Many people will consider this the make or break moment as to whether they want to do the car emblem removal themselves or not. Just because you neither have access to a polisher, or lack the skill to use them, doesn't mean car emblem removal or debadging your car yourself has to be abandoned. Your job will be considerable easy on any light colored car due to the fact that any scratching remaining from the job will be invisible under most lighting conditions. Only the darkest of colors will the residual scratching be problematic, and this will only be under certain lighting conditions. If you take the time to polish the area by hand, and apply a quality paste wax like the one recommended in the right column, 95% of the time, your car emblem removal job will look fabulous! Not until you get under fluorescent lighting, or in certain shaded lighting will you be able to see any residual scratching left behind. And by accepting this reality in advance, will remove and future disappointment that might have been there before.

Darren's Tip

You will have to take my word on this last area so as to not be discouraged. Most guys who do perform the car emblem removal process, do not remove the scratchng left behind during the adhesive removal step 100%; they simply apply some form of polish and wax by hand and call it quits. I see it over and over, and because a detailer failed to perform the process to professional standards, the customer is disappointed when they finally do see the end result in the "right" lighting, and the remaining scratches do become visible. This is unacceptable in my book, and tends to be the industry standard which is why I am called out to fix many of these incomplete jobs. But if you are looking to perform the car emblem removal job yourself, understanding the risks and rewards before hand, gives you a realistic understanding and acceptance of your limitations. But this doesn't mean you can't benefit from the rewards this process can bring to the Do-It-Yourslefer. I have compiled the list in the third column at right in order to maximize your efforts and provide you with professional results!

Step 5

The finished product! The last and final step will be to apply a quality paste wax over the treated area of car emblem removal. I recommend the Meguiar's Ultimate pate wax located in the third column at right. Not only do you get the covering and hiding abilities of a quality paste, but you get the enhanced protection only capable through a synthetic polymer. This is also the same wax I use professionally on any of the high-end dark colored cars I do. You won't find and easier paste wax to use and is what I consider the winning combination of superior results, ease of use, and affordability!

Darren's Tip

I am a big fan of removing what I call redundant and superfluous car emblems. Not only does removing car emblems "clean" up the appearance of your ride, but makes for easier car care maintenance and detailing by eliminating one or more sets of additional car emblems to have to clean and detail around!

Last Tips of Removing Car Emblems

In closing I will tell you that removing your car emblems is a relatively easy way to customize your car and set it apart from the crowd! I also know that having the right tools for the job is going to affect the end result, as well as eliminate unneeded frustration during the process itself. If you live in the Orange County, CA area and want to hire this professional to perform this service for you , then see my Car Emblem Removal Pricing for complete list of pricing. Otherwise, use the instructions above and the list of quality products to the right to perform the car emblem removal process yourself!

Good Luck!

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