Re-badging

S

skywalker1020

New member
So, I'm going for a smooth and simple look for my dark green '99 Limited. I removed the running boards, the tow hitch, and the pin stripe. Then I got to the badges. I removed the "Limited" badge from the tailgat. It came off and left no blemish behind.

Here's the problem:
A few months later I removed the "Limited" badged from the c-pillar. After removing all off the adhesive and polishing (a whole whole lot!), there are marks etched in the paint, I guess from dirt, bird crap, whatever other chemically junk sitting for years on the paint where it cannot really be cleaned. It is quite noticeable when you are close to it. I have had one or two people say "Someone stole your badge," or "Your badge fell off."

I figure I have three options. I could just leave it and try to forget it. I could cover the areas with stickers (Anyone know where to get a TRD sticker of that size?) Or I could replace the badges.

If I want to replace the badges, how is this done? Do I need to cut some two sided tape to the exact shape of the badge? If so, what kind of tape? That seems like a pain. I do not want to use superglue or epoxy or anything that would make them more permanent than before.

Thanks for any help.
 
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skywalker1020 said:
So, I'm going for a smooth and simple look for my dark green '99 Limited. I removed the running boards, the tow hitch, and the pin stripe. Then I got to the badges. I removed the "Limited" badge from the tailgat. It came off and left no blemish behind.

Here's the problem:
A few months later I removed the "Limited" badged from the c-pillar. After removing all off the adhesive and polishing (a whole whole lot!), there are marks etched in the paint, I guess from dirt, bird crap, whatever other chemically junk sitting for years on the paint where it cannot really be cleaned. It is quite noticeable when you are close to it. I have had one or two people say "Someone stole your badge," or "Your badge fell off."

I figure I have three options. I could just leave it and try to forget it. I could cover the areas with stickers (Anyone know where to get a TRD sticker of that size?) Or I could replace the badges.

If I want to replace the badges, how is this done? Do I need to cut some two sided tape to the exact shape of the badge? If so, what kind of tape? That seems like a pain. I do not want to use superglue or epoxy or anything that would make them more permanent than before.

Thanks for any help.
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There are several different TRD badges on ebay that look good. I think Scotty found some for like $4 each.
 
Why are all these people removing tow hitches? :wtf:
And why would you debadge the fact that you have a limited..paint em black
 
If I want to put them back on (as-is or black), how would I do it? Fightman80 mentions 3M double-sided automotive tape. Is this the best way? Would I try to cut the tape exactly to the shape of the badge?

NickF: People who rarely or never use their tow hitch might remove it because they think the car looks better without it. After 120,000 miles and 9 years on the road, mine did not look too great. I could have re-painted it, but because I have only used it once in three years, I chose to remove it. I still have it and will replace it whenever I need it. In my opinion, the truck looks better and cleaner without it. As for the badges, I do not really care what Toyota wants to call my particular model of 4Runner. I also do not care if other people know that mine is the Limited model. I thought the truck would look cleaner without these side badges, so I removed them. Unfortunately, it did not go as planned.
 
skywalker1020 said:
If I want to put them back on (as-is or black), how would I do it? Fightman80 mentions 3M double-sided automotive tape. Is this the best way? Would I try to cut the tape exactly to the shape of the badge?

NickF: People who rarely or never use their tow hitch might remove it because they think the car looks better without it. After 120,000 miles and 9 years on the road, mine did not look too great. I could have re-painted it, but because I have only used it once in three years, I chose to remove it. I still have it and will replace it whenever I need it. In my opinion, the truck looks better and cleaner without it. As for the badges, I do not really care what Toyota wants to call my particular model of 4Runner. I also do not care if other people know that mine is the Limited model. I thought the truck would look cleaner without these side badges, so I removed them. Unfortunately, it did not go as planned.
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I guess I think the trailer hitch makes it look cleaner, I hit mine half assed with bedliner every once and a while to clean it up. IMO it makes the ass of teh car look much "bigger".
Also, I actually ADDED limited badging to my truck, along with limited mats, even though I only have a loaded SR5. I've had people go "oh shoot he's got the limited" a couple times. :witch:
 
I did my front emblem body color, looks good. Then I did the trunk ones body color and I didnt like it. Looked like the truck was in a accident and someone repainted it without removeing the emblems.

So I painted them black , and I love it.

I dont have any pics since the car has been coverd in snow since, I also scrathed the paint up alittle removing the emblems so hopefully some polish/wax and a buffer take care of it.

To put my badges back on I used some small pieces of 3m double sided tape. Was a pain in the ass , and it doesnt have as much tape .
 
Iv'e debadged mine only to paint them though and put them back on, so here are my options for you

- if you buy new badges they already come with and adhesive on the back

- if you still have your old badges and they still have some of the old adhesive on there you can re-heat it up and use it. (this is how i did some of mine)

- cutting the 3m tape into little shapes that fit your badges really really sucks and its very frustrating. to me it was anyway.

- or you can go get some of that 3m badge glue next to the 3m tape in the auto store but i warn you this stuff is kinda hard to work with too. Its very stringy and if you end up using too much and it bubbles out it turns kind of brownish yellow.

My last option i would recommend is get some rubbing compound and see if you can smooth out those lines where the badges were.
 
have you cut n buffed the Runner? -if you dont know what im talking about take it to a detail shop and just ask them to cut and buff your Runner, basically it will pull almost every imperfection out of the pain, even scratches(so long as they arent deep and paint has actually chipped). i work for BMW at the dealer and i had our detail dept do my Runner a few weeks back, i was so amazed at how much it took out/cleaned up/fixed. my Runner was egged before i got it, and unless you know where to look and what to look for you wont see it now. the only thing i notice now is where the previous owners used a touch-up paint pen that isnt the exact color of my Runner, i can see those spots but i could see them before as well. cutting and buffing even took out the scratches and scuffs from my dog crawling out the back gate when the windows down and his paws/claws tear up the back gate during his exit (i wanted to kill him for that -you could see that at 60mph and 50' away)
 
Maxspeed: I can see in my head what you mean by the truck looking like it had been repainted without the badges removed. Good thing that was a mod that could be re-modded, huh? P.S. Please invite me if you throw a $100,000 crack party.

The Kid: Is "cut and buffed" something different from polishing? I have used my random orbital buffer with polish, paint cleaner, and wax, over and over. Perhaps I will take it to a detail shop and see if they can do what I can't. Leaving the badges off and fixing the paint would be my first option.

Charlotte Fire: Those badges are really cool, but don't quite serve my purpose because they wouldn't cover the marks.

GottaBeTRD: I kept the badges, but they have very little adhesive on them, so I could not re-attach them by heating it. Rubbing compound scares me. I worry I'll do more harm than good.

So, it looks like I should see what a detailing shop can do. If that does not work I can re-attach the badges with 3M tape or badge glue.

Thanks for the input everyone. If anyone has more ideas, keep them coming.

Thanks.
 
cutting and buffing is a more in-depth process of polishing, it involves putting base compounds down and then taking them away and doing that 2 or 3 times (the "cutting" part of it) and then once you have that done you polish it with polishing compound and buff it... think of it as preping for paint( no it wont actually scuff or sand your paint down) you have to scuff the metal first an make sure its clean, then you apply the primer then you have to scuff that and make sure its clean then you apply the paint and then the clear... so basically now your just polishing your paint and adding wax (you "cutting" is like the primer, then the polish/buffing is like your paint, and then finally the wax is like your clear coat. make sense?
 
skywalker1020 said:
Maxspeed: I can see in my head what you mean by the truck looking like it had been repainted without the badges removed. Good thing that was a mod that could be re-modded, huh? P.S. Please invite me if you throw a $100,000 crack party.

The Kid: Is "cut and buffed" something different from polishing? I have used my random orbital buffer with polish, paint cleaner, and wax, over and over. Perhaps I will take it to a detail shop and see if they can do what I can't. Leaving the badges off and fixing the paint would be my first option.

Charlotte Fire: Those badges are really cool, but don't quite serve my purpose because they wouldn't cover the marks.

GottaBeTRD: I kept the badges, but they have very little adhesive on them, so I could not re-attach them by heating it. Rubbing compound scares me. I worry I'll do more harm than good.

So, it looks like I should see what a detailing shop can do. If that does not work I can re-attach the badges with 3M tape or badge glue.

Thanks for the input everyone. If anyone has more ideas, keep them coming.

Thanks.
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Use rubbing compound, but don't use it with teh buffer, then you don't have to be scared.
My 2 cents
 
Help. I’m new and can’t figure out how to post. My new 2018 forerunner premium came with out ANY emblems (sr5) etc and Zi can’t get an answer from my dealership??!!
Thank You
 
Casadelmar said:
Help. I’m new and can’t figure out how to post. My new 2018 forerunner premium came with out ANY emblems (sr5) etc and Zi can’t get an answer from my dealership??!!
Thank You
Click to expand...

Clearly you can post. And you choose a 10 year old thread to do so?

Dealership can order them for you, or you can Google search.
 
I reattached the badges by cutting out 3M double-sided tape. It was a pain but worked well. The badges held firm until I sold the car four years ago.
I ended up plasti-dipping all of the badges and liked that look a lot.
 
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