Too late for debadging?

[Hank]

I've had her for about 11 months now and I'm loving every moment with her, but its becoming a PITA to wash and wax her with the badges in place. Too much gunk & wax to remove in between the letterings. BTW, I'm planning on keeping her for a long, long time so the gunk buildup and paint fade/discoloration can only get worse. Here's a pic of her (1st pic actually) about a month ago not too far from the Mojave desert in CA. I've since removed the rack due to lowered mpg and too much drag. She's actually averaging 20mpg now vs 18mpg w/the rack on. So has anyone debadged their 4R long after when it was new? Any problems or bad experiences? Thx n adv!

 

[Hank]

crap

sorry about the XL pic, first time posting a pic. Damn 5mp dig cam! Here's a smaller one.

 

[redwhisky5150]

Cool pic man.

Ive been thinking about the same thing (debadging). I dont think its ever too late, although ive read some posts where there was a noticeable amount of fade. Still nothing that time wont heal. Its still early for you, so just rub it down with some bug/tar remover. This should do that trick.

 

[4route]

I had mine for over a year (and very close to 2 years) before debadging it. I didn't have any fade problems or any other problems with it for that matter. Later, I ended up painting the letters black and putting a few back on.

 

[EDGE]

I don't like the idea of taking off the Limited badges: SR5 or Sport yeah, but a Limited no, just take a small paint brush and hit the letters and the excess wax and gunk comes off

 

[Hank]

I had mine for over a year (and very close to 2 years) before debadging it. I didn't have any fade problems or any other problems with it for that matter. Later, I ended up painting the letters black and putting a few back on.

Is the adhesive backing any good after you remove them, assuming that it was removed properly? Or did you have to apply some sort of glue to put the badges back on. BTW, I would agree with you Edge about the Limited (and 4wd ) badging, but I don't know if it will cause more trouble than what it is worth 10-15 years from now. Yeah, I plan on keeping her for a long time What if some of the letters start coming off after 7-10 years? I may have to remove them then or replace the missing letters. The other factor is that the wax/grime shows up well on the black paint, but for now I'll keep using a detailing brush to keep'em clean until I decide whether or not to debadge her.

 

[Bluto]

Is the adhesive backing any good after you remove them, assuming that it was removed properly? Or did you have to apply some sort of glue to put the badges back on.

3M Automotive Adhesive double sided tape. Available in auto part stores. Adheisve likely will be shot. You can scrape most of the old stuff off the badges and use new tape to re-attach them. Not a big deal.

 

[toybox]

Is the adhesive backing any good after you remove them, assuming that it was removed properly?

The adhesive is definitely shot after you take them off.

 

[iFORCE]

awww.. you can't debadge a LIMITED.

if you debadge it now.. it won't be too much of a difference in terms of fading....but if you did it in 5-6 years.. you might have a different story.

just use your detail brush and it'll be alllllllll gooooddd..

 

[PROZAC]

What... where is the debadger of 4runners at. His in totally naked, shaved, and he likes it that way.

 

[Hank]

So I started to remove the "D" from "Limited 4WD" on the driver side door today, slowly peeling the top 1/4 of the letter off (came off relatively easy), when I decided that I just couldn't do it. So I stopped the process and pressed the letter firmly back onto the door. I guess I'll keep it on her for now and I'll just have to spend a bit more time with a detailing brush every time I wash/wax her. :

 

[webber714]

I have a 2000 4runner I got at Christmas. I recently degadged it and there is a small amount of fading, but you have to really be looking for it. Alot of buffing will get any built up wax off from past years.

 

[darktiger]

Got my '04 in Nov '03, and debadged most of it in Jan '04 when I got my Hilux Surf emblems....