Remove Branding From Your Car

I don't want this on my car!!!

Also, Please vote for me for the "Before and After" contest! Thanks!!!

Step 1: This Isn't NASCAR

In the automobile business companies mistakenly believe they can put their logos on anything we buy and we will proudly wear these billboards for free. They are wrong. Logos, models, and features don't belong on the side of my car unless they are paying me some of those sweet sweet sponsorship monies.

I recently added a cap to my truck and this instructable will show you how to safely remove their stuck on puffy stickers that block my rear view.

Step 2: Pick Your Weapon (s)

This will deal exclusively with removing the brand sticker from the back window of the LXXR truck cap.

You will need:

• Something that blows hot air, like a hair blow dryer or heat gun.
• Something that scrapes that will not scratch your surface, like a plastic spudger used for removing interior panels.
• Something like a thin string, basically floss. (This I didn't need but you can use instead of the spudger)
• Something that dissolves adhesive, like Goo Gone or Acetone

Step 3: Apply Heat

Don't go crazy, just warm it up enough to loosen the glue.

Step 4: Peel

Start from a corner and start peeling slowly. It is easier if you can keep the thing in one continuous piece.

If it doesn't come up easily apply more heat.

Continue until the whole thing is removed.

Step 5: A Sticky Mess

Once you have removed all of the letters it will look something like this.

Step 6: Solvent Time

Add your adhesive solvent (Acetone in my case) liberally to a rag and wipe your troubles away. You will have to turn your rag to an unused part once it stops removing adhesive and add more solvent, wipe some more.

Step 7: So Fresh, So Clean

Before and After!

Now when I am driving down the road I don't have to stare at that logo in my back window "leering" back at me :)

Come for the instructable, stay for the puns.

Step 8: Works on Other Stuff Too

This process will work on just about every logo on your car except for the main ones located in the grill, on the center of the hood, or in the center of the trunk. The main logos are held on with pins and fasteners as well as adhesive and will leave holes when you remove them.

Just be very careful when you are dealing with a logo on the paint of your car. Test the solvent in an inconspicuous place to make sure it doesn't remove the paint.

Comments

[MarkF111]

Again, a bit off topic but I'm amazed that people put up with all the promotional material that car dealers slap on the back of cars and around license plates. I think this practice is very common in North America. Whenever I have bought a car I always specify "no insignia." Many people maybe don't realize they have the option.

As the police move towards routinely scanning licence plates as they drive along, I think we will see them clamping down on the use of license frames since they can obscure the plate. I understand that even clear acrylic covers are, strictly speaking, illegal.

[OmarJ3]

Here's the dealer decal on my second-hand car (not a Toyota). Kinda cute though. For some reason, their licence frame would not attach, so ducked that.

[HariKarier11]

One year I bought a new vehicle, the only one I ever bought new, and I specified that I didn't want any badging including the manufacturer, and they complied. I agree that the manufacturers get enough advertising from us, so remove the badging if you don't want it. It will definitely make washing and waxing a lot easier.

[Mjtrinihobby]

great write up!

[Jack Rodgers]

Leer is what a man does at a woman before she sla;ps his face, at least in the movies; of course its dark in the movies so I am just guessing.

Apple used to number its operating system versions but now it names them after animals and other things. It seems that many Apple owners aren't good at math.

[William Alexander Hamilton]

Thanks, I am going to do this to my vehicle, and had been wondering how to do it.

[merenguele]

In spanish NOVA is changed (for joke) to: No-Va (Doesn't Work).

They also said it could be bad to call a Nissan: NOTE changed for joke. No Te Subas (Don't get in!)

The Volkswagen Jetta in Valenciano (a dialect in Spain) sounds near pornographic! (For joking of course), Similar to the Mitsubishi Pajero

And finally they say there has been a car renamed because of Zica virus outrage (don't know which brand was).

[merenguele]

Sorry, Valenciano is not a dialect of Spanish. The main language is Catalonian and in Valencia we call it "Valenciano". There is always controversy about what is what.

[GergelyD]

Acetone on glass is OK, but on painted surfaces... no way. I'd rather recommend to fill the sticky mess after peeling with talc powder and rub it off. Works fine, but if it seems too hard at first apply some white spirit or benzin but not the most agressive solvent -acetone.

[k8e]

Replace that 'string' with fishing line - thinner and stronger - 'soak' the 'badge' first (make a little damn around the item that will hold your GooGone or ?) let it soak and it will / may be easier to remove - then, when it is removed and there is adhesive left behind - place a small piece of 'paper' (towel) over the remaining adhesive - soak it - and 'cover' it with something like plastic wrap to slow evaporation - and then work on rubbing it away (do not use 'paper' for this part - old sock, old towel, etc).

[BryceM41]

I did this to my first new vehicle, a 1988 Toyota truck. I wanted to take off the side badges but they were snapped into 2 holes in the sheet metal.

I did take off the T O Y O T A decals on the tail gate. I put it facing the sun for an hour and used a plastic putty knife to gently peel of the decals. I loved the results! Actually the very first thing I did when I got my truck home is change the awful dealer license plate frames to a cheap set of plain ones...I hate those things!

[nwonharp]

Yeah , J ,

I never did like the idea of the car dealers getting free advertisement on my vehicle . If it is a small logo , or a license plate frame , I don't worry too much . I don't wear tee shirts with advertising , except for products that I actually use and like ( Fender and Gibson guitars , Harley Davidson bikes , and others ) Or to support a particular group or cause that I am in favor of ( veterans , etc ) .

One of my vehicles that I have is an ugly old 1990 3/4 ton Chevy cargo van , with 250,000 miles on it . It will start and run anytime i need it , and haul anything I put in it . It was originally gray , but a previous owner had painted it white , with a brush or a dirty broom or something ! anyway , the paint is peeling off in a lot of places , and my neighbor says ,( hey , Ray can you paint your van ? ! )

Anyway , on that vehicle , I could possibly do some " negative advertisement " for the dealers , by putting a large logo of theirs on the back doors !!

Cheers , take care , and have a good day !!....73...

[wileypdf]

A razor blade with windex is the best option for removing anything from glass.

However, this process described in the instruct able is perfect for a clear coat.

[3366carlos]

i removed the badges on my Lexus, only to find out it had lining up pins, so I stopped removing them, now I have two little holes in my hood.

[J to the T]

Yeah, some if them are like that. The H on the front bumper of my S2000 had the same thing. I had to pay a couple hundred dollars to have it filled and painted.

[fattG]

Goo-Gone removed paint from bumper along with old bumper sticker.

[crazyg]

i drive a suzuki swift 1 liter , it isnt!

iv found that old genuine turpentine is good for removing sticky off sensitive materials, and it does not evaporate quickly.

[LancasterPA]

Wow, really? This is overkill. On GLASS a single sided razor would work just fine. No need for anything you have in this instructable. You can even get all the stickum off with the razor. NEVER use solvent like you have written, use gasoline as a solvent. That will get rid of most goo and auto body finishes are made to resist gas especially if it has been waxed with a quality polymer wax. Thumbs down on this one.

[J to the T]

A razor would work, but it is overkill when you warm the sticker. There is no chance of scratching the surface with a nylon spudger.

Gasoline is just as caustic as Acetone and smells worse IMHO. I used it on glass because it is glass. Like I've said in earlier comments, you can use Goo Gone or WD40 as well, especially if it is on paint.

I'm sorry my instructable has offended you, I look forward to your next contribution :)

[poopl]

Whatever solvent you use you might consider gloves as acetone and others are not good on your hands.