In the world of car lovers, there are so many ways to make your vehicle stand out on the wrap.
You might like to paint it a bold color, have it wrapped, or even remove the badges that come as standard on your vehicle to give it a sleeker look with less going on.
Debadging a car involves doing the latter, and it’s a popular process among those who take the look of their cars seriously.
When you debadge a car, you remove any signs of metal insignia on it, which could be the logo of the car manufacturer or the name of the car model, and sometimes also the trim from around the vehicle.
How do you debadge a car the right way, though?
There are a few methods for debadging a car correctly that all depend on how they were applied in the first place, and most can be done safely at home without professional assistance. Some badges are attached to the car’s body with an adhesive of varying strength, and others use screws and rivets to hold them into place.
If you’re planning on following this popular modification trend, there’s a lot more to learn before you go ahead with the process.
However, having a good understanding of how the badges were installed is your first step to success, so read on to see whether or not you should commit to debadging for yourself.
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Contents
What Does It Mean To Debadge A Car?
When a car is made, there are certain things the manufacturer does to help it stand out from the others.
A car’s badges are the metal insignia or emblems that you’ll find stamped across it, and they might show the logo of the carmaker or the name of the car itself.
The process of debadging a car is all about removing these noticeable marks so that the car has a smooth finish that’s free from large badges, lettering, or trim.
There are many reasons why someone might want to debadge their car, but the most common one is they’re after a smoothed-out bodywork which is ruined by these emblems, and so they opt for a completely even finish.
A car without any badges is easier to clean, and when it comes to the waxing and polishing stage, this is especially true.
Common emblems like the BMW sign are prone to collecting wax which means people avoid that area altogether, so it’s best to remove them and have a sleek surface to work with.
With higher end cars, it’s common for people purchasing them to request the badges are removed for other reasons.
This might be more of a preventative measure to stop people from being able to tell that it’s a luxury vehicle, which can make them more suspectable to theft and vandalism.
High-performance vehicles wanting to appear like normal cars, sometimes referred to as sleepers, might also have their badges removed to help them blend in.
Warranties And Legalities
There are loads of reasons why you might want to debadge a car, but that doesn’t mean it’s always a good idea.
Before going through with this modification, you’ll want to consider whether it’s going to affect things like car insurance policies, manufacturer warranties and if it’s legal.
When it comes to your car insurance policy, there’s no reason why debadging would do anything to void it as it’s a simple modification.
However, you should let your insurance provider know you’ve done it so they can make a note of it, in case it causes any issues in the future.
If anything goes wrong, the insurance provider uses the vehicle’s VIN code to identify it and not its badges, so it shouldn’t affect it at all.
As far as the law goes in the US, there’s nothing that states debadging can’t be done.
There are issues with things like debadging it to hide a theft or try to street race inconspicuously, but these are different crimes altogether.
As long as you’re only making the modification to improve the look of your car, you’re well within your legal rights to do so.
The warranty of a vehicle won’t be affected by debadging either, as it’s only seen as a minor modification and done on the exterior of the car.
A warranty claim is issued usually with the internal mechanisms of a car, like an engine or the transmission, so there’s no harm in removing the badges for aesthetic purposes.
Can You Lose Value After Debadging A Car?
As one of the biggest purchases we’ll ever make, we want to do all that we can to hold the value of our cars.
Modifications that are made to them over time serve to increase the value, but where does debadging stand when it comes to decreasing or increasing the worth of these vehicles?
There’s no official way to tell the value of a car and whether removing its emblems and insignia will affect this.
The worth of the car will be up to the person who’s buying it, so the answer to this question can change completely, depending on what they’re looking for and whether or not they value the badges as well.
Selling to a car yard may be a different story though, and these types of sales will usually result in some money lost because of this modification.
Consider that they have to attempt to sell your car to a larger public base who might not want the badges of the car removed and have no other way to tell its make and model, so it’s not always smart if you’re planning on selling the vehicle soon.
The Simple Steps To Debadging
If you’re interested in debadging your car and have weighed up the pros and cons, it’s not that hard to do yourself.
Follow these steps to make this minor but effective modification and turn your car into a sleeker and smoother machine.
Assess the badges
You’ll first need to determine how the badges are stuck onto the car to give you the best method for removing them.
If you’re unable to tell from looking at them or searching for the car’s make and model online, you can sometimes check the car’s manual for an idea.
Remove the screws
For a screwed on badge, the process is a lot simpler. You’ll need to find the matching screwdriver head to remove the screws from the plates and badges.
Take them off gently and if the surface underneath needs work or holes need to be filled, you can get this done professionally.
Soften the adhesive
For cars with adhesive attaching the badges, which is the most common method, you’ll need to soften the adhesive underneath them first.
Fill up a kettle with steaming water, but not at the boiling level, and pour it over the top of the badge.
This will help soften the glue without ruining the paint, and also make it easier to pull off in the next step.
Remove the badges
There are two options for pulling off the badges depending on how much force they require.
For an easier badge, you can use a plastic wedge to pry it off, making sure to create small gaps on each corner.
If it’s harder to come away, use a plastic fishing line or strong dental floss to work your way in between the badge and the car’s body. When it comes free, peel it off slowly.
Store the badges
Even if you don’t want the badges on your car right now, there’s no way knowing what the future holds.
Store the emblems somewhere safe and sealed so they can be attached again in the future if you wish.
Pull off the stickers
Underneath where your emblems were, there might be some double-sided adhesive or tape left behind, that still shows the outline of the letters you removed, so you’ll want to clean this up.
Use a specialized tool, like a 3M Stripe Off Wheel, that was designed specifically for removing decals from cars.
Clean up the adhesive
If there’s still a clear layer of adhesive left behind on the car’s paintwork, you should rub it with a chemical adhesive remover.
This part can take some time, but it shouldn’t be rushed or done aggressively, as you can damage the paint underneath.
Polish the car
With the job done, you’ll want to polish the car so that the area where the freshly removed badges were are matching the rest of the vehicle.
Cleaning A Debadged Car
Now that your car no longer has badges, you’ll find that cleaning it is a different experience.
One of the top reasons for people wanting to remove the trim and insignia form their cars is to make it easier to clean, and give it that sleek and smooth finish that it’s been missing.
Thankfully, there’s no extra work needed to clean a debadged car, and provided the emblems were removed with care, there should be no sign that they were ever there.
You’ll find it easiest to apply specialized products like waxes and polishes as they’re no longer getting stuck inside the badges, so overall it’s an easier experience that delivers smoother results.
Custom Made Car Badges
A custom made car badge is a popular way to accentuate your car without relying on the factory badges that come as standard.
Once you’ve removed the badges of a car you might find that you still want some detail on the exterior, and these custom made designs are a great alternative.
If you’re a handy person and good with DIY arts and crafts, you can make your own adhesive badges, but a professional badge maker is the best approach.
They’ll let you select the font style and size, what the text should say, and whether it has a copper, brass, nickel, or other finish.
Once it arrives, you simply peel off the backing and attach it with an adhesive, just like the original badges were.
Related Questions
Debadging a car is a popular modification for those who take their cars seriously, and whatever your reason for considering it, you wouldn’t be alone if you did it as well.
We’ve answered some common FAQs about car debadging that can help you make up your mind and give you a better understanding of this popular alteration.
Can You Rebadge a Car?
If you’ve debadged your car but would like to have other badges added to it, this is called a rebadging.
There are custom badges and emblems you can buy to attach to your car and some with the makes and models of other types of cars, so you have lots of options for how you choose to decorate your car.
Is It Legal to Put Fake Badges on a Car?
Sometimes a car owner might remove the badges of their car and have them replaced with the emblems of a more expensive, luxury vehicle.
When this is done for their personal enjoyment there’s nothing illegal about it, but if you’re doing it with the intent on selling the car as a counterfeit brand, this is against the law.
What Does No Badge Mean on a Car?
This is a term used by car manufacturers to explain that there’s no trim level of a car, and only a make and model used to identify it.
A no badge car only comes in one variety and without other variations like ‘luxury’ or ‘standard’ so there’s no need for them to specify the trim level with a badge.
