Debadged!

[Jetfire]

I finally had enough of the crooked application of my replacement non-faded ///M3 badging. A friend of mine gave me the polished steel M3 license plate frame for my birthday (12/20), my gears started to turn, and I took the plunge after detailing my car this afternoon.

After using waxed denal floss (doubled up and twisted) to gently "saw" off the badges, I used a hairdryer to loosen the foam tape stuck to my trunklid. I heated up a portion of it, picked up a corner with my fingernail, and used the dryer to keep the foam pliable as I pulled it off. When it was completely removed, I followed up with some detailing clay and Z5. There is still a very slight "shadow" from the removal, which ought to mostly disappear over the next few weeks and after a few washings. This is what happened when I completely debadged my last car.

The result? My car is still "badged" an M3 for those who can't recognize it, there are no longer a crooked ///M and 3 on my car, and I will now have a much easier time washing and waxing/polishing the car. I still have a set of new M3 badging should I need it at some point in the future. I'll post pics later (too dark to get good photos) but I like it. Then again, I almost always prefer debaged cars.

[PropellerHead]

WoohOOO! Congrats! :thumbup:

I must say that you're the only M car I know of that is debadged.

I was recently challenged about my decision to debadge by the suggestion that I wouldnt debadge an M5. Without hesitation, I know I would. Call me crazy- I prefer the look.

[Plaz]

I prefer the debadged look too.

What I don't prefer is what I saw yesterday... a 330ci rebadged as an M3. :rolleyes: :tsk:

[JPinTO]

Or the E46M3 that I saw badged as a 328i.

[Raffi]

Originally posted by JPinTO
Or the E46M3 that I saw badged as a 328i.

Now THAT is a sleeper car! :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

[Jetfire]

Here's a pic for those interested.

[·clyde·]

Originally posted by Jetfire
Here's a pic for those interested.

What's the point of debadging if you still have a thing around the livense plate saying "M3"? :banghead: :dunno: :confused:


:D
:angel:

[bluer1]

Welcome to the club!

Funny - if I recall correctly it's something you've been thinking
about for some time. We all seem to go through that. It took
me 2-3 weeks of saying I was going to do it before I finally
pulled the trigger.

[Jetfire]

Originally posted by Clyde@work
What's the point of debadging if you still have a thing around the livense plate saying "M3"? :banghead: :dunno: :confused:


:D
:angel:

:flipoff: The livense [sic] plate frame was a gift. I also have a Batz Maru frame from my wife (Batz Maru is one of Hello Kitty's friends - he's actually a pretty cool looking penguin) but the holes won't fit until I Dremel them. I wouldn't have installed the frame with the M3 badging (too much), but I probably would have removed the badging with or without the frame.

[Jetfire]

Originally posted by bluer1
Welcome to the club!

Funny - if I recall correctly it's something you've been thinking
about for some time. We all seem to go through that. It took
me 2-3 weeks of saying I was going to do it before I finally
pulled the trigger.

With most cosmetic mods, I tend to think twice or three times before pulling the trigger. Mods like sidemarkers are easy to install and remove, but badging is a little trickier to replace (have to get the badges, find the correct placement, etc.). But I usually prefer the look once it's done. I belong to the "smooth" styling school.