DP7657 Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Thought I'd write up a guide with photos to show anyone as clueless with cars as myself how to remove the OEM Nissan front and rear badges and replace them with some better ones. I learnt valuable lessons through mistakes on both badges, hopefully you won't now. Once you know what you're doing it's very easy. So, here are the choices of basic Z badges: Chrome Satin (same finish as the 350Z badge at the rear and the Z side badges) Black Burger I went for satin, seemed the best choice for a GM 350Z, as much as I was tempted by the black ones. Here's the equipment (all used at some stage, before better ideas developed) The process: OEM Nissan badge, looking a bit worn from 7 years of air, water and insects pounding it at 100mph Boiling (almost) water onto the badge to heat the glue and allow you to get the badge off easier. In my case I ended up gaining nothing from the water process but I hear that if you do this and then use dental floss to scrape under the badge then this will be a big help. From my experience, the kinfe worked very well and the heated glue was actually harder to get off in the end because it was more gooey. I didn't use the water method on the rear badge and the remains of the glue came off a lot easier on that one (I suppose that could just be a coincidence, maybe someone else can add to this). Here's how I eventually ended up getting the badge off. I tried using a screwdriver wrapped in a towel to lever the badge off. What actually happened was that the metal (even when wrapped in a towel) put some small marks into the soft(ish) plastic bumper and slightly scratched the edges of the badge too. I tried pulling and twisting by hand, tried more water for longer etc but in the end resorted to a knife. Now, this was actually a good decision but the right type of knife is important. You want a long, thin, flexible knife (like a fillet knife etc). The knife was able to bend under the badge and through the glue without making contact with the paint's surface so it was completely safe to the paintwork. I went round from a number of angles to cut away and weaken the glue (I wouldn't be surprised if Nissan put an entire car together using this glue, it was unbelievable, cheeky Japanese scientists deserve credit for its glueiness). I then used a towel to protect the car while I went at the badge from the side, this was how I eventually levered the badge up and off because it is quite difficult to get good leverage elsewhere because the badge is lower than the rest of the bumper. It came up very easily with the knife technique, wish I never tried the water and screwdriver! Nothing a bit of GM paint wont fix right up though so I will not complain. Badge removed! A lot of stubborn glue remaining though Mk.1 Scraper a.k.a. Driving License. This was the best tool for the job, it's quite flexible but has a good sharp edge and allowed me to get almost all of the glue off. Do put the effort in, it will stick better. The paint is quite hardy and can't be scratched like this, however if you hit it from above or press down directly into the paint then you can put a little dent into this as it is on the softer plastic bumper, not metal. Glue removed (30 minutes later...) What the back of the new badge looks like Front Z badge on Rear badge with pen markers. Tip here is use a lot less pen than I did. I tested the pen and white spirit on the paint under the front badge while it was exposed just to double check it would get the pen off and not damage the paint. I didn't take into account that the ink would be on the rear for longer and would be harder to get off. The marker is important though because it will be hard to work out the exact spot for the new badge without. Easy rear removal. The knife method was brilliant on the rear, just go in from the side using the towel to protect the paint and then move the knife and towel round slowly, cutting the glue away. This also made it a lot easier to peel the glue strips off at the back rather than scraping away on the front. Don't get me wrong, it still took about 10-15 minutes of scraping to get it all off though. The ultimate knife removal Rear off and scraped. Give it a good wipe clean and allow to dry and remove all excess you can for a better stick. Rear on, white spirit lesson learned. Here you can see what you don't want to happen. I put too much pen on in the first place thinking it would come straight off. It does all come off but not necessarily easily, non permanent pen might be an idea but with all the wiping and scraping you might lose your marks and their symmetry which would not be a good thing. I would advise a thin pen, as close to the edges of the old badge as possible, then it probably won't even need wiping off after. Anyway, I used cotton buds and cotton wool with white spirit to remove all of the pen. Showing my inexperience I hadn't considered that white spirit + glue = sticky fluid that isn't good for sticking a badge on a car and is good at attracting cotton wool and general dust etc. You can see here a bit of the glue oozing out as I pressed the badge down, I got it sorted mostly but maybe this badge will need replacing in a few months because of my mistake. (Don't follow in my footsteps) Done. Sorted the mess out, got all of the pen off. Can only notice any of the mistakes from within inches of it so overall I am fairly happy with my first change to the car. Key lessons learnt are: - don't try levering the badge up with a screwdriver - don't put too much pen on the rear - excess white spirit + glue = bad idea - the front bumper is quite soft. the paint is extremely tough and doesn't scratch but high pressure on the bumper's plastic will cause small dents into it. - the paint on this car is brilliant, extremely resistant to scraping I hope that helps someone, even if it is pretty simple. Thanks to those who helped me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Nice write up just a small point for marking the position of the rear badge I'd use a pen but on masking tape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Good stuff, its a popular thing to do but very rarely do you see an illustrative guide to it Something I do when de-badging is to spend a bit more time on clearing up the paint after removal. I used an old credit card to get the badges off rather than a knife, softened up with a sponge and some boiling water. Once off I spent about an hour with some polish just tidying up the badge area. Letting it dry up fully before putting the badges on, just makes for a tidier final result. For the marking up, I just used masking tape on its own. I also moved the 3 5 0 Z badges to the centre of the car, so spent a bit of time getting that straight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DP7657 Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 MASKING TAPE!! So simple, how did I miss that! Do I dare change the Rays Nissan badges for Zs too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisS Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Do I dare change the Rays Nissan badges for Zs too? Just take the wheel off and pop them out. Same as they do when balancing a wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watshot Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Unfortunately you made a meal of that. All you need is a hot air gun (or hairdryer), gently heat the area for a few minutes, then pull the badge off with your fingers. Remaining glue is easily removed with glue & tar spot remover. Result: perfectly clean area and no damage caused with blunt (or sharp) objects. Patience is the key, move the heat around so as not to over do it on a single spot and risk burning paint, you're trying to gently soften the glue, not burn it off. Some people shy away because of this, but you have to be a ham fisted tw@t to burn it really. Same with the glue remover, give it time to soak in first, re-apply and it comes off in a few seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 best suggestion i've heard is a hot water bottle left lying on it for 10 mins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gort Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 best suggestion i've heard is a hot water bottle left lying on it for 10 mins Can you still buy hot water bottles?, never seen them for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DP7657 Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Yeah, glue remover of some sort would definitely be good. There is no way in hell however that the front badge would've come off using just my fingers. After soaking it with boiling water for 5 minutes the thing would still barely even twist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watshot Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 There is no way in hell however that the front badge would've come off using just my fingers. After soaking it with boiling water for 5 minutes the thing would still barely even twist. That's why you use hot air, not water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DP7657 Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 I like it! Glad I made all these mistakes in one go, makes the guide more useful for those after me... What's a good glue & tar spot remover product then? Might come in very handy if I have to replace the pads at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I have seen the guys at Totally Dynamic debadging using heat guns and its pretty awesome, whipped off three badges on the back of my old Astra in about 3 minutes flat with nothing left on the bodywork. Still, would be a bit nervous using a heat gun...not that I got the choice, I can't park near where I live so no electrical connections available! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watshot Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 What's a good glue & tar spot remover product then? I've used Concept products, but they're only available in 5 litres for trade use. Anything marketed as a 'tar & bug' remover from Halfords and the like will do. As before, patience is the key, let it soak in to any heavy deposits first. Ideal for removing sticky number plate pads too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I hope you don't mind me adding my own method? Get a length of cat gut of whipping string. Place under one of the corners of the badge, (or number plate) Holding one end of the cord in each hand pull along using a sawing motion. Both number plate and badge removal took 5 mins in total. Another 5 was spent removing the tale residue. No risk of chipping from knife or screwdriver. This was shown to me by Ferrari dealership. Hope this helps Thenoname Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob63 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I hope you don't mind me adding my own method? Get a length of cat gut of whipping string. Place under one of the corners of the badge, (or number plate) Holding one end of the cord in each hand pull along using a sawing motion. Both number plate and badge removal took 5 mins in total. Another 5 was spent removing the tale residue. No risk of chipping from knife or screwdriver. This was shown to me by Ferrari dealership. Hope this helps Thenoname Spot on Takes seconds to do in conjunction with a hot air gun and will not mark the paint, not even Nissan 'paint' As for your new badges, take a real close look at the rear one and you'll see that the curvature of it is wrong. You can get around this but it'll involve removing the double sided adhesive foam, re-profiling the top and bottom of the badge...etc, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 there are some good tips on here and it's great that everyone takes time to share them. But like you say taking them off is only the half of it. That sticky residue can be a swine if you are not near a electricity supply. Hot air gun is the way to go:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richsouth Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 All this work... Saturday morning i came out to find that some SWINE! had stolen my rear Z badge....! how angry was i! Fortunatly there was no damage or signs of them removing it other than the left over glue and badge holes.....it must have been kids, but it must have come off pretty easy then for kids to take it off with no damage? Anyway im badgeless for now, i fancy swapping them all for black ones on my jaffa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 There is a set of 2 with the 350z in black on flebay for £43 They are not metal but plastic, however they look very good. I did get mine painted Matt black but it started to come off. Thenoname Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humpy Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 All this work... Saturday morning i came out to find that some SWINE! had stolen my rear Z badge....! how angry was i! Fortunatly there was no damage or signs of them removing it other than the left over glue and badge holes.....it must have been kids, but it must have come off pretty easy then for kids to take it off with no damage? Anyway im badgeless for now, i fancy swapping them all for black ones on my jaffa. Gutting mate and would of seriously cheesed me off Great guide actually and will be double checking this thread when attmepting mine this week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRS Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Is it just me or is your "Z" next to the 350 upside down..................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 All this work... Saturday morning i came out to find that some SWINE! had stolen my rear Z badge....! how angry was i! Fortunatly there was no damage or signs of them removing it other than the left over glue and badge holes.....it must have been kids, but it must have come off pretty easy then for kids to take it off with no damage? Anyway im badgeless for now, i fancy swapping them all for black ones on my jaffa. Take a look at the photo's Clown took of Thursday 2 weeks ago at Valley Park It shows what the black ones look like on my silver car. Everyone has given positive feedback this far:) Are you sure it was kids who took yours? If they took them off and left no marks it sounds like the villain used the string method? It is the quickest and easiest way,lus no noise! Just a thought ! Thenoname Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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