Damn Dealer Badge
 

With the recent purcahase of my new pre-owned E420 (95) came the beautiful chrome dealer badge on the trunk. I read through all of the posts on the forum about badge removal before attempting to remove it. The technique using dental floss allowed for a removal that went fairly smoothly overall. Problem now is the glue/adhesive that still remains. I've tried 3M adhesive remover and WD40 and have not been able to get it off. There was initial glue that came off without too much hassel but this crap looks like left over stuff that's bonded to the clear coat. Tips or advice for its removal? The only thing I can think of now is to move on to a polish/wet sanding but I don't want to unless I'm certain it's the next step.

Thanks!!

Maybe this belongs in Interiors and Detailing?
 

Not sure if this is the right board for this question or not :confused:

What you have left is the "adhesive foot" a nano layer of Mylar the bonds to the car. Do this in the shade and preferably early morning before temps get to high. Make a pad out of several paper towels. Drench the towel with regular household ammonia and secure it over the adhesive with some painters tape. Keep the pad moist for several hours. Remove pad and use a plastic putty knife (or plastic spatula if you can sneak it out) and with slight forward pressure scrape the adhesive Mylar off.

This is why my car still has a stupid Texas Longhorns emblem on it

And when you finally do take it off the paint will be darker where it was:o

Xylene will take it right off but be quick and ready to rinse it with water and don't over do it. It can and eventually will soften the Clear coat. But it will resist the Xylene for plenty long enough to remove Glue without damaging it as it won't take but a few wipes and rubs to remove the glue. The clear coat will remain untouched for that long easy enough. Wipe it on a rag and then carefully rub it on the spot with your finger as a probe behind the rag. Then quickly rinse and wash off area well with water and then soap and water. Rinse generously all over. Do not get on Plastics. Cover those if they are near it. Wear Nitrile gloves as its a nasty solvent.

Sounds Like a Plan
 

Thanks so much for the prompt replies :) I'll keep you posted and get pictures up on the board as soon as I can.

This is a useful but painful lesson in the art of buying from a dealer: Make the dealer remove his cheezy adverts before the purchase.

I once put a clause in the contract when purchasing a new car that if the dealer put his advertisement on the car I would not accept it - it was a deal breaker. I also told him that if he put it on the car after I accepted it I would file a complaint with the Police for tampering with auto. I hate those things!

I put them on multiple cars daily. MWAHAHAHA!

Rubbing Compound.

I've had good luck using the combination polish/cleaners that have a petroleum base. Not as aggressive as rubbing compound (I'd try the fine polishing compound and then rubbing compound).

Try Goof Off
 

This stuff has worked well for me http://www.valsparglobal.com/val/resident/goof-off.jsp

I use WD40 and a plastic putty knife to get all the residue off. Have a bunch of rags handy so as not to let much of the WD run down the car.

On another note, I was wondering if I could charge the dealer for the free advertising they try to get.:cool:

No, but you can make them remove the badge BEFORE you leave the lot, BEFORE you sign the papers. I bought a brand new Mustang in 1965 (it was a 1966) and the dealer slapped their logo/badge on the car, I made them take it off od the deck lid and fix the paint if they screwed it up. They Griped about it but they did remove it. They stuck a chrome decal on the rear bumper though and I removed that when I got home.