Some people see debadging a car as defacing their property they paid a lot of money for, while others keep the badges on their car to advertise how much they have spent on their fancy car.
Debadging a car has, however, gained popularity among car owners in recent years, and the reasons for doing it are varied. If you are considering removing all identifying marks from your car, then you will find this information useful before you finalize your decision.
Debadging a car can give it greater visual appeal, more intrigue, and make it easier to clean. Debadging a car is not illegal, and it won’t affect your insurance. In most instances, it will also not affect your vehicle’s warranty if done professionally and will not affect its resale value either.
Debadging a car is not only done for many different reasons but also alters the perception of the car. Sometimes it also says different things about the driver depending on the car that has been debadged.
Public opinion may be the least of your concerns if you are considering debadging your car. You may have questions about the legalities, the effect on the value of your car, or even if there are warranty or insurance implications to this action.
Why Would You Debadge A Car?
The reasons that people debadge a car are numerous and often very individual to the car owner. Before you go ahead and remove your car’s identifying marks, examine your reasons behind your choice and take a look at some reasons that others make this choice for their vehicle.
- Visual appeal. As a personal preference, some people simply enjoy the look of the clean, uninterrupted painted surface of their car. They feel that the make and model badges detract from the clean lines of the vehicle, and they prefer a minimalistic appearance. They feel that the markings clutter the otherwise smooth surface of the car.
- Intrigue. Some people who debadge their car like the stealth aspect of it and like to keep people guessing as to what car it is when they drive by. This is particularly the case if the car has been tricked out with accessories and performance enhancements. They like their car to make a statement and yet keep people guessing as to the make and model of the car.
- Disguise the car value. Some people do not like to flaunt the fact that they drive an expensive car and choose to remove the badges to disguise the fact that their car cost a lot of money.
- The element of surprise. Some car owners use their cars for street racing, and they do not want their competitors to know what car they are up against in a head-to-head race.
- No free advertising. Some people take exception to the fact that the manufacturer is using their vehicle as advertising real estate and the vehicle owner gets no benefit. For this reason, these owners will remove any make and model names from their vehicles.
- Pride. Some people feel that they are judged by the car that they drive, and if they feel embarrassed about the low-spec car that they drive, they may remove any identification markers that reveal a lower specification model.
- Easier to clean. Some people take pride in detailing their car to the point that you could use your reflection in the paintwork to shave! Cleaning around badges becomes problematic since the interface where the badge meets the bodywork is an area where car polish or wax can accumulate and attract dirt and detract from an otherwise pristine clean vehicle.
If you are considering debadging your car for the sake of visual appeal, you may want to take a photo of your car and then remove the badges in photo editing software on your computer.
This will give you clearer visual representation of how your car will look without the markings, and you can see if you actually like the look or not.
Is Debadging Illegal?
If you are considering removing the badges from your car, you may be wondering if there are any legal reasons why you should not do this or if it is illegal to completely remove them.
From a legal viewpoint, the reason your car needs to be identifiable is so that the car can be traced in the event it was used in the perpetration of a crime or contravened a traffic regulation. The means that authorities use to identify vehicles is by unique numbers that are on the vehicle and registered in the local authorities database, along with the details of the owner of the vehicle.
The numbers used for identification of the vehicle are a combination of the VIN, the engine number, and the vehicle registration or license number. These numbers are unique and are the ones that are illegal to tamper with, modify, or even cover.
The manufacturer badges and vehicle model decals are not considered to be unique identification markers for your vehicle. It is, therefore, legal for you to remove these badges and markings from your car.
If you think about it, every blue Audi TT will have the same color and badge on the car. There is nothing unique about this that can be used for vehicle identification purposes. In fact, removing the badges may make your car more identifiable from its lack of badges, compared to all the others out there that still have the badges intact.
When you order a new car from a dealership, some manufacturers even give you the option of ordering a car without the normal badges and manufacturer’s markings. Of course, they charge an additional fee to do this because it is considered a customization that incurs an additional labor charge, which they pass on to the consumer.
Does Debadging A Car Affect Insurance?
Insurance companies use the same method of identifying your car that the police and vehicle licensing authorities use, namely, the VIN, engine number, and license plate number.
From an identification point of view, the insurance company would not penalize you or hike your premiums or add additional excesses if you choose to remove the badges from your car.
Insurance companies are interested in mitigating their risk exposure related to your vehicle. Because it is a known practice among street racers to remove badges from their cars, the insurer’s interest in your reasons to remove the manufacturer’s labels may be piqued.
An insurer will not pay out a claim on your car if it was being used for illegal purposes or it was being used to contravene any traffic laws intentionally.
Street racing is considered a dangerous activity, and in most places, the practice is illegal because of the dangers that it poses to both the racers and the general public. For this reason, if your car is damaged during an illegal activity, the insurer will not cover the cost of the repairs.
When you initiate a claim with your insurer, and they note that you have removed your car’s badges, it may prompt them to launch a deeper investigation into the circumstances that caused the damage to the car. If they suspect that the reason for the damage is suspicious, you may have some difficulty with the claim.
An insurance company will not deny you insurance on your vehicle because it does not have any badges on it, and it will not affect the insured value of the vehicle either.
Does Debadging A Car Devalue It?
Having no identifying badges on your vehicle will not reduce its value. The problem comes in with the method that was used to remove the badges.
If the bodywork or the paint job is damaged during the removal process of the badges, then this will most certainly affect the value of your car.
It is, therefore, important that the removal process is done with the utmost care and precision, especially if the car is a high-value vehicle.
Badges on a vehicle are a point of contention on a vehicle and should never be used as a method of “proving” the make and model of a car. Some people up-badge their car, putting the badges of higher-spec models on their car to give the impression that the vehicle has a higher spec than it actually has.
For this reason, you should never rely on the badges on the car to indicate the correct make and model, but rather insist on seeing the registration papers that will have the correct designation for the vehicle listed.
Likewise, if you are the seller of a debadged car, do not be offended when a prospective buyer does not take your word as to the make and model of the car but requests to see the registration papers. You would probably make the same request if you were in their position to make sure you are actually getting what was advertised and what you are paying for.
Does Debadging A Car Void Warranty?
A warranty on a car does not normally include paintwork since this can just as easily be damaged by normal road wear. The warranty normally only covers working parts of the car, such as the engine, gearbox, clutch, and suspension. It also includes other moving parts such as door hinges and the like.
Each warranty is different depending on the make of the car and the dealership, so make sure you confirm that this applies to your specific warranty before going ahead and removing the badges.
In most cases, however, it will not void the warranty. If you are not sure, you can ask the dealership to remove the badges for you. Some dealers will remove them for free, while others may charge a small fee.
If your car is still under warranty, and the dealership does the debadging job for you, then at least you may have some recourse if the removal causes any damage or warranty issues.
If you debadge the car yourself and things don’t go quite as planned, and you do some damage, the dealership is not obliged to do any repair work for you without charging you for it.
Our recommendation would be that if your car is still under warranty, then it would be preferable to ask your dealership to remove the badges for you. It not only gets the job done professionally but saves you the effort of buffing out any shadow images left by the badges after their removal.
If your car is no longer under any warranty, then go ahead and try it out yourself. We have listed a method that you can use to remove the offending badges from your car and restore the paint job underneath.
How Do You Debadge A Car: What Do You Need?
There are more than a few methods you can use to remove the badges from your car, and while some methods may differ, the basic principles are the same.
Essentially the badges are affixed to the body of the car with an adhesive. The bond of this adhesive needs to be broken to allow the lettering to be removed. The residual adhesive on the body of the car then needs to be cleaned off, and the paintwork underneath may then need some attention to restore its luster.
While there are a few different removal methods that can be used to take off the badges, we will cover a basic method that does not require any specialized tools or equipment that you would struggle to get your hands on.
The basic equipment you will need is as follows.
- Dental floss. A thin fishing line can be used instead, but dental floss is less likely to damage the paint on the car.
- Soapy water. This can be a spray bottle with a little car shampoo mixed in for the soap content.
- A hairdryer. You can substitute a heat gun for a hairdryer, but not every household will have a heat gun, but most will have a hairdryer.
- An eraser wheel. This is a soft rubber disc that fits into a hand drill. If you cannot source an eraser wheel, you can use a soft pencil eraser as an alternative; it will just take longer.
- A hand drill. A drill with an adjustable speed would be preferable.
- Microfiber cloth. This will be used to wipe clean the work area as you progress.
- A car cleaner wax with an applicator pad. This is a wax to buff up the area after the badge has been removed.
Damage Warning: If you are using a heat gun, be extremely careful not to get the paint of the car too hot. This will destroy the topcoat and require professional repair. Do not put the heat gun too close, and keep it moving – do not hold it in one spot.
With all the gear that you need for the debadging process in place, it is time to start the process of actually getting the badges off.
The Badge Removal Process
The process of removing the badges from your car involves a few steps to follow to make sure the process goes smoothly and limits any potential damage to the paintwork of your car.
- Clean the area around the badge. Cleaning the area is a vital step that should not be skipped. It removes any dust and dirt particles that may inadvertently scratch the bodywork when you rub the area later in the process. Use the soapy water or a little car shampoo to spray the area down, and then wipe it clean with the microfiber cloth.
- Heat the badge adhesive. The badges on cars are usually applied with a type of double-sided adhesive. The heat helps to soften the adhesive and reduce the adhesive’s bond. Use the hairdryer on the hot setting to heat up the badge area for two or three minutes.
- Use the dental floss to remove the badge. Using a length of dental floss, work it underneath the badge in a sawing motion, pulling slightly away from the car so that the dental floss does not rub on the paint, but against the badge. As you carry on the sawing motion, pull the dental floss down the length of the badge until it comes off. The dental floss may break, but then simply use another length.
- Remove the adhesive residue. Use the eraser wheel in the drill on a slow setting, and control the speed to be even slower with the trigger to gently rub over the remaining adhesive. Do not keep the eraser wheel in one place too long. This will heat up the body of the car and destroy the topcoat in much the same way as a heat gun can. This process to erase the adhesive can take a bit of time, so be patient. If you do not have an eraser disc for your drill, you can try heating up the adhesive again with the hairdryer and rubbing across the glue with your fingers. The adhesive will be warm, so be careful not to burn your fingers.
- Clean the area again. Once the adhesive has been removed, use the damp microfiber cloth to wipe the area clean of any loose bits of the adhesive.
- Use the cleaning wax to finish. Apply some cleaning wax with the applicator pad and let it become slightly opaque on the body of the car. Then buff the wax with a clean, dry microfiber cloth.
This concludes the process to remove the badge, and your car should now look as if the badges were never there, to begin with!
Conclusion
Whatever your reason for wanting to remove the badges from your car, there are no legal, insurance, warranty, or value issues that should prevent you from achieving the goal.
Remember that if your car is currently still under warranty, it may be wise to ask your dealership to complete the process for you. Even if your car is not under warranty, but you are concerned that you may damage the paintwork, rather take it to a body shop or a dealership to have the badges professionally removed.
If you are confident to remove the badges yourself, the process is not particularly difficult, and as long as you are patient, take your time and use the right equipment, there is little risk of damaging the paintwork on your car.
If you like the sleek, smooth badge less look for your car, then there is nothing holding you back from going ahead and getting the job done!