[BendtnerOrBust]

Hello friends. I'm considering finally debadging my '11 335i xDrive, but I'm wary of leaving a birth mark on her. I really want to drop the xDrive logos on the sides, but I don't want a nasty fade mark. Black Sapphire Metallic paint on the vehicle.

Anyone gotten rid of their badges 7 years after manufacture? I know the method for removal, and that wet sanding and buffing can remove the majority of marks. Another forum said to compare the inside of the door sills with exterior paint to see if there is visible fading. Horror stories, concerns, experiences are appreciated.

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by BendtnerOrBust

Hello friends. I'm considering finally debadging my '11 335i xDrive, but I'm wary of leaving a birth mark on her. I really want to drop the xDrive logos on the sides, but I don't want a nasty fade mark. Black Sapphire Metallic paint on the vehicle.

Anyone gotten rid of their badges 7 years after manufacture? I know the method for removal, and that wet sanding and buffing can remove the majority of marks. Another forum said to compare the inside of the door sills with exterior paint to see if there is visible fading. Horror stories, concerns, experiences are appreciated.

Debadged my 20 year old E36, no fade marks

[hassmaschine]

I debaged my E30 when it was older than your "old" E90. There were no visible marks.

10 years later, I got bored of it and put the stock badge back on.. IMO, its pretty much a waste of time.

[BendtnerOrBust]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I debaged my E30 when it was older than your "old" E90. There were no visible marks.

10 years later, I got bored of it and put the stock badge back on.. IMO, its pretty much a waste of time.

She's experienced, not old. Thank you for the input, what color was the E30?

I hate the chunky xDrive boxes on the sides, they make the car look juvenile. I'm indifferent on the 335i badge.

[hassmaschine]

Sterling Silver - pretty similar to Titanium Silver on the E9x.

Yeah, I get that. Until "xdrive" branding BS, BMW didnt use superfluous badging for their drivetrains. Reminds me of ABS or fuel injected badges on horrid domestic cars, even though imports had those features decades earlier..

[EB89]

When you remove it there should gunk left behind, but not faded paint.

Mostly a build up of dirt and the sticky glue that was used to attach it in the first place.

I used a polisher to remove the gunk and it looks perfect now, you cant see anything.

Watch this vid

[e92_bryan]

I know how to get rid of the marks


Step1. Stop being a finicky little bitch

[nsjames]

I just did my 08.
no marks.

wd40 to soften and remove the foam tape leftover, clay bar to get rid of the built up gunk. wax and polish as normal.

[dannyhavok]

I took the gaudy xDrive badges off my '11 in the fall, no fading. Mine is Jet Black.

[jt335i]

Never thought much to debadge my 335i or call my ride 'she' or give it any kind of name.
It's just my ultimate driving machine and that's all I care about.

[tcphoto]

Perhaps the origin of debadging is more important. In Europe, enthusiasts would debadge their cars so when racing down the Autobahn the other enthusiasts would not know what they were driving. Unless you know what to look for you would not know if the 3Series is a 328, 335 or M3. Or perhaps that Porsche is a base 911 or any other exotic version. It doesn’t matter how old the car is, what matters is how well maintained or modified it is and that doesn’t mean black wheels, cone filtered or air scoops which we all know are poser mods.

[eyehategod]

Originally Posted by tcphoto

Perhaps the origin of debadging is more important. In Europe, enthusiasts would debadge their cars so when racing down the Autobahn the other enthusiasts would not know what they were driving. Unless you know what to look for you would not know if the 3Series is a 328, 335 or M3. Or perhaps that Porsche is a base 911 or any other exotic version. It doesn’t matter how old the car is, what matters is how well maintained or modified it is and that doesn’t mean black wheels, cone filtered or air scoops which we all know are poser mods.

Black wheels are poser mods??

[NYBulldog]

I like debadging on certain cars, looks so clean. Those xDrive badges are horrid.

[King Rudi]

Debadged my '08 E93 last year. Got tired of the hard to remove wax/polish residue in between. My car is jet black, there was a little showing of age but a DA and some machine polish took care of it.

[Noir]

See, I wanna put the 330i badge back on my e90, buuuuuuuut I love my carbon fiber, and I'm a lil bish about applying anything to that area other than soap and water.
I'm glad to see the responses of no fading, because I have genuinely wondered if that ever happens...

[asiflicious]

Originally Posted by tcphoto

Perhaps the origin of debadging is more important. In Europe, enthusiasts would debadge their cars so when racing down the Autobahn the other enthusiasts would not know what they were driving. Unless you know what to look for you would not know if the 3Series is a 328, 335 or M3. Or perhaps that Porsche is a base 911 or any other exotic version. It doesn’t matter how old the car is, what matters is how well maintained or modified it is and that doesn’t mean black wheels, cone filtered or air scoops which we all know are poser mods.

Whenever I see a debadged car I usually think think it's someone trying to hide that they have a base model or that the car was in a wreck and whoever bought the salvaged car from auction was either too lazy or too cheap to buy replacement badges

[blau iii]

Originally Posted by asiflicious

Whenever I see a debadged car I usually think think it's someone trying to hide that they have a base model or that the car was in a wreck and whoever bought the salvaged car from auction was either too lazy or too cheap to buy replacement badges

I want to debadge so scrubs don't realize I have 400+hp under the hood!!