DropTop430

I am looking to see a few shots of the rear of the car with the SC430 and the LEXUS taken off but still with the "L".
I want to take one last look before I remove mine. I think I saw a few pictures a couple of months ago and I looked in the gallery but gave up. Can anyone help? Thanks

1NICESC430

These two pics were in this forum some time ago.

BTW ... Is there a way to attach multiple pics in the same append?

1NICESC430

In silver ....

Larry

I don't have a photo of mine, but it's Silver with a black pearl emblem. It looks much nicer than the photo below.

mfb

Here is a pic w/ black pearl.

DropTop430

That looks quite nice. I am really on the fence as to taking of the left and right badges on the rear. I will give it some more thought but I really like the look of the darker badges. How much does a set run from Lexus? Did you do the front "L" as well?

1NICESC430

What am I missing here? The pic with the black pearl emblem looks exactly like the stock emblem. Just what exactly is supposed to be black?

Larry

All the badging is "black pearl". It's hard to tell in the photo. It looks like black chrome...if you've ever seen it.

1NICESC430

Thanks, Larry ...

I had this idea that the black pearl "L" would be the standard chrome "L" but with a black background. I don't recall ever seeing black chrome. I must live a sheltered and boring life.

BTW ... I took your advice and purchased some De-Solv It at Home Depot yesterday and plan to remove my badging this weekend.
You say a standard home hair dryer will soften the adhesive, right? Do you recall about how long it takes before it's soft enough to remove either of the badges?

mfb

The above picture doesn't due it justice. The black pearl is a subtle change from the chrome. I have the front L also. I don't know the dealer price since it was included when I bought the car.

I also bought a black pearl license holder from Griot's which matches very well.

I may pull the front emblem off to see how it looks. I kinda like the cleaner look.

marty

LexusSC430

The black pearl is nice for a darker car. They came standard on all Supras, mine being black and all I was a big fan of them. My Lexus however is white so the chrome isnt going anywhere. I dont understand why you guys are debadging them. To each their own and all, but it reminds me of all the idiots who take their badges of their 318's and dont realize you still have a pea shooter for an exhaust and "non-M3" mirrors

1NICESC430

I don't know why others want to debadge their cars, but I've never liked signs or doodads on anything I own. I don't mind the L on the back, but I did remove the L from the grill.

It's a personal thing just as you surmised. For example, I don't like monogrammed clothes, luggage, etc. so you can probably guess that I never purchase or wear any article of clothing that has someone else's name on it.

So that's my reason - I'm not trying to hide the origin of my car, although I do think it's fun for those who are.

Larry

We're not hiding any identity here. Some of us just like the "cleaner" look...that is to say the lines of the car without the writing, names, model's etc.

OK Ed, here's a step by step:

- Take a hair dryer and hold it over the badges (turn the damn thing on before you do !)

- Keep the dryer on the hottest setting.

- After a few minutes, lift the corner of the lettering with your fingernail and slide a piece of strong dental floss or nylon fishing line (better yet, it won't break) in between the car and the letters.

- Keep the hair dryer (by the way, the plastic gets pretty hot, so be careful you don't burn your finget tips. Don'y worry about damaging the paint. Hairdryers don't generate enough heat no matter how long you hold them against the car) on the letters and continue to slide the floss/line under the letters. If you get get tired of this slow process, just peel away the letters with your fingers. They'll break, but you won't be using them again anyway.

- Once you have all the letters removed, you'll see the adhesive on the paint.

- Take a terrycloth towel and saturate a piece of it with the "Deslove-it". Dab it all over the adhesive. Wait about 60 seconds and then:

- Take a dry portion of the towel and rub it over the saturated adhesive on the car. At first, you'll say "Hey, nothing is happening !"

- After a few more strenuous "rubs" the adheisive will start to ball up in little pieces and stick to the towel like chewing gum.

- Keep rubbing until all the adhesive is gone !

- Voila' ! You're done.

The "Desolve-it" is basically citrus oil and smells like oranges. It won't damage paint. Just make sure the towel is clean and somewhat soft textured. You don't want any thing with abrasive qualities since you'll be rubbing like hell.

If you're concerned about this, then I suggest you use one of those small kitchen sponges...you know, the ones that come in all kinds of colors and sell for about .$99 a bag. These are also great for putting wax on the car and "Armorall" on the tires.

Have fun !

1NICESC430

Thanks Larry, for the detailed instructions. As a one-time tech writer, I have to say you did a damn good job.

I did notice a hint of lawsuit mentality in there, though. ie, "turn the damn thing on..." Should I plug it in, too?

LexusSC430

Make sure its raining out and you are standing in a pool of water for best hair dryer results.....if you guys have heat guns those work in like 2 seconds, but be careful you can actually light a cigarette with those things. these ae great for getting lables off things that were heat shrinked on....I took off about 12 stickers from my waverunner and my friend was heating his bike up to get an unremovable sticker from it.