Dealer Logo Remover

[shinytop]

Walking by my beautiful C-Max one day I thought how tacky the white dealer logo looked.  So I put a finger nail up to one corner and it peeled off.  Or that letter peeled off.  So I took them all off but have some sticky residue remaining.  While less obvious than the white logo against the dark gray background it now looks like just an area of dirt.  Any advice on what to remove it with that will not harm the finish?

[wamba2000]

Use an adhesive remover, but check that paint is not mentioned in the items removed.  "goof-gone" or such you can get at Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

 

Also, use a hair dryer on Hot setting to warm the residue prior to using the adhesive remover.  Put the Remover on a paper towel, about a half dollar size and rub over the adhesive.

Clean the Remover off with soap and water when done, then put a little auto polish over to protect the surface.  No abrasives or scrubbers are needed.

[shinytop]

Thank you, found Goo-Gone on Home Depot's web site.  

[fotomoto]

Shortly after purchase, I removed all the dealer stickers from both of my CMax'es before applying the opti-coat paint treatment.  Although goo-gone is a very handy product with many uses around the house, it doesn't work all that well for adhesive removal in my experience(s).  Wax/grease remover sold at auto parts stores or paint thinner works MUCH better and leave no residue.  As the name implies, any wax will also be removed from the treated area.

 

Edit:  I pulled the dealer stickers off by hand.  Old/weathered stickers are an entirely different animal and also may show paint fade if removed.

Edited July 6, 2014 by fotomoto

[timwil56]

You can do whatever you want, but in my opinion, I would not use a hair dryer or any other heat source. Even a small amount of heat can disrupt the clearcoat and paint. I have experience with this. One winter I got a nasty paint chip and wanted to get it filled before any salt affected it. I didn't have a heated garage, so I used a standard bathroom hair dryer to warm and dry the touched up area, and it only took a few seconds before the paint bubbled. I'm not a dim wit and knew what I was trying to do, I didn't hold the dryer too close or in one place and kept the hot air moving across a large section. Before I knew what happened, the paint had bubbled at the chip and the surrounding area looked like it was beginning to liquify.

Now for a suggestion. Carefully pull the sticker off using your finger nail, get yourself some non solvent, water based OOPS! from the hardware store and remove the adheive. If your trying to debadge your car, hold a rag under the name plate, pour OOPS! above the letters, let it soak a bit, wipe up any excess and carefully pull off the letters or use a piece of thin fish line or dental floss to seperate them from the panel, finish the clean up with a little OOPS! on a rag. Always clean the area with soap and water after using any type of adhesive remover. If you're planning on using a tool of some kind, remember, you cant scratch something with an object that's softer than the other, meaning, plastic won't scratch glass, but glass can scratch plastic, so be carefull what you use if you try to scrape the clearcoat and paint.

[joe]

I have always removed dealer stickers from my vehicles.  If they want me to advertise for them, they can deduct another 5% off the sticker price.  Otherwise, I take the sticker off the day I get the vehicle (when the glue is still fresh and can be easily removed).  Now, sometimes I'll leave the license plate holder with the dealer's name if they gave me a good deal.  But even that is removed after about a year.

 

The dealer stickers, if left on the car, will eventual peal or fade and that leaves unsightly blemishes on the paint.

[mtb9153]

Took my dealer license frames off on day one.  They are ugly and hide portions of my personalized license plates.  No advertising from Maxus. :)

Edited July 6, 2014 by mtb9153

[jdbob]

Dealer stickers? They still do that? I thought they only advertised on license plate frames, at least for the last few decades.

[wab]

Took my dealer license frames off on day one.  They are ugly and hide portions of my personalized license plates.  No advertising from Maxus. :)

 

 

Dealer stickers? They still do that? I thought they only advertised on license plate frames, at least for the last few decades.

 

I made a deal with our salesman.

I would leave it on and ever time someone looked at it he would pay me a dime.

He laughed and said "deal".

:yahoo:

 

[MichaelM]

On my Focus I peeled the dealer sticker off immediately after sale. After taking it in 3 or 4 months later for an oil change there was a brand new sticker where the old one used to be. When I complained they said it was part of their agreement for the $9.95 oil change. I told them I wanted the sticker gone as there was not one there originally and they did, and charged me $26.95 for the oil change. I've not been back.

Edited July 7, 2014 by MichaelM

[hybridbear]

On my Focus I peeled the dealer sticker off immediately after sale. After taking it in 3 or 4 months later for an oil change there was a brand new sticker where the old one used to be. When I complained they said it was part of their agreement for the $9.95 oil change. I told them I wanted the sticker gone as there was not one there originally and they did, and charged me $26.95 for the oil change. I've not been back.

I hope you reported this dealer to Ford Customer Service.

 

I would just tell the dealer that you want the sticker gone. When we picked up our Fusion I told the salesman that I would like them to remove the sticker. He then had them remove the sticker when they were prepping the vehicle for delivery to us. I wouldn't mind a license plate frame because the dealer treated us well, and I told the salesman that but he said their dealer only does stickers.

[Adrian_L]

WD40 works great on sticker residue.

 

I also used Plastikote spraypaint over the dealer's name on the licence plate holders.  Car looks much cleaner.

 

You wouldn't walk around advertising Nike or Gap, would you?  That would look ridiculous.

[lowbar]

I agree with the WD40.  Works great.

[shinytop]

Read the post about WD-40 after I had ordered another product.  I remember that about WD-40 now.  

 

I used this product.  Sprayed it on, watched for a couple minutes so drips would not get on any other surface since the decal was on a vertical surface, then wiped it off.  Dried it well added a coat of wax.  Looks a lot better than white decal on beautiful sterling gray paint.

[CNCGeek]

It was nice finding this thread, it reminded me to remove the sticker.  Gonna try the dental floss trick I saw somewhere - just use it to remove the sticker, and then see if wd40 will take the residue off.

[Kelleytoons]

Glad I found this thread as well -- just removed mine with no residue remaining.

 

Since they got this car from another dealership I assume they removed *their* sticker and then put their own on.  And their own was plastic/vinyl and easy to remove.  Car looks much better without it.

 

All the window stickers (and there were a ton) were removed by the guy who did the tinting, so now the car is "clean".  I think I'll end up buying another plate holder, though -- no knock against the dealer (who I think is really good) but it's a bit tacky with those plastic advertising things.  With our Durango I got a metal "Durango Owner's Club" holder that was part of joining that forum.  Perhaps the folks here could get something similar made up.

[RockwallRick]

I found a chrome C-max plate holder on Ebay. Looks much better than the Dealer plate frame or just a bare license plate.