C
Craig
UPDATE EMAIL ADDRESS
🙂 🙄 Shaving the side emblems on my 2003 Thunderbird.
The Why:
1. In the mid-seventy’s when I was working on my masters degree I worked part time at an Exxon Station pumping gas. Some of the new cars were just coming out with the stick on emblems. While washing the windshield and checking the oil on a new Oldsmobile, and setting the handle on the gas hose to pump by itself, the tank spit back when the pump stopped, spilling a very small amount of gas. There was a stick on emblem around the trunk key hole, and it slowly slid off the car. I had to replace that emblem out of my pay, rightfully so. The amount of the gas spill was only one or two ounces, not even enough to leave more than a one inch diameter spot on the concrete under the car.
2. My step-father died three years ago and I started taking care of his/my mother’s car. When washing the car one of the emblems came off. It was the tape on molded plastic emblem, almost exactly like the Thunderbird and V-8 emblems on my car. The Car was a 1996, that they had not had four years yet. The car was always garage kept. They were both retired, and since he was in his 80's he didn’t go out in bad weather. The car was kept immaculate. The car had less than 20,000 miles. It was always serviced and repaired by the dealership, never in any accident of any kind, there weren’t even any door dents, or parking lot dings. When the emblem came off, you could see a faint shadow in the paint where the emblem was, and additionally, even though there was no white wax residue visible on the emblem or behind any of the others on the tape, there was a faint line where the edge of the adhesive was. After cleaning it and removing the wax lines you could feel a slight line in the clear coat, as well as seeing a darker outline spot where the emblem was.
3. Most Tuners remove emblems on their cars. Carroll Shelby did on the 1965 and 1966 GT-350's, Chip Foose did on Speedbird, that he built for Ford to display at the SEMA show in Los Vagus. And SVC did on their black supercharged prototype.
4. When I got my car home the first night I noticed that there was a white thread on the side of the car. On closer examination I say that it was a thread from a towel that the dealership had used to clean the car for delivery. It had caught in the end of the D on the drivers side. The emblem was loose from the middle of the D through the tail of the D. I re-stuck the emblem but it was off the next morning. It appears as if the emblem is injection molded flat then stuck with the two sided sticky foam tape to a slightly rounded surface. Examining the emblem on the right side I noticed that the T was also further away from the body panel than the D on the other end of the emblem. I will do nothing to this car that can’t be un-done.
5. Having rebuilt a 1966 Mustang I am aware of what original emblems and lettering cost. Re-productions are relatively cheap, but aren’t as good as the original. The two sided sticky tape is available from a good body shop supply house, and all you need to do is trace the emblem on the tape and then get your Exacto knife out and you have an original perfect emblem.
The How:
1. Check with your friendly parts guy to see if there are alignment pins on the emblem to be removed, or look at the inside of the body panel where the emblem is to be sure that there are no holes drilled through the panel behind the emblem. Usually it is only large or heavy emblems that have alignment pins. If there are no alignment pins proceed.
2. Make sure the area around the emblem is clean and as dust free as possible.
3. Cut two or three two foot sections of monofilament fishing line 20 pound test or less.
4. Carefully feed the line into the foam tape between the emblem and the body panel. Wrap the line around one finger on each hand, holding the line away from the paint and use a sawing motion to pull the fishing line the length of the emblem. You will probably use several pieces of fishing line to get to the end.
5. Clean and dry your hands and use one finger to push the remaining tape off the painted body panel. It’s just like removing excess rubber cement when you glue something in a scrap book. It comes off in little balls.
6. Take rubbing alcohol mixed 50-50 with water and dip a soft lint free non abrasive cloth in the mixture of water and alcohol, and lightly clean the area. Do not rub too hard, this will take any adhesive residue off.
7. Use your favorite wax to re-wax the area where the emblem was.
Note: I’ve been doing this since the mid 80's whenever my wife or I got a new car. I have never had a problem. The alcohol mix was part of the directions for preparing the paint to put on tape stripes. The directions emphasized lightly. I am not a body man nor do I work in the automotive industry. There may be better products to remove any tape residue.
For emblems with alignment pins it is best to forget it. They don’t fall off as easy, as the alignment pins help to hold them on, and there might be clips on the alignment pins.
Furthermore you have holes to fill and paint.
On the 2003 T-Bird the Thunderbird logo on the front and trunk lid have alignment pins. The V-8 and Thunderbird script on the sides do not and can be removed by the owner. 😎
The Why:
1. In the mid-seventy’s when I was working on my masters degree I worked part time at an Exxon Station pumping gas. Some of the new cars were just coming out with the stick on emblems. While washing the windshield and checking the oil on a new Oldsmobile, and setting the handle on the gas hose to pump by itself, the tank spit back when the pump stopped, spilling a very small amount of gas. There was a stick on emblem around the trunk key hole, and it slowly slid off the car. I had to replace that emblem out of my pay, rightfully so. The amount of the gas spill was only one or two ounces, not even enough to leave more than a one inch diameter spot on the concrete under the car.
2. My step-father died three years ago and I started taking care of his/my mother’s car. When washing the car one of the emblems came off. It was the tape on molded plastic emblem, almost exactly like the Thunderbird and V-8 emblems on my car. The Car was a 1996, that they had not had four years yet. The car was always garage kept. They were both retired, and since he was in his 80's he didn’t go out in bad weather. The car was kept immaculate. The car had less than 20,000 miles. It was always serviced and repaired by the dealership, never in any accident of any kind, there weren’t even any door dents, or parking lot dings. When the emblem came off, you could see a faint shadow in the paint where the emblem was, and additionally, even though there was no white wax residue visible on the emblem or behind any of the others on the tape, there was a faint line where the edge of the adhesive was. After cleaning it and removing the wax lines you could feel a slight line in the clear coat, as well as seeing a darker outline spot where the emblem was.
3. Most Tuners remove emblems on their cars. Carroll Shelby did on the 1965 and 1966 GT-350's, Chip Foose did on Speedbird, that he built for Ford to display at the SEMA show in Los Vagus. And SVC did on their black supercharged prototype.
4. When I got my car home the first night I noticed that there was a white thread on the side of the car. On closer examination I say that it was a thread from a towel that the dealership had used to clean the car for delivery. It had caught in the end of the D on the drivers side. The emblem was loose from the middle of the D through the tail of the D. I re-stuck the emblem but it was off the next morning. It appears as if the emblem is injection molded flat then stuck with the two sided sticky foam tape to a slightly rounded surface. Examining the emblem on the right side I noticed that the T was also further away from the body panel than the D on the other end of the emblem. I will do nothing to this car that can’t be un-done.
5. Having rebuilt a 1966 Mustang I am aware of what original emblems and lettering cost. Re-productions are relatively cheap, but aren’t as good as the original. The two sided sticky tape is available from a good body shop supply house, and all you need to do is trace the emblem on the tape and then get your Exacto knife out and you have an original perfect emblem.
The How:
1. Check with your friendly parts guy to see if there are alignment pins on the emblem to be removed, or look at the inside of the body panel where the emblem is to be sure that there are no holes drilled through the panel behind the emblem. Usually it is only large or heavy emblems that have alignment pins. If there are no alignment pins proceed.
2. Make sure the area around the emblem is clean and as dust free as possible.
3. Cut two or three two foot sections of monofilament fishing line 20 pound test or less.
4. Carefully feed the line into the foam tape between the emblem and the body panel. Wrap the line around one finger on each hand, holding the line away from the paint and use a sawing motion to pull the fishing line the length of the emblem. You will probably use several pieces of fishing line to get to the end.
5. Clean and dry your hands and use one finger to push the remaining tape off the painted body panel. It’s just like removing excess rubber cement when you glue something in a scrap book. It comes off in little balls.
6. Take rubbing alcohol mixed 50-50 with water and dip a soft lint free non abrasive cloth in the mixture of water and alcohol, and lightly clean the area. Do not rub too hard, this will take any adhesive residue off.
7. Use your favorite wax to re-wax the area where the emblem was.
Note: I’ve been doing this since the mid 80's whenever my wife or I got a new car. I have never had a problem. The alcohol mix was part of the directions for preparing the paint to put on tape stripes. The directions emphasized lightly. I am not a body man nor do I work in the automotive industry. There may be better products to remove any tape residue.
For emblems with alignment pins it is best to forget it. They don’t fall off as easy, as the alignment pins help to hold them on, and there might be clips on the alignment pins.
Furthermore you have holes to fill and paint.
On the 2003 T-Bird the Thunderbird logo on the front and trunk lid have alignment pins. The V-8 and Thunderbird script on the sides do not and can be removed by the owner. 😎
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