Removing Black Badge Overlays

I don't like the black overlays on the "4Runner" and Sombrero on the rear of mine...I know those are just stuck on with 3M tape, has anyone removed them and found the original chrome below NOT ruined?

 

Watching thread, good question, dito

 

Yes! I pulled them off gently on a warm day. Used my fingernails to get most of the tape sticky off, then put goo-gone on a paper towel and blotted it. Took a bit of time, but it’s good as new now. Be sure to wash the area afterwards as per the instructions.

 

Great! I was hoping that would be the case, but didn't want to dig in blind.

 

Gently warm them with a heat gun first. The tape on them is very thin compared to regular badges. Should be able to pop them off and clean up any residual adhesive.

 

We bought wifey a gorgeous pre-owned Toyota Certified 2023 RAV4 XLE Premium Hybrid AWD last month. Only bad thing about it, it had those black overlays on the emblems. She wanted them gone.

Second day of ownership I took them off. I used my heat gun to warm them up just a bit. They pulled off rather easily. I used mineral spirits (sparingly) to clean the gummy residue off. Looks great.

 

Should look like new after you take them off. Definitely do in warmer weather and heat them up.

 

Took about an hour, but I got them off! (Except the sombrero, that's a job for another day, my fingers are raw.)

 

Great question...ill be doing this too. Apparently someone installed them on a leased vehicle, which is what i bought. I prefer the chrome. Although the blacked out center front emblem is starting to grow on me...

BTW, cool license plate

 

Thanks! I wish my state offered a black background with white letters like so many other states seem to now. Tip for when you remove yours--let the car sit in the sun so they are nice and warm. That and a hair dryer were enough for me--I didn't trust myself with a heat gun! Be careful that you don't accidentally pry up the chrome letter below. Once you get a corner of the black part loose, carefully grab it with some needle nosed pliers and pull gently with one hand while you hold the chrome letter down with the other. I used a credit card to scrap off as much of the leftover adhesive as I could, and used Goo Gone on a microfiber towel for the rest.

 

How does one get a 3 digit plate

 

In my case, I just requested it like any vanity plate. But where I grew up, the governor handed out the first 1000 numbers, and because my stepmother worked in the government, one of our family cars had #541. That car got handed down to me as my first one, and when I moved here I requested the same number.

 

You mentioned in your other thread that these were port installed. Are you sure they're overlays?

 

They were....granted they were installed a lot better than the overlays I did myself on one of my last ones.