How to de-badge BMW badges?

L

Leon.

Member
Hi,

I have an Alipna Roadster, and want to replace the 4 exterior BMW badges for Alpina badges.

I read that the front is attached via bolts (accessible via the grill), the 2 wing badges via double sided tape, and the rear is a push fit.

What's the best way to remove them, i.e. tools and methods etc? Do the front grills just pop off?

Also, it seems that I can't get genuine Alpina badges, which is a shame, so it's off to eBay - although there do seem to be good quality ones on there... So, not 100% sure what type of badges I need, I'm guessing:
Front - flat back with self adhesive? As I probably won't be able to get the correct bolted one...?
Wings - flat back with self adhesive?
Rear - flat back with pins?

Any help greatly appreciated 8)
 
You've got all the methods of attachment correct. I used dental floss to remove the two side Z4 badges, just slide some between the badge and the car body, and saw gently back & forth, you'll get the feel right away. It then takes a little peeling clean up to remove the remaining adhesive. Some have used Goo-Off or similar to help with final residue. Badges on the side turn signals come off the same way.
The front badge is held on with two threading nuts that you can access by removing the grills. The grills just pull out. Lifting up while you pull also helps. You can then reach up and feel the two threading nuts. They thread on plastic posts from on backside of the badge.
The trunk is a press fit, two small posts press fit into plastic grommets. You need to gently pry it off, without damaging the paint, so put something soft between the paint and your implement of destruction. Pry slowly and gently, tyrying different places. It will come off. Once you get a small edge up it comes off easy.
It seems that many, if not all of the badges on ebay require some creative mod to fit the specific location. Sometimes you have to cut off pins where you dont need them, sometimes you have to remove quite a bit of plastic from the back of the badge to fit correctly. A Dremel can be your best friend. I believe there are quite a few posts on this subject.
I used 3M double sided tape to attach all new badges (Carbon fiber), others have used silicone adhesive.
Good luck, have fun.
 
http://www.autotintdesign.com/

This company do a range of Alpina badges, worth a look perhaps. And WD40 will clean up the residue when you remove the old badges.
 
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