Blackout Badge/Emblem Replacement Questions

[Moosetang]

Now that I have had my 2018 GT for a few weeks now, I am ready to start doing some work on it. First up is to replace all the chrome badges with gloss black. The parts have been ordered and should be arriving in the next day or so. I plan to do the swap this weekend, most likely Saturday afternoon. I have read/watched a decent amount of material on the subject and I am fairly confident in the actual process. That being said, I do have a couple questions that I would like to get information on before attempting this.

Many instructions mention the use of Goo Gone or similar materials to remove leftover adhesive from the 5.0 side badges. Also, rubbing alcohol to clean and prep all areas where badges will be stuck on (sides, grill and deck lid). Is there any risk in using these materials on the car's paint? Are there any materials I should avoid using?

Also, is there a period of time that I should avoid exposing the car to the elements after installing these new badges? At this time there is no rain forecast for that day but you never know (should be rain the previous day so roads may be wet). I am mostly concerned about road spray and dirt/debris if I were to drive it too soon after adhering the new badges. Is there any risk associated with this or am I being too overly cautious?

Thanks in advance for any opinions/advice. If anyone who has done this swap before has any tips or tricks I would be happy to hear those as well.

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[KewlWinter]

Now that I have had my 2018 GT for a few weeks now, I am ready to start doing some work on it. First up is to replace all the chrome badges with gloss black. The parts have been ordered and should be arriving in the next day or so. I plan to do the swap this weekend, most likely Saturday afternoon. I have read/watched a decent amount of material on the subject and I am fairly confident in the actual process. That being said, I do have a couple questions that I would like to get information on before attempting this.

Many instructions mention the use of Goo Gone or similar materials to remove leftover adhesive from the 5.0 side badges. Also, rubbing alcohol to clean and prep all areas where badges will be stuck on (sides, grill and deck lid). Is there any risk in using these materials on the car's paint? Are there any materials I should avoid using?

Also, is there a period of time that I should avoid exposing the car to the elements after installing these new badges? At this time there is no rain forecast for that day but you never know (should be rain the previous day so roads may be wet). I am mostly concerned about road spray and dirt/debris if I were to drive it too soon after adhering the new badges. Is there any risk associated with this or am I being too overly cautious?

Thanks in advance for any opinions/advice. If anyone who has done this swap before has any tips or tricks I would be happy to hear those as well.

No problem with using the Goo Gone to remove residue adhesive. After the Goo Gone, soap and water to clean, then alcohol to prep the area. I personally recommend using adhesion promoter for the best bond. I dont know if the emblems come with the double sided tape already on them, but if not, check that the provided tape is 3M. Anything else and its like playing Russian Roulette. Not as much a concern for emblems and badges, but once you get to side scoops and other larger pieces, there is no substitute. If you cleaned and prepped well, applied appropriate pressure to the piece to "set" the tape completely to the surface, and did your application in appropriate temperatures, then you will have no problem with doing your normal detailing and driving routine.

I've done many emblems, scoops, louvers, etc... and NEVER had anything come off.

 

[Moosetang]

No problem with using the Goo Gone to remove residue adhesive. After the Goo Gone, soap and water to clean, then alcohol to prep the area. I personally recommend using adhesion promoter for the best bond. I dont know if the emblems come with the double sided tape already on them, but if not, check that the provided tape is 3M. Anything else and its like playing Russian Roulette. Not as much a concern for emblems and badges, but once you get to side scoops and other larger pieces, there is no substitute. If you cleaned and prepped well, applied appropriate pressure to the piece to "set" the tape completely to the surface, and did your application in appropriate temperatures, then you will have no problem with doing your normal detailing and driving routine.

I've done many emblems, scoops, louvers, etc... and NEVER had anything come off.

Great, thanks for the info! The emblems came in yesterday and it looks like they are using the 3M tape, so that is certainly good news.

 

[David Schmidt]

I did mine last weekend with CJ PonyParts videos as a guide. Good excuse to get a new variable output heat gun. No surprises, and the badges look fantastic.

[Edit] Well, one surprise - I pulled the rear decklid completely off, and found that the GT emblem on the back had posts that were heat welded instead of using the little clips. I didn't want those clips rattling around, so I wasn't planning on just breaking them off as Bill from CJ suggested. No matter, I drilled them out and soldiered on.

 

[Brettski]

I’ve seen a lot of aftermarket black badges, and with some of them the numbers are not an exact factory match. Others seem awfully expensive for what I assume is a piece of plastic. Has anyone found an exact factory match that’s not $150 for 4 pieces of plastic? I’d be ok with something more upscale than plastic at that price.

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