How Do I Detail/Maintain This..........

[McMo]

I just swapped out my 250 for a 150 because I no longer needed the heavy truck. The 150 is the Platinum edition that comes with some kind of a decorative panel on the tail gate. What appears to be the same material is used in several other locations around the truck, including the front grill.

 

How do I maintain this? Can it be polished? I doesn't look like clear coat finish. I would also like to remove the dealer badge but am afraid of causing damage.

 

 

[Ricky Bobby]

Its clearcoated but matte clearcoat, I would just seal it like regular paint.

 

Basically the opposite of clearcoated "chrome" plastic

Edited May 14, 2015 by Ricky Bobby

[rkj4243]

To remove the dealer badge without damage, use a heat gun to warm it up. and some fishing line behind the badge. Work it back and forth, along the whole badge and it should come off without any issue.

 

If there is some "glue type" residue, that can be cleaned up, and then the whole tailgate polished, sealed, or waxed similar to regular painted surfaces.

[jlav013]

A heat gun and some fishing line would probably be your best bet for removing the dealer badge.

[McMo]

Thanks for the responses. I am OK with badge removal, I was just concerned with doing it on this stuff.

 

Can this be machine polished?

[SYMAWD]

To remove the dealer badge without damage, use a heat gun to warm it up. and some fishing line behind the badge. Work it back and forth, along the whole badge and it should come off without any issue.

 

If there is some "glue type" residue, that can be cleaned up, and then the whole tailgate polished, sealed, or waxed similar to regular painted surfaces.

I would not polish a matte surface.

[McMo]

Does anyone own one of these, or has worked on one, who can give me specifics on how to detail it? It has some light scratching on it and Matt's opinion ^^^ is he would not polish a matte surface. This would then rule out de-badging as well.

[TheBurninator]

Does anyone own one of these, or has worked on one, who can give me specifics on how to detail it? It has some light scratching on it and Matt's opinion ^^^ is he would not polish a matte surface. This would then rule out de-badging as well.

 

This wouldn't rule it out, it just means you have to be more careful when pulling the badge off. You'll have to carefully remove the adhesive and then clay any remaining outlines instead of polishing. The truck is new enough that it shouldn't be an issue.

[Ricky Bobby]

Honestly remove the dealer badge now.  The adhesive is extremely soft and not bonded as much when the vehicle is new.  You may have a minimal amount of residue.

 

Just heat it up with a hair dryer or park it in the sun, and try to lift an edge with your fingernail.  If its stubborn, get out the dental floss.

 

My wifes Rav4 was new in 2011 and 5 months after she bought it, I literally had all her badges removed in 5 mins with hair dryer and no floss needed, it came off with my fingers, carefully.  Then I wiped down with Detail Spray because there was no adhesive left.

[kvas51]

I used the fishing line methoud mentioned above to remove all my badges. It works great. I had a ton of residue and heated it and removed as much as possible with my hands then used goo gone. This will strip all sealants so be prepared to reseal or wax after it is cleaned off.

[BitterGreg]

I use the fishing line, but I pre soak the badge with the automotive goo gone. It was a breeze to get off. Also putting some on a MF wiped off the let over residue with no more pressure than wiping up spilled water with a napkin.