Has anyone debranded their Leaf?

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mux

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 13, 2018
Messages
350
I wonder how hard and/or reversible it is to remove all lettering and branding off of the car. I kind of want to do some extreme aeromodding, and stuff like the 'zero emission' lettering on the side, as well as the Nissan badge up front really don't help. I'd rather just remove all lettering and external elements that aren't absolutely necessary for the basic functioning of the car. For aesthetic consistency also in places where it really doesn't matter for aerodynamics. I like a clean looking car.

I've yet to find reports of people doing this, does anyone here know of instances of people doing this?
 
I was thinking the same thing and I also haven't seen any modified cars around here (there are a lot of Leaf's in town...)

I assume it is the standard adhesive holding the letters on but since the chances of finding a Leaf in a local boneyard to test this theory are 0% I haven't tried it on my own car yet.
 
mux said:
I wonder how hard and/or reversible it is to remove all lettering and branding off of the car. I kind of want to do some extreme aeromodding, and stuff like the 'zero emission' lettering on the side, as well as the Nissan badge up front really don't help. I'd rather just remove all lettering and external elements that aren't absolutely necessary for the basic functioning of the car. For aesthetic consistency also in places where it really doesn't matter for aerodynamics. I like a clean looking car.

I've yet to find reports of people doing this, does anyone here know of instances of people doing this?

Mostly easy on the two I've had (2012 and 2015); the lettering and badges are held on with soft adhesive you can "saw" through easily with dental floss or, better yet, monofilament fishing line (it's tougher). Any remaining adhesive can be wiped away; I've used WD 40 with no ill effects; just made sure to wash it afterward.

The front badge is more complicated. The charge hatch has a molded recess. You can still remove the badge but the recessed depression will be left behind. You could fill it of course.
 
Interesting idea.

I'm also on a Mercedes forum. That is the only spot where I've encountered stories of debadging or 'posing'.
- Debadging is just as you described. People will remove the AMG and the 63 number and other tell-tale signs of it being an AMG so they can lure BMWs into trying to race them. :lol:
- Posing is when non-Mercedes cars have their badges remove and replaced with Mercedes. There have been many comical results posted. :roll:

I've never done it myself. Though one of my cars (not Nissan) was debadged by the previous owner. I think Nubo has the right solution.
 
Hmm... I've always wanted to drive a Mercedes Volkswagen Lamborghini Renault Jaguar Tesla... Time to do some posing :)
 
On the race trolling angle that the AMG'rs do, it would be cool to take a Tesla with the insane acceleration options and replace the body with an old Lincoln towncar or other stodgy build. That would be an awesome prank. Of course, it would be sadly expensive considering what Tesla wants for their car.
 
DarthPuppy said:
I'm also on a Mercedes forum. That is the only spot where I've encountered stories of debadging or 'posing'.
I've definitely heard of debadging outside Mercedes or German car circles.

Google for debadging site:my350z.com. (I used to be active on my350z.com long ago, as I had one for almost 8 years.)

I've also seen some "purists" replace their badges with the names their vehicle would sell with in Japan. Memory foggy on this but I think I've seen some US Infinti G35's changed to Nissan Skyline and some Nissan 240SX changed to Nissan Sylvia.
 
DarthPuppy said:
On the race trolling angle that the AMG'rs do, it would be cool to take a Tesla with the insane acceleration options and replace the body with an old Lincoln towncar or other stodgy build. That would be an awesome prank. Of course, it would be sadly expensive considering what Tesla wants for their car.

The Model 3 already looks a lot like a Neon....
 
i sawed my badges off with floss (took a lot of pieces because it kept breaking) and i used a heat gun to warm the tape/badge up first. afterwards it was a lot of elbow grease and adhesive remover to get the remaining marks off the car. took off the side badges and the rear badges. i left the large nissan badges from and back.

here is a random shot that shows what it looks like with the badges and mud flaps gone
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bgtz0navq2qu38Ry2


Marko
 
cwerdna said:
DarthPuppy said:
I'm also on a Mercedes forum. That is the only spot where I've encountered stories of debadging or 'posing'.
I've definitely heard of debadging outside Mercedes or German car circles.

In Europe, at least Germany, I believe you can order your car de-badged. My rental 2009 VW Golf TDI was de-badged. I seriously doubt the previous renter went through that trouble.

I've also seen some "purists" replace their badges with the names their vehicle would sell with in Japan. Memory foggy on this but I think I've seen some US Infinti G35's changed to Nissan Skyline and some Nissan 240SX changed to Nissan Sylvia.

Actually, it's Silvia. It's particularly popular with the "JDM' crowd.
 
Oh, yeah, some luxury brands offer de-branding as options, but it's ridiculous. You pay $500 to have your AMG badges removed. Just a way to fleece rich people, pretty much.

Thanks for the pics, estomax, that looks really clean.
 
estomax said:
i sawed my badges off with floss (took a lot of pieces because it kept breaking) and i used a heat gun to warm the tape/badge up first. afterwards it was a lot of elbow grease and adhesive remover to get the remaining marks off the car. took off the side badges and the rear badges. i left the large nissan badges from and back.

here is a random shot that shows what it looks like with the badges and mud flaps gone
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bgtz0navq2qu38Ry2


Marko

I found it helpful to ball up the adhesive and use that to pull and rub remaining adhesive off the car. This left only small bits which I got off easily with a cloth moistened with WD 40. Then washed to remove any solvent traces.
 
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