[PEKO87]

So I decided to de-badge and de-trim my car today...a little project to say. I love the way my car looks now, so fresh and clean....here is my .02 on my "adventure"... lol.

Time: 1.5hrs (letters, bow-tie and all trim)
Mod level: Easy-As-Pie
Tools used:
blow dryer
flat head screwdriver
Turtle Wax: Bug and Tar Remover
piece of the trim(will explain)

I started off by heating the letters up with a blow dryer. Was going to go get a cheapy heat gun but my father in law said that you gotta be careful with it and the paint...but the blow dryer worked just fine. I heated each letter up for approx 1-1.5 minutes. Then I used the flat head screwdriver(and VERY CAREFULLY) to pull the edges up enough to pull them off with my hand. Then peeled the rest of the tape off with my hand. The bow-tie took a little more heat and time to get off. After I got the rear done, badges and tape, I used the bug and tar remover to get the surface clean. Took 2-3 applications to get it completely clean. The side trim was easier, but a little more time consuming because of the surface area. A little tip if you are going to do this: take off one of the smaller strips from the rear quarter panel(not sure how the 4-door is setup, so you might want to cut a piece off) and use it to pull up the excess tape. Use the factory end when doing so. This will NOT hurt your paint, it is made of a workable rubber. This will save your fingers immensly. All I did was heat up about 6 inches of one end, and pulled the end up enough to grab it with my hand. Then pull away, but slowly! haha...After all four pieces were off, I went back and did the same steps as before with the bug and tar remover on the rear. Finally I gave her a good wash. I was going to/need to wax her too but its suppose to rain tonight/tomorrow. Hope to get a good wax tomorrow if the forcast was wrong. Overall, I love the look. This was a good little project and had fun with it...

PICS:

Rear before

sides before ^&v

done-ish

getting that damn tape off...

rear almost done...

off...

Using the piece of trim to scrape off the excess tape

Cleaning w/ bug and tar remover

sides done...^&v

Rear done ^&v

 

[BigZem23]

that looks nice...drop the car to the ground and that thing will look insane!!! i shaved all but trim and u just gave me that idea and i like how it looks ha, think thats going to be a spring project ha

 

[PEKO87]

Thanks bro. Yeah I know it needs a drop but I also need new suspension. Going to get all new koni suspension and sportlines whenever I get my tax return money. It will look insane then!

 

[Admin]

Moved this to the DIY section.. Thanks for the writeup

 

[BigZem23]

i want to sell my rims cuz i already have the sportlines, next is new coilovers, but i want 20's for the car, same look but just bigger...i used to be in for speed and handling, now just looks and the 17s arent doing it for me, if you know anyone that wants 4 rims with like 15% tires check out my pics, im gunna get some close ups on prob tomorrow

 

[rb513]

post pics of them! i may be interested

 

[Snake890217]

nice, white looks great!!

 

[cobaltss86]

good job i did my trunk and move the ss trim above the trunk lock i like it

 

[PEKO87]

Well I didn't intend for this post to be a diy install guide, but ok, cool! I just wanted to share my lil project with everyone...lol.

Yeah I love my 20's, but sometimes wish I had 17's or 18's. It's a pain having to watch out for every little bump in the road! But I love how many heads I turn with em! The neighborhood kids are always askin me questions about my car, especially now that it sounds great with my tsudo exhaust.

 

[BigZem23]

rb513 ill post after i get out of work

 

[BigZem23]

is there a big difference in the speedo with the 20's on it?!?

 

[PEKO87]

Yeah...I think its around 5mph, but not sure. Guess I should have someone drive along side of me to find out. LOL. I just try to stay 5 under and seems to be about right with the rest of the traffic.

 

[AndrewTTD]

cool thanks for the idea. i just did this today lol and it looks great.. im gonna be putting pics up sometime soon

 

[DiogoDC]

no need to drop it just get lip extensions or a lower kit 09 ss style? looks pretty nice all clean like that white looks intense!

 

[JDBALT06]

this is a great diy did it to mine took like an hour and what a difference thanks

 

[stealthbomber]

my cobalt is all black would it still be cool to use the bug and tar remover, and what kind did you use? some have told me to try "goo be gone" but im hesitant cause i dont want my paint to fade or mess up. what do you think?