Awkward badge on Porsche cayman
Discussion
Hi all, I purchased a lovely Porsche Cayman this year and it’s absolutely brilliant. There’s one little niggle though and rather vainly, it’s a cosmetic issue that I just can’t get my head past… the previous (and only other) owner had a Porsche crest added to the bootlid and moved the Cayman badge down onto the bumper.
I thought it could be removed easily but the dealer said it was installed ‘properly’ (i.e the same way the bonnet badges are installed, with holes drilled through the metal). Also, I tried removing the cayman plastic badge but it seems to have been superglued onto the bumper so has a bit of a mess beneath that won’t budge with tar remove etc…
What would your approach be to get these sorted? Is it a full bootlid and bumper respray or are there other options (please don’t just say “yes, ignore it!”). For such a small thing and on a car that’s not worth vast sums I’m loathed to spend a lot of money but it’s also taking some of the shine off my car.
Thanks in advance
I thought it could be removed easily but the dealer said it was installed ‘properly’ (i.e the same way the bonnet badges are installed, with holes drilled through the metal). Also, I tried removing the cayman plastic badge but it seems to have been superglued onto the bumper so has a bit of a mess beneath that won’t budge with tar remove etc…
What would your approach be to get these sorted? Is it a full bootlid and bumper respray or are there other options (please don’t just say “yes, ignore it!”). For such a small thing and on a car that’s not worth vast sums I’m loathed to spend a lot of money but it’s also taking some of the shine off my car.
Thanks in advance
Unless you would be happy with 2? small [painted] plastic blanking plugs in the drilled holes you'll need to respray the panel.
Superglue? Unlikely they would fit the badge properly and not the lettering?
Lettering is normally held on with 3M foam adhesive and can be easily removed with a hot air gun/hair dryer and thin fishing line or even dental floss without damaging the paint underneath.
Impossible to determine without actually seeing it. I would seek the advice of a local bodyshop, smart repairer or detailer.
Pics of the rest of the car required!
Superglue? Unlikely they would fit the badge properly and not the lettering?
Lettering is normally held on with 3M foam adhesive and can be easily removed with a hot air gun/hair dryer and thin fishing line or even dental floss without damaging the paint underneath.
Impossible to determine without actually seeing it. I would seek the advice of a local bodyshop, smart repairer or detailer.
Pics of the rest of the car required!
5s Alive said:
Unless you would be happy with 2? small [painted] plastic blanking plugs in the drilled holes you'll need to respray the panel.
Superglue? Unlikely they would fit the badge properly and not the lettering?
Lettering is normally held on with 3M foam adhesive and can be easily removed with a hot air gun/hair dryer and thin fishing line or even dental floss without damaging the paint underneath.
Impossible to determine without actually seeing it. I would seek the advice of a local bodyshop, smart repairer or detailer.
Pics of the rest of the car required!
Thanks for this. Having just removed the boot trim I can confirm it’s definitely “fitted”: Superglue? Unlikely they would fit the badge properly and not the lettering?
Lettering is normally held on with 3M foam adhesive and can be easily removed with a hot air gun/hair dryer and thin fishing line or even dental floss without damaging the paint underneath.
Impossible to determine without actually seeing it. I would seek the advice of a local bodyshop, smart repairer or detailer.
Pics of the rest of the car required!
I think I could live with it being plugged with colour matched plugs if it was done well. Is this something I could ask a Bodyshop to look at doing?
Barely had a chance to get any good photos yet! Here’s one taken before having the calipers returned to grey.
And here’s the mess underneath the cayman badge. Sadly doesn’t appear to have just been applied with 3M tape!
Badge actually sealed against water ingress but followed up by bodged lettering. 
There is probably a huge variety of plastic plugs available that could be adapted to fit, preferably also then sealed against water ingress when fitted. Something so small could be painted with several layers from a touch-up pen then carefully polished smooth by hand with a mild abrasive compound before fitting. If this looks terrible you can always fill and respray later.
The lettering may need [very carefully!] wet sanded with a very fine grit paper before machine polishing back to the bumpers original glossy finish. Machine polishing alone may get it off and I would always try the least aggressive methods first.
If there is hard or gritty debris stuck to the paint then the above could damage it but it may be possible to remove the residue with a denibbing blade first. [Google Festool denibber].
If you're unsure about any of this then get some professional advice, some of the detailing guys can work miracles.
There is probably a huge variety of plastic plugs available that could be adapted to fit, preferably also then sealed against water ingress when fitted. Something so small could be painted with several layers from a touch-up pen then carefully polished smooth by hand with a mild abrasive compound before fitting. If this looks terrible you can always fill and respray later.
The lettering may need [very carefully!] wet sanded with a very fine grit paper before machine polishing back to the bumpers original glossy finish. Machine polishing alone may get it off and I would always try the least aggressive methods first.
If there is hard or gritty debris stuck to the paint then the above could damage it but it may be possible to remove the residue with a denibbing blade first. [Google Festool denibber].
If you're unsure about any of this then get some professional advice, some of the detailing guys can work miracles.
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