Fender Badges - anyone changed theirs?

[SportySpace]

I cleaned the letters good and then masked off everything but the large textured rectangular area. I gave it 4 coats of PastiDip and then one coat of Glossifier. After it dried for about 30 minutes I began to peel it but I first used an Xacto knife and lightly scribed around the F-150 letters and also around the perimeter of the long skinny raised rectangle that has the Lariat letters. This was the second time I attempted it. The first time I learned that the small Lariat letters are hard to peel cleanly so I decided just to leave the PlastiDip on the entire rectangular area.

Perfect, appreciate the detailed rundown.
So in the end you ended up just coating just the F-150 lettering & the trim rectangle. I didn't think you had PlastiDip on the main boomerang part of your badge, but pictures can be deceiving.

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[antho]

Ford won’t sell you these exact Ford Performance ones unless your truck came with it. I don’t know why but I went back and forth with them, they won’t do it. However you can try to find someone who can make the same exact insert like that, to make it look exactly like that and get the rest of the fender assembly painted in gloss black. The badges come off those vent covers once you remove them off the truck. They’re plastic soldered behind it so just use a small dremel to grind them off, they just pop out.

@Nightshade
What F150 comes with Ford Performance Fender Badges?

 

[Nightshade]

@Nightshade
What F150 comes with Ford Performance Fender Badges?

The one that came with it, usually the lowered trucks like on the Ford’s Street Performance trucks. Not my photos attached but just to get an idea.

 

[antho]

The one that came with it, usually the lowered trucks like on the Ford’s Street Performance trucks. Not my photos attached but just to get an idea.

That was a concept at SEMA. It was literally a sticker over the badge. Ford Performance doesnt make these.

 

[sbi]

I cleaned the letters good and then masked off everything but the large textured rectangular area. I gave it 4 coats of PastiDip and then one coat of Glossifier. After it dried for about 30 minutes I began to peel it but I first used an Xacto knife and lightly scribed around the F-150 letters and also around the perimeter of the long skinny raised rectangle that has the Lariat letters. This was the second time I attempted it. The first time I learned that the small Lariat letters are hard to peel cleanly so I decided just to leave the PlastiDip on the entire rectangular area.

I did not know what X-Acto knife is, so thank you for that! Looks like this is the tool I need. I really, really need to delete chrome from my Lariat Sport truck. I thought about painting the F-150 Lariat on the fender badges in Space White, the same color of the truck, but I looked at it carefully yesterday and realized it would be an 'almost' impossible task to mask everything around it. I believe with X-Acto knife I will be able to do that.

 

[Nightshade]

That was a concept at SEMA. It was literally a sticker over the badge. Ford Performance doesnt make these.

Theres one sitting in my dealer right now, think it’s a Shelby with a obnoxious price tag (including “market adjustment”). When I was there, that’s when I found out the first time they won’t sell these badges to the public. Called Ford right after, got the same thing. Kept saying “Sorry, we don’t sell these to the public.” I was pretty pissed lol. I found a guy who can make identical ones. Here’s his render photo. Also the link below, Badge King, will make these for you. That’s his render photo and his Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/thebadgeking/

 

[Blue22]

Perfect, appreciate the detailed rundown.
So in the end you ended up just coating just the F-150 lettering & the trim rectangle. I didn't think you had PlastiDip on the main boomerang part of your badge, but pictures can be deceiving.

Not sure you can see it in the picture, but I masked off just inside the edge where the textured rectangle meets the smooth "boomerang". There's a small radius at the corners so I just squared them off with painters tape. I found out the first time that the textured surface made it hard for the Plasti Dip to create a clean edge when it met the letters as I was peeling it off. The second time I gave it a little help with the Xacto knife and it came out really nice. I may end up painting it, but for now it looks good enough.

 

[Nightshade]

Not sure you can see it in the picture, but I masked off just inside the edge where the textured rectangle meets the smooth "boomerang". There's a small radius at the corners so I just squared them off with painters tape. I found out the first time that the textured surface made it hard for the Plasti Dip to create a clean edge when it met the letters as I was peeling it off. The second time I gave it a little help with the Xacto knife and it came out really nice. I may end up painting it, but for now it looks good enough.

How hard was it to remove the entire fender assembly?

 

[Blue22]

How hard was it to remove the entire fender assembly?

They literally just pop off. I used a non-marring trim removal tool to remove them. I started by sliding it behind the top of the badge and started prying until I could see where one of the the clips were. Then I moved the trim tool beside the clip so I wouldn't crack the badge and pried it until it popped out. Then I moved to the next one and so on until they were all free. I think there may have been 4 or 5 of them. They are located along the top and along the side closest to the front of the truck. Along the edge closest to the door is double-sided tape, no clips.

 

[Nightshade]

They literally just pop off. I used a non-marring trim removal tool to remove them. I started by sliding it behind the top of the badge and started prying until I could see where one of the the clips were. Then I moved the trim tool beside the clip so I wouldn't crack the badge and pried it until it popped out. Then I moved to the next one and so on until they were all free. I think there may have been 4 or 5 of them. They are located along the top and along the side closest to the front of the truck. Along the edge closest to the door is double-sided tape, no clips.

Thank you! Looking to get the F-150 and LARIAT letters all painted in gloss black, this helps a lot!

 

[Blue22]

Not sure if posting an Etsy product link is frowned upon but before I Plasti Dip'd my fender badges I had been talking to a guy on Etsy about making vinyl letters to delete the chrome letters. Well, he messaged me this morning to let me know he now had them available. Although his listing is not completely finished with pictures of the actual product, he is currently taking orders. He will also do two colors (if you want the F-150 in black but the XLT or Lariat in another color). At this time he is only offering these for the XLT and Lariat trims but I am sure he could do others if requested. Plus he is offering free lifetime replacements if any of the letters fail. If I hadn't already blacked mine out I would definitely give these a shot and I think it would be perfect for those who are uncomfortable going the PlastiDip or HyperDip route. The only thing I am unsure of is whether the vinyl letters only cover the face of the letters or all sides.

Full Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with this seller and have no experience with any of his products.

Vinyl Fender Badge Letters

 

[sbi]

Thank you! Looking to get the F-150 and LARIAT letters all painted in gloss black, this helps a lot!

I am curious, how do you plan on painting it? I am looking to do the same thing.

 

[Nightshade]

I am curious, how do you plan on painting it? I am looking to do the same thing.

It’s pretty easy once it’s off the truck. Just dremel the plastic rivets behind the fender vents to release the fender badge then there will be a few more plastic rivets behind the fender badge, dremel that put too to release the letters. Prep is key so sand (in steps), get it prepped for paint, paint then hit it with 2K clear. Then after a few hours of cure time/overnight, use gorilla or plastic permanent glue to put it all back togetherand you’re done!

It’s pretty easy as I’ve seen a few people have done this, I’ve also seen someone just completely remove the fender badge off, filled in the holes so it’s one piece then colour matched the entire fender vent. Someone just replaced the fender badge on the vents, which seems to be the easier way but it kinda looks cheap to me a bit because they always pop out above the fender vent, it just looks weird. Possibilities are endless!

edit; you could just order in the new BAP fender vents, they’re all blacked out now and is an easy way for everyone to just swap the entire fender vent. Warning; won’t be cheap lol, they only sell PER side not in pairs.

 

[sbi]

It’s pretty easy once it’s off the truck. Just dremel the plastic rivets behind the fender vents to release the fender badge then there will be a few more plastic rivets behind the fender badge, dremel that put too to release the letters. Prep is key so sand (in steps), get it prepped for paint, paint then hit it with 2K clear. Then after a few hours of cure time/overnight, use gorilla or plastic permanent glue to put it all back togetherand you’re done!

It’s pretty easy as I’ve seen a few people have done this, I’ve also seen someone just completely remove the fender badge off, filled in the holes so it’s one piece then colour matched the entire fender vent. Someone just replaced the fender badge on the vents, which seems to be the easier way but it kinda looks cheap to me a bit because they always pop out above the fender vent, it just looks weird. Possibilities are endless!

edit; you could just order in the new BAP fender vents, they’re all blacked out now and is an easy way for everyone to just swap the entire fender vent. Warning; won’t be cheap lol, they only sell PER side not in pairs.

Thanks. I saw on YT how they dremel out the Ford on the grill/tailgate emblem but not in the fender ones, couldn't find anything on that on YT.
I am looking to spend as little money as possible, I want to match the F-150 and Lariat with the truck's color, and perhaps the vents too,

 

[Nightshade]

Thanks. I saw on YT how they dremel out the Ford on the grill/tailgate emblem but not in the fender ones, couldn't find anything on that on YT.
I am looking to spend as little money as possible, I want to match the F-150 and Lariat with the truck's color, and perhaps the vents too,

You’re welcome and definitely do it yourself to keep it cost effective! I agree with color matched but with my truck being carbonized grey, makes it an easy choice to black out the chrome!

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