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      01-15-2020, 06:02 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sayemthree View Post
did you pull the emblems off the vents to wrap them or just do it on the car ?
did it on the car - pre-cut the inclined bit to the right angle and then used a sharp knofe to cut round the other 3 sides afterwards using the crevice as a guide (and you dont risk a scratch that way)
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      01-18-2020, 12:11 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by AlpineWhite_SJ View Post
Some people like being a bit more stealth/sleeper to the average public. Plenty of people have no idea how to distinguish an M model from a regular model of the series so it can cut down the drama with the haters. And it makes it easier to surprise all the speed racers who think they’ve got a hot shit car and don’t know they’re looking at anything other than a BMW SUV. The ones who know just give you the approving nod.

It’s also how all the fake badge people think they’re cool - a good portion of the public doesn’t know any better. But an enthusiast can spot it a mile away.
I agree, but I think most people are just flat oblivious to anything around them. Too busy with their Starbucks in one hand & cell phone in the other. That said, I remember years ago, having an M-badged 3 series come up on me while I was driving our E36 M3. Guy wouldn't make eye contact with me.
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      01-31-2020, 08:16 AM   #25
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Originally Posted by sayemthree View Post
I am looking to either D badge or black out the emblems on the front grill and on the two side vents on the front fenders . It appears like the front grill is a special part that includes the support for the badge so it is not so simple to remove
I've also wanted to blacken the chrome letters/numbers on our fake breather vents and front grill even before it arrived in Sep. IMO it doesn't make sense to have those stand out in chrome when all other lettering and numbering on the Comp series is in gloss black (except for the rear Competition which many of us de-badge). As I haven't seen any offerings from vendors for an easy way to accomplish this, I considered wrap but as I want to keep the M tri-color logo visible that might prove difficult to keep on with the seams on either side of it.

So after a fair amount of research I ordered this oil-based paint marker from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Forney-70819-...0477388&sr=8-2

It's received a lot of good reviews, and at only $7 I figured if it didn't work as planned for my X3MC then at least I have a heavy duty marker in my tool set. As I have my Competition badge removed it provided a perfect control on which to practice. As the reviews indicate, need to be careful to shake with the top on, as otherwise apparently the tip can fall out and the paint will splatter everywhere. To start the paint flowing into the tip simply push down to where it retracts into the pen and absorbs the paint. It held the paint well without dripping and was easy to apply. I practiced first on the chrome box before the 'Competition', applying a thin coat which smoothed nicely. After it dried I tried a second coat but that seemed to cause it to dissolve the first layer in some areas and made the surface irregular with too much in some areas, and some areas where the chrome became slightly visible. I then tried on the 'n' by just applying a moderate amount in one pass and it smoothed well and left a gloss very similar to the surrounding black of the badge.

I wasn't sure what to do with the slight raised edges of the lettering and square as I didn't want to get any on the surrounding black background, but it looks like I'm going to need to as even subtle over-covering of that edge reflects the light differently and makes it look less sharp. I used a toothpick dipped in acetone and was able to clear up the edge but then that slight amount of chrome shows, so I think it'll be best to cover those edges well with the first pass, and then use toothpicks (or wood stick cuticle pushers +/- Q-tips for larger areas) dipped in either acetone or paint thinner to remove from the flat background.

I also wanted to check it's durability, so I rubbed on different substances with a paper towel (3M household lubricating oil, WD40, windex, and soapy water) and no trace of paint was removed on any of the attempts.

Wanting to make sure I could return it to OEM if needed, I used paint thinner and was able to completely remove the paint easily, completely back to baseline, without any damage to the plastic badge (see the chrome square before the 'Competition' in the lower left two images, which was after I removed the paint from that area.

So I'm going to give this a try when I get a chance and will share images. One caveat on the front badge - as it will be prone to mechanical trauma and insect splatter, petroleum distillate-containing bug removers probably should be avoided as I suspect it would remove the paint (I didn't try that as I don't have any). I did try some Turtle Wax 'new' Bug Remover which does not smell like it has any petroleum in it (and it states fine for all finishes), and it didn't remove any of the paint.

For $7 and zero chance of damaging the badges seems like it might be a reasonable solution for those of us wishing to black out the chrome badges. I'll post back before and after images when I get a chance to apply it.
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      01-31-2020, 09:34 AM   #26
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that is the fastest kitchen drawer i have ever seen!
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      01-31-2020, 09:37 AM   #27
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Originally Posted by kzg1969 View Post
that is the fastest kitchen drawer i have ever seen!
I wanted to check out the ergonomics of painting it at roughly the same height as the fake breather ones, as well as having it vertical so I could check for paint dripping/sagging.
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      01-31-2020, 12:21 PM   #28
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Yup! you can pull apart the side vents with ease, there's barely any adhesive tape.

As for the badge in the grille it's even easier, I pulled mine off and added in the black chrome one. Lmk if you want some pics but just adhesive on the back.
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      01-31-2020, 03:10 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by crst4s View Post
I have this grill on order. Cost was $93 from Amazon. Picture and description indicates M split spokes with no badge. It is coming from China. You could also look for similar on ebay.
That grille isn't the same as the M one on the car now. The very side of the vents aren't open and are closed. This is going to hinder cooling.
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      01-31-2020, 11:01 PM   #30
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Originally Posted by David Hurng View Post
Yup! you can pull apart the side vents with ease, there's barely any adhesive tape.

As for the badge in the grille it's even easier, I pulled mine off and added in the black chrome one. Lmk if you want some pics but just adhesive on the back.
where did you get the black chrome grille badge?
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      01-31-2020, 11:02 PM   #31
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Originally Posted by Max Well View Post
I wanted to check out the ergonomics of painting it at roughly the same height as the fake breather ones, as well as having it vertical so I could check for paint dripping/sagging.
pics of the grille badge and vents badges when blacked out ? please?
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      02-01-2020, 06:03 AM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crst4s View Post
I have this grill on order. Cost was $93 from Amazon. Picture and description indicates M split spokes with no badge. It is coming from China. You could also look for similar on ebay.
I bought these from the same seller for the m40 and just installed them. I'd say that although paint was not 100% perfect (you need to be really really close to tell) fitment was fine. I'll try and snap a few pictures.
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      02-01-2020, 08:41 AM   #33
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Originally Posted by GT500R View Post
That grille isn't the same as the M one on the car now. The very side of the vents aren't open and are closed. This is going to hinder cooling.
I did notice that but not sure it will actually make much difference. Airflow tolerances must be quite broad. For example, radar for adaptive cruise looks to block a significant portion of the lower grill. I do not have adaptive cruise. And, of course, the grill badge itself will impede airflow.
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      02-01-2020, 01:18 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sayemthree View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Hurng View Post
Yup! you can pull apart the side vents with ease, there's barely any adhesive tape.

As for the badge in the grille it's even easier, I pulled mine off and added in the black chrome one. Lmk if you want some pics but just adhesive on the back.
where did you get the black chrome grille badge?
Hey! The black chrome was from IND. short story long I ordered the m stripped grills but didn't think they worked well for my car so I swapped back to black grilles and moved the badge over. [IMG]none[/IMG]
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      02-01-2020, 05:25 PM   #35
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Originally Posted by sayemthree View Post
pics of the grille badge and vents badges when blacked out ? please?
As 'proof of concept' would say it is a success. Took 18 minutes in total to apply the painter's tape as a precautionary step and then the oil paint. I haven't spent much time cleaning up around the letters/numbers but it doesn't look like it needs much. I bought three 75 cent cuticle wooden push tools so I can dip the ends in paint thinner to clean it up later if I wish. The reason you see the small paint brush - the front grill badge becomes 3D as it curves so the sides of the X and the 3 which face each other are deep. So I just kept pushing the paint tip down on some aluminum foil to develop a small drop which I then picked up with the brush to paint those deeper inner sides.

Only thing I would do differently - make sure you have good lighting as mine wasn't good since it was cloudy and misty outside so I applied in the garage. I should've spent a few more minutes to set up appropriate lighting, but for $7 and less than 30 min of my time, I'm pleased I no longer have the chrome 'X3M' sticking out from the rest of the Comp elements.
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      02-03-2020, 08:43 AM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Well View Post
As 'proof of concept' would say it is a success. Took 18 minutes in total to apply the painter's tape as a precautionary step and then the oil paint. I haven't spent much time cleaning up around the letters/numbers but it doesn't look like it needs much. I bought three 75 cent cuticle wooden push tools so I can dip the ends in paint thinner to clean it up later if I wish. The reason you see the small paint brush - the front grill badge becomes 3D as it curves so the sides of the X and the 3 which face each other are deep. So I just kept pushing the paint tip down on some aluminum foil to develop a small drop which I then picked up with the brush to paint those deeper inner sides.

Only thing I would do differently - make sure you have good lighting as mine wasn't good since it was cloudy and misty outside so I applied in the garage. I should've spent a few more minutes to set up appropriate lighting, but for $7 and less than 30 min of my time, I'm pleased I no longer have the chrome 'X3M' sticking out from the rest of the Comp elements.
So you used a paintbrush? Or a pen? Do you have a link to the paint that you used
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      02-03-2020, 08:55 AM   #37
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A few more images with better lighting. The lower ones show my modified badge next to my wife's OEM badge.

[Edit 1121AM - just saw these questions which must've been posted while I was working on entering this one earlier:
Quote:
Originally Posted by sayemthree View Post
So you used a paintbrush? Or a pen? Do you have a link to the paint that you used
- please see posts #25 and 35 for the details and answers.]
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Last edited by Max Well; 02-03-2020 at 10:24 AM.. Reason: Added the edit note after seeing sayemthree's questions
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      02-03-2020, 12:38 PM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Well View Post
A few more images with better lighting. The lower ones show my modified badge next to my wife's OEM badge.
That looks much better than just wrapping the whole badge with vinyl. Good work!
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      02-10-2020, 10:40 PM   #39
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Originally Posted by David Hurng View Post
Hey! The black chrome was from IND. short story long I ordered the m stripped grills but didn't think they worked well for my car so I swapped back to black grilles and moved the badge over. [IMG]none[/IMG]
I still don’t see how to remove the grill badge?
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      02-11-2020, 01:08 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sayemthree View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Hurng View Post
Hey! The black chrome was from IND. short story long I ordered the m stripped grills but didn't think they worked well for my car so I swapped back to black grilles and moved the badge over. [IMG]none[/IMG]
I still don’t see how to remove the grill badge?
I know it sounds skeptical but you really just pull it off with your fingers outward, no clips or anything just 3m tape and some alignment plastic.
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      02-13-2020, 02:17 AM   #41
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Originally Posted by David Hurng View Post
I know it sounds skeptical but you really just pull it off with your fingers outward, no clips or anything just 3m tape and some alignment plastic.
is that the badge and all the supporting parts or just the badge? any pics with it removed?
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      02-13-2020, 05:55 AM   #42
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is that the badge and all the supporting parts or just the badge? any pics with it removed?
https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=50
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      10-07-2020, 02:45 AM   #43
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Originally Posted by crst4s View Post
I have this grill on order. Cost was $93 from Amazon. Picture and description indicates M split spokes with no badge. It is coming from China. You could also look for similar on ebay.
Hi there, how did you go with this replacement part? Quality OK?

Thanks!
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      10-07-2020, 08:32 AM   #44
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Hi there, how did you go with this replacement part? Quality OK?

Thanks!
It never arrived. I ended up buying factory grill.
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