Removing the Stickers from VW California [Video]

Wanting to tone-down the summer-holiday vibe, on a car we will be using for more routine things and long-distance travel; we opted [read: I opted with no resistance] to de-badge our VW California.

I found plenty online about de-badging cars; yet nothing specific to removing the foil stickers from the Volkswagen California. Fine, I’ll do my homework then.

I looked a bit deeper at what people used to remove the glue after de-badging and removing decals. Many would use a “glue remover” product. But, what exactly is glue remover. One YouTube video showed someone demonstrating their home-made extra strong glue remover on cars; which they had made using white spirit (mineral spirits) and acetone. I didn’t have acetone, but I did have white spirit! And I don’t need it to be extra strong anyway.

I’m not going to take one YouTuber’s word for it, however. At least, not when it comes to a car that’s brand new (to us). I did a bit more research on whether white spirit can damage paint, specifically car paint. In the end, I was finding white spirit could clean off paint when it was still wet, but isn’t what you’d generally use for removing paint. It does like to remove glue however. Great!

So, I can clean the residual glue off with the white spirit I already have at home.

The last part that came up often in the de-badging videos was the ghosting or shadow left on the paint after removing and badges. One cause I have heard of is that the paint fades over years; and the shaded paint under the badge hasn’t had the same exposure. So that would be a difference in pigment or ageing of the clear-coat. But my car is only a couple of years old, and with the benefit of hindsight, wasn’t a problem. My impression is that the ghosting/shadow I had was a combination of: dirt that is essentially impossible to clean off around the edges of the lettering/badge; and a lack of any wax or other surface coat that’s been used over the years on the paintwork, that hasn’t touched the paint under the stickers/badges.

During the course of my YouTubing research, I found some polishing should be enough to bring the paint back to a consistent surface under and around the stickers. As people polish cars all the time, I didn’t feel the need to confirm this info with other sources. However, I did not have polish at home. But, the fuel station up the road did. Easily bought. A squirt and a rub, and the ghosting I had was gone.

I am very pleased with the result. The van doesn’t now shout “I’m a California, look at me”, with the combination of the de-badging and sticker removal. But, I’m learning those who know the California can easily pick one out from a line up of other VW Vans! The biggest give-away is the giant awning strapped to the side!