How can I remove a stuck-on emblem?

Question:

What is the best way to remove an aluminum emblem that is attached to the auto’s paint with a 3M double sticky sheet adhesive? The bond is quite strong and I don’t want to harm the paint. The emblem is about 3” square.

Answer:

The two things that will enable you to weaken the adhesive’s grip and remove the emblem without damaging the paint are heat and a solvent. Heat alone may do the job so you can try thoroughly heating up the emblem with a heat gun and then trying to gently peel the emblem up.

If a strong dose of heat doesn’t do the trick, try applying a solvent to the edges of the emblem as you gently pull the emblem away from the body. Exactly what kind of solvent you can use without hurting your paint depends on the type of paint and how it was applied. You are far more likely to damage air-dried lacquer than oven baked two-stage urethane, even with a very mild solvent. I’d recommend trying Bestine rubber cement thinner, which is relatively gentle with paint while readily dissolving glue, on a hidden area of the paint (such as under weather stripping or behind an interior trim panel) to see if it does any damage.