De-badge Vaquero Tank

rekogniz1 · 05-21-2013, 06:43 PM

Has anyone de-badged the tank on a Vaquero. These are a decal under the clearcoat. The only way I could see this being done is by wetsanding down to the decal and either removing the decal or wetsanding the decal off and then reclearing the tank?? Anyone had this done or tried it?

RVR · 05-21-2013, 11:15 PM

Unfortunately I had to debadge mine when I put a small ding in it and had to have it painted. Could not save the decals. Plan on painting the whole tank if you sand them out. Paint is tri coat. Too many layers to just sand them out but I am no body expert either.

rekogniz1 · 05-22-2013, 12:03 AM

I bit the bullet and removed them. I still need to do a little wet sanding and a buff and I should be good to go. I was worried it may have had a shade variance but it did not. I just figured green would be the hardest but it worked out great.

**Jared** · 05-22-2013, 02:23 AM

Wow, that take determination! Not too sure I'd put forth the effort unless I was painting the bike.

rekogniz1 · 05-22-2013, 11:33 AM

Its actually pretty easy and took about 30 minutes to remove the decals. If you know how to wetsand and have a high speed buffer its not very difficult. I will have maybe 1.5 hours invested when done. I just did it as if somthing was to go wrong I would have just recleared it (still have some left from a previous build). Anyways, after doing some research and making a few phone calls I was able to determin that the paint job on the Vaquero is cleared first, decals applied and then cleared again. I took an exacto and lightly scored the top layer of clear right around the decal. The decal was still slightly raised to the exacto has a great guide to follow. Once scored, I heated it with heat gun (has to get really hot) and pelled the decal off. Once the decal was removed I removed all the adheasive with WD40. Last step was to wetsand with 1500 and 2000 to knock it flat, then buff and polish. You would never know there was a decal there. If you decide to do this at your own risk, whatever you do, do not "cut" around the decal or press down when "scoring" as you could cut to deep and cause imperfections. You just want to gently let the exacto do the work and follow the edge of the decal. Really cleans up the looks of the tank (not so busy).

dshelly · 05-22-2013, 01:17 PM

On the older bikes with the stick on badges. If you change your mind or the next owner wants the badges back on like I did, it's an easy fix. But this is way more work to go back to. Can you even buy the decals if you wanted them?

rekogniz1 · 05-22-2013, 02:55 PM

Yes, decals are available, although, I dont know if you would want to go through the trouble clearing over them again if you wanted to go back to having them.

05-21-2013, 06:43 PM	#1
rekogniz1 Jr. Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Arvada, Colorado Posts: 33	De-badge Vaquero Tank Has anyone de-badged the tank on a Vaquero. These are a decal under the clearcoat. The only way I could see this being done is by wetsanding down to the decal and either removing the decal or wetsanding the decal off and then reclearing the tank?? Anyone had this done or tried it? Login or Register to Remove Ads
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05-21-2013, 11:15 PM	#2
RVR Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Sioux Falls, SD Posts: 71	Unfortunately I had to debadge mine when I put a small ding in it and had to have it painted. Could not save the decals. Plan on painting the whole tank if you sand them out. Paint is tri coat. Too many layers to just sand them out but I am no body expert either. __________________ 11 Vaquero--Red Kury board mount highway pegs with swing wings Kawasaki power point Utopia rider backrest KQR backrest and luggage rack Kruzer Kaddy Garmin gps with mounted case 13" Cee Baileys dark tinted windshield Passenger floorboards Kury tombstone bag TLC bag liners--STILL WAITING????
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05-22-2013, 02:23 AM	#4
Jared Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Greeley, Colorado Posts: 6,772	Wow, that take determination! Not too sure I'd put forth the effort unless I was painting the bike. __________________ Jared VBA #1051 (Former President)
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05-22-2013, 11:33 AM	#5
rekogniz1 Jr. Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Arvada, Colorado Posts: 33	Its actually pretty easy and took about 30 minutes to remove the decals. If you know how to wetsand and have a high speed buffer its not very difficult. I will have maybe 1.5 hours invested when done. I just did it as if somthing was to go wrong I would have just recleared it (still have some left from a previous build). Anyways, after doing some research and making a few phone calls I was able to determin that the paint job on the Vaquero is cleared first, decals applied and then cleared again. I took an exacto and lightly scored the top layer of clear right around the decal. The decal was still slightly raised to the exacto has a great guide to follow. Once scored, I heated it with heat gun (has to get really hot) and pelled the decal off. Once the decal was removed I removed all the adheasive with WD40. Last step was to wetsand with 1500 and 2000 to knock it flat, then buff and polish. You would never know there was a decal there. If you decide to do this at your own risk, whatever you do, do not "cut" around the decal or press down when "scoring" as you could cut to deep and cause imperfections. You just want to gently let the exacto do the work and follow the edge of the decal. Really cleans up the looks of the tank (not so busy). Login or Register to Remove Ads
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05-22-2013, 01:17 PM	#6
dshelly Sr. Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Belgrade, MT Posts: 2,824	On the older bikes with the stick on badges. If you change your mind or the next owner wants the badges back on like I did, it's an easy fix. But this is way more work to go back to. Can you even buy the decals if you wanted them? __________________ Dave "(dshelly)" Shellenberger 2014 Harley Ultra Classic 2007 1600 Nomad (Black) Shellenberger Machine Belgrade, MT Various Bagger Member (Harley Chapter) VBA # 2395
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05-22-2013, 02:55 PM	#7
rekogniz1 Jr. Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Arvada, Colorado Posts: 33	Yes, decals are available, although, I dont know if you would want to go through the trouble clearing over them again if you wanted to go back to having them.
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