Classic & Vintage - Removing a head badge

I have a John Deere badged mixte. Its not worth restoring. I would like to use the JD bits on a better bike. My step-daughter is an Animal Science major & ga-ga for everything John Deere. I'd like to give it to her as a graduation gift this spring.
The head badge is not rivited on, its plastic & somehow bonded on. Any suggestions on how to seperate the bike fom the badge would be most welcome.

I've used very skinny piano wire to remove glued emblems with good success.....Wrap the ends around dowels so you don't cut yourself though. Then stand over the frame and use a back & forth motion with moderate down pressure. Make sure you're pulling the cable far enough around the tube so you don't mess up the edges of the emblem! A bit of heat from a hair dryer would probably help too. Direct the air down the headtube with the fork removed to heat the back side of the emblem....Good luck!



*And wear safety goggles in case the wire snaps! Safety first....

I've used very skinny piano wire to remove glued emblems with good success.....Wrap the ends around dowels so you don't cut yourself though. Then stand over the frame and use a back & forth motion with moderate down pressure. Make sure you're pulling the cable far enough around the tube so you don't mess up the edges of the emblem! A bit of heat from a hair dryer would probably help too. Direct the air down the headtube with the fork removed to heat the back side of the emblem....Good luck!



*And wear safety goggles in case the wire snaps! Safety first....

A more accessible option for some people (at least, me) might be fishing line... same principle, though. :thumb:

A piece of string works well because the roughness creates some heat. I use the stuff that is used to bind up a turkey. I just debadged a new Chevy Impala with it.

a more accessible option for some people (at least, me) might be fishing line... Same principle, though. :thumb:

+1

The car guys use heat (blowdryer) and dental floss

The car guys use heat (blowdryer) and dental floss

This car guy tried dental floss and found that it's not strong enough for the job. It broke after just a few strokes. If you use string, you don't nead another source of heat. The friction of the rough string creates all the heat that's required. The badges are held on with double sided foam tape. You run the string between the badge and the foam. That will leave the foam stuck to the body. There is a special 3M flap wheel to remove it, but I use a rag, mineral spirits and a lot of rubbing.

My truck had a 3" plastic molding that ran the entire length. I removed it with a piece of string. It also had vinyl "SS Sport Truck" graphics. I used a hair dryer to remove those.

http://inlinethumb54.webshots.com/8437/2770758760068014369S600x600Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2770758760068014369RrChEr)

I just had to remove some lettering and a big gold bowtie emblem from the Impala.

http://inlinethumb45.webshots.com/42220/2603555620068014369S600x600Q85.jpg (http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2603555620068014369QXZICW)

Thanks, will give it a shot after dinner tomorrow, sounds like it might be a way to burn some calories & play with the bike.

Got it off. Took longer to fit the wire on the dowels than to get the badge off. Badge is aluminium with a small nub which fit a small hole & just a dab of glue, on the 3rd stroke it shot across the basement. Thanks again!

Awesome!