cyberdrakon

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I've taken all the numbers and badging off my SLK 55 AMG, as badging is really just a marketing thing and doesn't add to the overall look, only serves to clutter up the rear of the trunk.

ir-ops

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wouldn't do any changes, as i always prefer to keep what the
factory intended to present to the public at the time built.

that said, i like the r170s and r171s debadged.


best
ir-ops

keroubim

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Mine is debadged, mostly for aesthetics reason.
I could have kept SLK but the only easy options were SLK280 (they are not branded 300 in Europe ) or nothing. Nothing is just fine, especially on a small ass like this one.

But I also have to wonder why would anyone want to know my "size" and why I should advertise it.

Cheers,
Keroubim

Dolebludger

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When I have been in Europe, I have noticed a good many Mercedes that are debadged. I wondered if perhaps that were an option when purchasing a Mercedes in Europe. Here in the US (or at least in my part of it). badge removal is not that common. I'm kind of a "go with the flow" type of guy, so I won't debadge, because so few in my part of the world do so. If I lived in Europe (or at least the parts that I have visited) I would, because so many others do.

DansSlk

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Yep you can have them removed (technically never installed)

Problem with having MB do that is to install afterward will be damn near impossible especially with the SLK's curved trunk lid.

I removed mine but i could see where the paint had slightly changed color from sun exposure and no matter what product i used i could not remove the marks so i replaced the badges.

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Twisted

I always thought it was called a SLK200 because it was a 1.8 litre with a kompressor or something to that effect. Here we only get a SLK200, SLK350 and a 55, where as the C Class has a 280.


Here we only get a 318i (i know with the 1 series the 116i is a 1.6litre), the 318i is a detuned 2 litre and a 320i is a 2 litre while the 325i is a 2.5litre and the 330i is a 3litre (first number denoting series while the following two denote engine size BUT where things get really weird with BMW - and i think the same goes for Audi and Mercedes) is where BMW are naming the 335i and 135i (3 litre twin turbo).

We don't get a C300 here either but what we do get is as follows:
C 280 2996cc / V6 170kW
C 320 CDI 2987cc / V6 165kW
C 350 3498cc / V6 200kW


So in my opinion i think when there's an addition of turbo's or superchargers badge designation is likely to change. Although i'm really not to sure where the 280 comes along...

Dolebludger

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Twisted:

What is your home country? I am to stupid to recognize the flag!

The C 280 you describe has the same engine that the W204 ('08) C 300 does in the US. The SLK 280 available in the US (and other countries) uses the same basic engine. as your C 280. But for '09, the SLK 280 gets the more appropriate name of SLK 300 (it does have a 3 liter engine).

On the other hand, we in the US do not get the SLK 200, and I think most of the rest of the world does.

As I have an SLK 280 ,which is not an accurate designation (has a 3 liter engine, should be SLK 300), I would debadge if anybody else in my part of the world was debadging.

DanSLK is correct about ending up with a paint mismatch under a removed badge on a car that has had a chance to get any fading at all. So debadging is best done when the car is brand new. With Mercedes' paint and clear coat materials and methods, there is absolutely no way to polish out the color mismatch.

DansSlk

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His flag shows South Africa

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ir-ops

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dolebludger,

you can keep your cursor on the flag for a sec, and the name of the depicted country will pop up...

brgds
ir-ops

Twisted

Personally i dont think it would be a poser (sorry for going off topic there)

I think the reason we don't have a 280 here is because then most would be going for the 280 instead of the 350 and the 200 but i think it's also marketing just having the 200, the 350 and the 55. Price ranges are quite far apart on new models and it somewhat sets the men, from the boys and the big leagues (even although its not about that really)

etyu

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Just place the cursor on the flag and the country will show up.

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Eddy

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Pewter/Beige, PIII package, Airscarf, Hands-Free Communication System, Lighting package
Designo Black Leather Cover on e-brake handle, (
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Bill T), SmartTop v1.0, Kleyman 3BFM (NoRegret Custom), Green Air Filters, Mod. R170 ant.
EuroClear sidemarkers w/PIAA PlasmaIon lamps, chromed front & rear turn indicator lamps, PIAA SuperPlasmaGTX front parking lamps, HyperWhite license plate lamps (
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ir-ops

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eddy, eddy...

etyu

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Sorry ir-ops, I didn't see your post until it was too late

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Eddy

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ir-ops

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eddy,

you know, although i have ordered a black facelift,
your car is still my wallpaper.

definitely here, sorry...

brgds
ir-ops

etyu

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Very honored ir-ops. Thank you.

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Eddy

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Ikarus

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I'm afraid so. Obviously, the owner will have spent time and effort on trying to make the car look like something it is not, i.e. a brand-spanking new 2009 model. What makes it even worse is that the attempt is rather futile.

Dolebludger

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I'm not going to debadge or change the badges on my '07 SLK 280. I do think, however, that the "280" designation is inaccurate given the traditional MB engine designation derived from taking the approximate number of liter displacement and adding "00" to it. Happy to see that this error was corrected for the '09 face lift. Honestly, I have had happy owners of '99 C 280s say "glad to see they brought the 2.8 liter six back, because it is great".

Actually, the last thing I want to do is to have people think (for even a minute) than mine is a "face lift" 280. That's because from the pictures I've seen of it, I am in the "don't care for it" camp. Withholding final judgment until I can see the car in person, but from the pics that "chin" design below the front bumper looks way out of place to me. Would buy the '09 350 however, for the extra horsepower.

ghostdunks

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I had my SLK280 for about a year(and it was ex-demo, so it was already a year old when I bought it, so all up 2 years old), and I decided to debadge the SLK280 bit because I thought it made the boot look a lot cleaner, with just the Merc star in the middle. Used fishing line to take the badges off, cleaned off most of the adhesive with Xenit(citrus cleaner), then clayed the rest of the left over adhesive off. Like you guys said, there was still a paint colour difference where the badge used to be because of the paint exposure to sun, etc(only really noticeable if looking for it or at an angle, but still..annoying) However, when I brought the car to a detailer for a professional detail, I mentioned the issue, and he said, no problem, he could polish it out and blend it in with the rest of the boot. Left it with him, not sure what he did, but when I got the car back, the mark or paint difference was completely gone, and couldn't tell there was ever a badge there.

So there are ways of getting the debadged area "clean" The guy I brought it to definitely knew what he was doing though with regards to polishing, detailing,etc..(see one of my previous threads for results of the detail)

Dolebludger

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Ghostdunks:

As you are from Australia, I'm sure you got a laugh out of my screen name!

As your detailer was able to polish the area where you removed the badges so as to eliminate the color difference, the difference in color behind where they used to be must have been due to the adhesive staining the clear coat. In this case, the color difference can certainly be polished out, as yours was.

But in some cases the color difference of the car vs. the area where the badges were is due to the fact that the exposed areas of the car sun faded, while the paint area protected from the sun by the badges did not fade. In this case, there would be no way to polish out the area so as to blend the colors, without buffing through the clear coat. And in that case, the paint job is ruined. In contrast, on a non-clear coated car, this would be an easy job, because faded paint surrounding the area where the badges were could simply be polished down to non-faded paint.

Because this distinction exists as to why the paint under a removed badge may be a bit different in color from the rest of the car, I have this recommendation. Those who want to debadge would do well to remove only one number or letter, and clean and machine polish the area with a ROB and medium mild abrasive polish to determine whether any discoloration will buff out (or take the car to your detailer for this). If the color difference cannot be polished out, at least it will be obvious where to re-glue the letter or number!