De-badging your cellphone / PDA with sugar

If you're the type who already has, say, a de-badged PSP-controlled Honda Civic in your driveway, you probably dig that clean, smooth look on all your gadgetry. We can't say we blame you, and even Dell has admitted it doesn't like those goofy stickers defacing your electronic property. The brave souls over at Instructables have successfully devised a method to remove the glued-on logos that grace the faceplate of your cellphone and PDA, and the main ingredient is sugar. Apparently all you have to do is tape around those critical parts where you don't want sugar crystals meandering in (read: screens, keypads, etc.), and then get that wrist a moving. By using as many blocks of sugar cubes as necessary for removal, you simply scrub away the unwanted logos and replace any worn tape as needed -- the secret lies in sugar's ability to grind away the stick-ons, while lacking the abrasiveness required to scratch the casing of most mobile devices. If you can't wait to wipe your devices clean of branding and model numbers (while potentially voiding the warranties), be sure to hit the read link for a full step by step guide, or check out the sweet (ahem) video of the defacing in progress.

[pableu @ Sep 9th 2006 5:42AM]

Just tried this inside my Creative MuVo V200s battery compartment. The plastic got scratched pretty badly, so it seems to be too soft for this sugar-thingy to work.

[illphil @ Sep 9th 2006 5:52AM]

damn, this one is old... still some tipps: try the "scratching process" on the back of you mobile/pda first, one a unobstrousive spot AND dont push too hard, better scratch a lot more often than pushing too hard!

some colours are easier to remove than others, like the MDA is way more simple than the magenta T in tmobile

[DNo @ Sep 9th 2006 5:53AM]

you can use coin like $.25
i did it on my T-Mobile MDA , and removed T-Mobile Logo
in 3 min without any damage to the unit.

[shirizaki @ Sep 9th 2006 7:34AM]

I used a metla fingernail file to remove the VZW logo and the bluetooth symbol (which was chipped away beforehand) off of my Moto E815. Just make sure you don't digg into the plastic. I guess you can use this method.

[z @ Sep 9th 2006 8:36AM]

I just wanted to see how that worked on an old phone. It scratched the surface pretty badly on that k750i...

[daddycool @ Sep 9th 2006 10:03AM]

DON'T do this on a plastic phone! The MDA has a metal face. You can usually do it on any HTC device, this started (years ago) with people doing it on the Magician/JAM and it works great. Do it on plastic and it will probably end up looking worse than it did with the logo.

[Michael @ Sep 9th 2006 10:08AM]

Or, just go down to your loal hardwae store and buy a can of Goof-Off. It will take no more than 10 seconds to remove a logo.

[nick @ Sep 9th 2006 11:26AM]

I was like what is de-badge mean? Never heard that term before. So basically this is how to remove a sticker?

[Robotron @ Sep 9th 2006 11:35AM]

I heat the offender up (with a heat gun or hair dryer) and then remove any remaining mess with orange tko (think that's what it's called). Stuff works great. Even removes permanent felt marker.

[Teju @ Sep 9th 2006 12:15PM]

Use a fairly strong nail polish remover and, watch them disappear.

Surgical Spirit, Ethyl Alcohol and Turpentine also achieve similar results... No scratches either.

Chemoise cloth and one of these things always do the trick for me..

[Taylor Alexander @ Sep 9th 2006 12:50PM]

If you dip the phone in salad dressing (you have to submerge the whole thing) and then wipe it off with the inside of a banana peel soaked in chocolate syrup, you can get free minutes, de-badge the thing, and upgrade the bluetooth all in one!
-Taylor

[Dan @ Sep 9th 2006 1:00PM]

@Taylor:
I tried that and my phone got compelety ruined! It was brand new too! Thanks a lot, jerk.

[Kenno @ Sep 9th 2006 1:03PM]

Hey, listen up Taylor! None of that worked, but it sure smells good now.

[Perrey Z. @ Sep 9th 2006 2:03PM]

I just try this and it did NOT work. Now i have tiny scratches onthe back casing., great! The solution turn out to the worse than the remedy.

[drivewatchlisten @ Sep 9th 2006 3:00PM]

or you can do your best peeling the sticker off..and use a citrus based cleaner to remove any leftover adhesive..

i used to do this all the time at the sign shop i worked at..i could remove stickers and adhesive that had been baked on by the sun for 12 years..

[Frank Gilroy @ Sep 9th 2006 3:03PM]

The day "debadging my pda" is at the top of my todo list, is the day I no longer need a PDA.

[ranron @ Sep 9th 2006 3:42PM]

This use of sugar also works for washing oil off your hands. Say you have oil on your hands, use some soap to clean then use some sugar (has to be real sugar) and apply as if soap, then rinse and your hand will be oil-free and smell nice too.

The reason it works for glue is glue is often oil-based and the sugar molecules bond with oil molecules, and the sugar can be easily removed.

[alex @ Sep 9th 2006 3:47PM]

WD-40 works quite well also... for that and lots of other things.

[glacia00 @ Sep 9th 2006 3:49PM]

They're talking about the paint based insignias/logos and NOT some peeloff sticker?

[KH @ Sep 9th 2006 4:51PM]

tooth floss is good for de-badging...

[danj3ris @ Sep 9th 2006 11:21PM]

My obligatory comment for when I learn a new and interesting tidbit of information such as stated in this post:

WATS

Well Aint That Somethin'

[L. M. Lloyd @ Sep 10th 2006 1:01PM]

As someone who had done a lot of customization work, I would highly recommend against the sugar method on anything but brushed metal! If you want to do it correctly on any smooth surface, with very little risk of irreversible damage, you should get micro-mesh abrasives, which are an assortment of VERY fine sanding sheets ranging from 1,500 grit to 12,000 grit. You use the coarsest to sand off the logo, then the finer grits in succession to get it back to a nice finish.

[Franssu @ Sep 11th 2006 10:03AM]

If you want to hide your coke with your PDA, inside the unit is better than sticking the bag on the faceplate.

[Robert Smith @ Sep 11th 2006 10:31AM]

Use a white vinyl eraser like Magic Rub or a Mars.

[Digi Smalls @ Sep 11th 2006 12:30PM]

tape?

a sugar cube is all it takes.
worked like magic on my Q, and thats toy-plastic.


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