Picked up my new PC3 today - HIDs installed, debadged, more to come

So I got my new PC3 today (traded in a 2010 Prius2) at about 3:45 i left the dealership, by 4:45 I was home, HID's installed, and rear debadged. I have precut tint ordered and should be here this week. On the must do soon list I have, Sharkfin, Smoked top brakelight, smoked mirror turn signals, smoked front turn signals, lowered (any lowering kits out yet? need to get this off its stilts), a small subwoofer to clean up the bass and some other top secret ideas.

The taillights are hideous - I do not understand the reason toyota makes them so ugly, I have several ideas, but I might wait a few months until there are salvage parts from wrecked C's - I would hate to mess them up and not have a replacement around. I was super excited when I looked at the headlight housing and it looks like the front cover may be detachable without baking them, if this is the case I have big plans for these as well - color match the chrome stuff (except reflector), maybe add some angel eyes or LED's, and smoke the ugly yellow reflector. I am going to wait until I have a day off to pull them out and start dissasembly.

Other more long term plans are to shave the hybrid emblems on the fenders - They have alignment holes which will need to be filled and painted - so some actual bodywork. Perhaps some different wheels for the summer and winter tires on the oem rims. Some other ideas too - but too soon to commit to them.

Anyway has anyone on here done anything unique yet - I am not talking about Rims - but some serious modifications. I am super happy with this car so far and can not wait to begin tearing it apart.

 

ufourya pretty much hit on most of the points of debadging actually have some funny stories about it too. I got my 2006 Scion XB when they first started selling in IA and completely debadged it the minute I got home from the dealership. Got a parking ticket a month later and the Make was listed as "Toyota" the model was listed on the ticket as "Black SUV Type Vehicle - Unknown". Below are pictures of my previous vehicles notice how much cleaner they look without all the junk on them - especially the dealership stickers. I like to modify vehicles to keep a clean look and stock appearance. I have never owned an unmodified vehicle - but I do get comments all the time like "Wow - your car looks so nice, but I can not tell why". The average person thinks it looks good with no badges and a mild suspension drop (no wheel gap) - but they are not aware enough to realize that these simple things can make a car look so much nicer. The 2010 was not debadged - it was a lease so custom bodywork was not an option - so I colormatched the badges - when I turned it in the salesperson commented on how nice the car looked.

1 - Clean the lines of the car - no clutter
2 - Makes cleaning of car easier, less nooks and crannies to collect dirt
3 - Badging can actually cause small paint scratches around the badge
4 - People will look at the car - not the badge, if they like it they will ask, I have had people tell me my cars were awesome then learned that they were a prius and then start making fun of it. Its amazing what negative views are tied to a word rather than a vehicle.
5 - Look at every car commercial and for the most part the driving scenes will have all of the badges and license plate colormatched - these distract from a cars natural beauty - the car makers know this - but they also know they can get the customers to advertise for them for free by plastering the car with ugly taped on badges (and in some cases, badges that are ugly with holes under them so people dont remove them - I pay for the bodywork...)

Anyways to the pictures - Also note that My XB and Prius both had red vinyl over the tails to cover up the ugly white taillights - I really hate the white-clear tail light look - its tacky and ruins the look of the car - I am thinking on the C I am going to do red vinyl on the back and then the JDM colormatched taillight garnish for the sides, but have not made up my mind for sure - who knows I may just end up baking my tails and painting all the chrome to match the body. I would also like to eventually shave the Toyota emblem and rear windshield wiper - its pretty useless as is.

 

Glad that I could help people see the beauty in de-badging! If you have never done it before here are a few tips. On the C - the Hybrid side emblems have 2 pinholes each for the pins on the back of the badge - if you remove these you will have 2 holes in each fender, you can get plugs for the holes and paint to match, or you can just leave the hybrid ones on - or even colormatch them.

To remove the badges first clean the area around them very well, any dirt or grime could potentially micro scratch the car in the removal process. Once its good and clean get a piece of soft string or heavy duty yarn I ususally use a piece about a foot long. Align the string next to the body of the car on the corner of the badge and gently move the string in a sawing or flossing motion until it slides under the badge, then slowly continue the sawing motion under the badge and pull it across the back of the badge. Once you are all the way across the badge may fall off, or it may be stuck to the car - if its still on the car, one gentle nudge should break it free.

Now using your thumb gently roll it around on any of the double sided tape pieces still stuck on the car, it will ball up and you can get the chunks off. After this clean the area with a CLEAN shop towel with a little bit of goo-gone (other stuff may work here, but I have been using goo-gone for years with no adverse affects, some others may remove a layer of wax or even weaken/damage the clear coat). After the residue is gone, immediately wash the area or the whole car - no need for urgency here - but you want to get the goo-gone off there too. Its best to wax the area where the badge came off - then step back and realize how much classier and cleaner your car looks without the badges.

Glad I sparked some interest too - I am excited to get a lot done to this car and will keep the progress coming - the only thing keeping me from doing it all this weekend is money, I am expecting my tint to arrive today or tomorrow and hope to have that done this weekend if possible.

 

Formula - we must have bought from the same guy - I paid $44 Shipped on ebay too. I got mine on Saturday but worked 12 hours Sat and Sun each so did not have time to put it on - some time this week for sure. I also ordered a shark fin on Friday.

Surrylic - yes I will be installing it myself - In all aspects of my life I try not to pay people to do things for me, I paid $200 to have my firebird tinted in 1999, I watched the install and thought it looked easy. I tinted my 1999 S10, my 2001 S10, my 2006 XB, and my 2010 Prius by myself. Also have done a few friends cars. The cutting technique is an art, and I do not have the skill to get those clean cuts, which is why i order the precut tint. And you can do it yourself, the key to tinting is understanding the process and being extremely patient. One fingerprint or speck of dirt on the window will be trapped there until the tint is removed if it ever is. Basic process with precut - clean the window and inspect it closely for any smudges, prints, hairs, fibers, etc. clean inside and out. Spray tint slip (1tbsp johnson & Johnson baby shampoo to 1 liter of water to make your own) all over the outside of window, put tint on the outside of window, using a squeegeee and hair dryer / heat gun - slowly sqeegee all the tint slip out while heating with the heat gun. This will form the tint to the windows shape. Next remove the clear backing from the tint while soaking the tint with the tint spray, open the door, and spray the inside of the window, and set the piece of tint on there, again squeegee out all tintslip, and air bubbles - take your time here and make sure its aligned before squeegee-ing. Once all of the slip and bubbles are out you are pretty much done. After all windows are complete, clean any excess slip off interior pieces, try to avoid rolling down windows for several days, and try to park in direct sunlight to dry out the window between the glass and slip. I have never had any tint bubble, crack, peel, or turn purple. Let me know if you decide to try it. I should have pictures this week of mine.

 

I just ordered the Sharkfin from the Priuschat store - not sure if they get a percentage or anything but I wanted to support the site and sponsors I use. There are other fins out there that are just as good, in all honesty, I rarely use radio (pretty much only use pandora) so reception is not of any concern to me - but from what I have read it is unaffected. The ones from the Priuschat store are custom painted to match the OEM colors - $78 shipped. Check out the link posted above too - its good stuff.

 

Yes - they are terrible - in my Scion XB there was a company that made vinyl stickers that fit over them perfectly and matched the headrest color. They were still visible, but you had to look close to tell - mainly the sheen gave it away, the vinyl was shinier than the plastic on the headrest, but color match was close. In my S10 - they were fabric, So I just reupholstered them, was fairly easy (glad I took a sewing class in 6th grade - never knew I would need it).

On some vehicles I know that you can remove them and switch them to the other side of the car, only issue with that is you will no longer have useable mirrors if your visors have them. I think on the C for now I am going to look for some vinyl covers for it - finding a close match to the color will be the hard part.

On ebay there are some people selling stickers that go over them that say other things - they are pretty stupid in my opinion but you may be able to contact them and have them do a custom design for you.

Randode.com makes the Scion XB ones - if you contact them they may be able to make some PriusC ones too - im going to send them an email today.

 

Formula - Good luck on your tint job - I have tinted 7 cars before the C and never had any issues - I was working out bubbles for 6 hours last night - did not get to bed till after midnight. I would make sure to get a heat gun (hair dryer will not get hot enough) and be sure to heat form all the windows on the outside before sticking to the inside. This was the most difficult vehicle I have ever tinted, and it does not look very good up close - but fine from 2-3 feet away. I will probably keep it on there until I can afford Ceramic tint - then I will pull this stuff off and pay to have the ceramic installed. Also smoked my Mirror turn signals, third brake light, color matched rear toyota emblem, and the side hybrid emblems, the side emblem holes are enormous - nearly the size of the height of the entire emblem. On a side note - I am looking for a side marker light to put in place of the emblem - may be a better short term fix until I am ready to pay for the body work. I will try and get some pictures up tonight.

 

Rear Tail Light Smoked Before and After


Side View Mirror Lights Smoked Before and After



Emblem Color Matching



Window Tint - This was the most difficult car I ever attempted to tint - I plan on removing the tint and taking this in and letting the pros do it right. I dont have the tools and environment nor the time to do a decent job. I spent 6 hours yesterday trying to work out the bubbles and folds - checked it this morning - the bubbles and creases were back.



And lastly - just some updated shots of the car as a whole - more to come...