OK, here's the sequence I took upon the debadging project for my '01 ES. In all, the time of the task took about 30 min.

Here's a full rear shot of the ES.

 

Close-up of the 'LEXUS' emblem to be taken off. Notice the week-old, white, crusted tree sap around the letter 'U'

 

I first cleaned and polished on and around the badge, then taped around the emblem, and carefully flossed out the emblem with some fishing line bought from Wal-mart. It took 2-3 flossings to relieve the emblem, and of course left behind this sticky but peelable residue...

 

I used a plastic tool to dig out the adhesive, which took a while because the paint can easily be harmed if I go too swift. After most of the main residue is gone, I used some 3M Adhesive Remover to remove the rest of the stuck-up residue. Of course many people have used Goo Gone to do this, so that is just as acceptable.

After all the residue was completely taken off, the outline of the 'LEXUS' emblem could still be seen clearly, so I applied some 3M Swirl Mark Remover, and that took out most of the lines and rubbings. Rubbing compound is next, and that pretty much did it and cleaned up the job. Here's a snapshot of the "cleaned" look

 

Up close of where the badge used to be. No traces at all!

 

Rear angle shot.

 

Last pic. A display of the tools used for the debadging process. That plastic fork-like tool I used to dig out the emblem adhesive is from the tool set of my George Foreman kitchen grill. Who knew it could be also useful in automotives?

I'm getting used to the new and cleaner look of my ES, and definitely stands itself apart from the rest of the ES around the area... I'd be happy to answer any Q's about the debadging process.

 

Hey lexusk8, Excellent job!! Also, pictures you posted were top notch. BTW: What kind of camera did you use?.....I'm also interested in photography.

 

Nice post.

 

I would try removing the ES300 badge of the tail light. That would really make it look cleannnnnnnnnnn

 

Another thought... If you are going for clean and understated, consider a different (less contrast) license plate frame.

 

amf1932: I used the Fujifilm A303 digicam w/ 3.2 megapixels and 3X optical/digital zoom. I did some research when I was camera-shopping, and found out that this is an excellent camera for the money. Plus, it's compact and very user-friendly

LexDiamond: I thought about taking out the ES 300 from the tailight, but I came to realize how this badging setup almost resembles that from a BMW (i.e. center logo and model emblem on the right-hand side). Also, I like the appearance of the ES 300 on the newer-style tailight rather than that from a 1st-gen ES, and to me, that seems like a luxury item I cannot do harm with. So that's why I'm opting to leave the ES 300 on the tailight.

FaceUT: The license plate frame used to have black 'LEXUS' lettering but it got ripped off while I was driving. For some reason, I'm getting used to the subtle lettering of the frame, but I wouldn't mind thinking about raised 'LEXUS' lettering too

 

lexusk8, awesome job, but what is this spot.
A dent, a drop of water or just a reflection in the picture?

 

I think that it's just a reflection of a lamp post.

 

Alan's right on that one. We're all picky of everything about our rides, aren't we?