[Caerus]

Thanks for the input, guys. It is hard to take a proper picture, but here is a very close up. I know my way around a paint/body shop and have done this type of work and more. I used 3M adhesive remover, heated with a hair dryer and some floss to gently remove the emblem. Once off, used a micro-fiber cloth and 3M adhesive remover to get the glueish stuff all off. Then to my surprise, I rubbed my finger nail across the surface and there was a raised edge where the emblem was. It was completely clear and appears to be that the clear coat slightly lifted. By hand I used rubbing compound and polish to try and remove it and no luck at all.

As you can see from the picture, the clear coat is raised and a slight spec of clear coat lifted off, but does not look as bad as this picture shows. To me the only way to fix this is wet sanding and a compound buffing/polishing machine. But I suspect the emblem was put on before a proper curing of the clear coat. So, I would worry that wet sanding would remove the clear coat where the emblem was and pose a bigger problem. Any ways, it does not look to bad; just don’t look to close. If it bothers me, I will get a new badge and put it back on in the same place. That way, no harm, no foul!

So maybe the guy with the poor sentence structure was right and “just don’t remove the badges”.

[N240i]

Could it be that it was overheated with the heatgun? I know it's possible to make the paint bubble if too much heat is applied in one area at once.

Regardless, it honestly doesn't look that bad. You'd have to be looking for it in order to notice imo. Wouldn't stress too much.
and like you said, if it bothers that much you could always put another xdrive emblem and call it a day.

[Caerus]

When I applied the hair dryer, I was careful not to apply to much heat. It never got that hot to touch and it only happened just under the emblem when heat was applied to a larger area. You and I agree, it looks ok to me. I am the only one to notice most likely. Just this project is such an easy task and you never can be sure of an exact out come. Thanks for your comments.

[FLURP]

I'm going to remove the X-Drive badge and the 40i so it just says "M2" on the back, and add a vanity plate that reads "M SUS". How's that for a poser mobile??

[Ravenseal]

Nah

[ruffstik]

always

[Autobahn SoCal]

Originally Posted by Caerus

I removed the xdrive emblem. But I still have a very faint raised outline of the emblem. It is etched into the paint. Can't really see it looking casually, but if you look very close it is observable. I followed the proper process, but this was the out come. For anyone that has done this, is your emblem faintly observable up close?

Just polish it, it will come out👍🏻

[zipstic]

Originally Posted by MPR

I'm going to see if I can find a gun metal color, I don't think I want black, but I want darker than stock. My car will be BG with shadowline

Did you ever get your badge to be a gunmetal color? I'd be curious to see a picture.

[Bimmerfun82]

Why not remove all the badging except the M and the 2. M2 for less!

[mlowz]

I selected the option (no sign attached) on my sapphire black one as well. Its up for delivery so can update in a week, hopefully.
Seeing the pictures though I think it might have been the right choice.
Black on black also looks decent tbh.

[CarsAndGuitars]

I removed my xdrive yesterday. Floss sliced right through in 2 minutes, but the adhesive was stubborn. I was working in the sun so the solvents I was using (Ipa, WD40) were evaporating too fast.

[Winrya]

I swapped my m240 and side m badges for black versions as well as swapping the spoiler. I used a copy 3m vinyl remover. Bearing in mind my car was less than 24hrs old I was really worried about using it and damaging the paint. It was a revelation. Badge adhesive gone in seconds. Spoiler adhesive all gone in a few mins. After I gave a wipe down with a glue remover (literally a wipe). There wasn’t a single marr or swirl created by the wheel.

This is the one I purchased for reference Official 'Wonder Wheel' Vinyl Decal Sticker Remover - Smooth Rubber Eraser Wheel Pad - Remove Decals in Minutes - 3 Year Warranty - Safe & Reusable https://amzn.eu/d/8u507jd