I'm thinking about removing the Jag "Leaper" from my trunk to have it plasti-coated black, or just remove it all together. Wondering if it is bolted on or can be removed with a heat gun and dental floss.


2019 XJL

 

You can remove it using dental floss and a heat gun. Unfortunately, there are guide holes in the trunk that the leaper uses to get the angle correct. You can remove the "XJL", "Jaguar", and "3.0" badge with no issues.

 

Thanks Thermo and OP; that is very good to know as I would like to remove Jaguar.

 

Good to know. Thank you.

 

You can do as I did on my F-Type which also has a leaper on the boot/hatch lid with guide holes underneath - take it off, paint it, then stick it back on again.
On the F-Type and I guess an XJ the leaper has prongs on the back which plug into the guide holes.
I removed the leaper using fishing line to "saw" through the adhesive from each end then a plastic trim tool to gently pry the prongs out of their holes, it came off easily with no real fight.
I then cut the prongs off as I wanted to reposition the leaper - move it down about 2 cm to make it more central on the hatch lid as I had also removed the Jaguar lettering, and 2 cm was as far as I could go and still cover the mounting holes. I then painted the leaper using some left over spray can gloss black calliper paint, three thin coats allowing about 20 minutes between coats.
I then stuck the leaper back in place using black silicone RTV sealant and it hasn't budged a micron or deteriorated at all since and that was some six years ago now.
If you don't intend to move the leaper then there is no need to cut the prongs off the back and you simply need to paint it and apply a small and thin amount of RTV sealant around the edge and carefully stick it back in place. One tip - apply the sealant back a mm or two from the very edge as you don't want too much to squish out when you press the leaper back in place. If any does squish out clean it off with a soft rag dipped in turps, you have around 10 minutes before the sealant starts to cure/set.

 

Do you mean Plasti Dip? If so, the whole benefit of Plasti Dip is that you don't have to remove the emblems to paint them:

 

if you're wondering what to do with it afterwards, this answer's 'we'll that's what that would look like...'




unsurprisingly its likely a salvage https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ting=388836233