Air Design Rear Decklid Appliqué -not a fan

[Tamadrummer88]

When I bought my Mustang, I ordered the Air Design Rear Decklid Appliqué for the S650. I don’t know why Ford decided to get rid of the gloss black appliqué for the S650. It really finishes out the Decklid. And my car being white, it really looks plain back there

Don’t mind the tape, I had my detailer remove the GT emblem for me in anticipation of getting the Decklid appliqué.

when I took it out of the box, this is what I got:

Right away, saw a problem. According to the instructions, you need to drill out the two indentations on the back if you wanna retain your badge. I personally think Air Design should have two versions, one with the holes neatly drilled, and one without.

second, when I dry fitted the appliqué on the Decklid, it didn’t appear to line up with the backup camera nicely. At first, it was obscuring a 1/4 of the camera. I don’t know how much of the view it would block, but that didn’t sit right with me. There is a lip at the bottom that has to sit with the bottom lip of the Decklid in order for the double sided tape to stick. I could try to move the upper part over the camera to make it sit better, but it just didn’t look right to me. It almost seems like the holes weren’t milled to the right size.

Coupled with the lack of a drainage channel for water, I don’t think this is a good idea. I’m gonna sit on it for the week, and if I don’t wanna risk it I’ll return it to the dealer.

now I gotta go get another GT badge lol.

Sponsored

 

[Paul's stable]

When I bought my Mustang, I ordered the Air Design Rear Decklid Appliqué for the S650. I don’t know why Ford decided to get rid of the gloss black appliqué for the S650. It really finishes out the Decklid. And my car being white, it really looks plain back there

Don’t mind the tape, I had my detailer remove the GT emblem for me in anticipation of getting the Decklid appliqué.

when I took it out of the box, this is what I got:

Right away, saw a problem. According to the instructions, you need to drill out the two indentations on the back if you wanna retain your badge. I personally think Air Design should have two versions, one with the holes neatly drilled, and one without.

second, when I dry fitted the appliqué on the Decklid, it didn’t appear to line up with the backup camera nicely. At first, it was obscuring a 1/4 of the camera. I don’t know how much of the view it would block, but that didn’t sit right with me. There is a lip at the bottom that has to sit with the bottom lip of the Decklid in order for the double sided tape to stick. I could try to move the upper part over the camera to make it sit better, but it just didn’t look right to me. It almost seems like the holes weren’t milled to the right size.

Coupled with the lack of a drainage channel for water, I don’t think this is a good idea. I’m gonna sit on it for the week, and if I don’t wanna risk it I’ll return it to the dealer.

now I gotta go get another GT badge lol.

That last picture looks like an eye ball.

 

[DT-GT]

I also wish the black area was standard. I think it really makes the rear of the car look better. I ordered the appliqué from Ford and received the same appliqué as you with the same red GT and pony double-sided tape. My car had the GT, which I removed with no problem. I drilled the holes in the appliqué per the instructions at the spots marked on the appliqué. They lined up perfectly with the holes in the car where the GT fit. The hole for the rear view camera lined up correctly on mine. The end result looks good and fit correctly. I used Ford Reward points for the purchase, so not too bad. Either some designer thought the solid color on the rear looked good, or it was another way for Ford to save a few bucks.

Hopefully you have the emblem that was originally on the car.

 

[Tamadrummer88]

I also wish the black area was standard. I think it really makes the rear of the car look better. I ordered the appliqué from Ford and received the same appliqué as you with the same red GT and pony double-sided tape. My car had the GT, which I removed with no problem. I drilled the holes in the appliqué per the instructions at the spots marked on the appliqué. They lined up perfectly with the holes in the car where the GT fit. The hole for the rear view camera lined up correctly on mine. The end result looks good and fit correctly. I used Ford Reward points for the purchase, so not too bad. Either some designer thought the solid color on the rear looked good, or it was another way for Ford to save a few bucks.

Hopefully you have the emblem that was originally on the car.

i ended up ordering another GT emblem.

 

[GrabberB]

That last picture looks like an eye ball.

It really does look like an eyeball.

 

[sdsteele2]

There should be a small black vinyl “donut” to go around the camera and hide the body color.

I took the panel off after about a year of having it installed. There was minimal dirt behind the panel. I did use 3M adhesion promoter to help the adhesive tape stick when I installed it.

 

[Tamadrummer88]

There should be a small black vinyl “donut” to go around the camera and hide the body color.

there is, but the hole for the camera is cut really weird and doesn’t align nicely with dry fitting.

 

[DT-GT]

Just curious. Did you remove and reinstall, or did you decide against it for some reason?

There should be a small black vinyl “donut” to go around the camera and hide the body color.

I took the panel off after about a year of having it installed. There was minimal dirt behind the panel. I did use 3M adhesion promoter to help the adhesive tape stick when I installed it.

 

[Yamazuki]

I ordered the Air Design one as well, but then found one on BlueOval that is supposed to be a genuine Ford part with the Dark Horse badge already attached.

Needless to say, the Air Design one is still new in the box.
The other fit well but the hole for the camera did seem a little off.
No issues with it obstructing the camera view however.

 

[sdsteele2]

Just curious. Did you remove and reinstall, or did you decide against it for some reason?

I removed it. No particular reason, just changed my mind.

Sponsored