Emblems and badges restoration

[bigdon-70blazer]

Anybody remember if there are any threads about how to paint the black letters and such on our emblems? I searched but did not have time to sit for hours looking thought one of you may remember. I am trying to freshen up the Blazer emblems and the "4 wheel drive" badge form it's faded past.

[71blksuper4x4]

Here is a very quick way to help you out. Clean your emblems very well with soap and water with a brush. Get you some black laquer spray paint. Then, spray the emblem unmasked. Then after the paint drys, wipe the chrome edges off with a rag soaked in laquer thinner, and for corners and hard to rich spots, get out q-tips with laquer thinner. Hope this helps, Trevor

[71blksuper4x4]

It would be better yet, if you used a q-tip with a touch of 400 grit sandpaper around it and sand in the letter a little bit before cleaning. That way your paint has something to bite onto the chrome. Then to shine up your emblems, I use steel wool and windex lightly rubbing the surface. Really works to get tarnish off of chrome, but do that after your paint has fully dried as steel wool will leave bits of it's self until you wash it off. Trevor

[JJanzen]

I get the piece all cleaned up, then put it on a level surface. I then drop in lacquer thinner so that the entire bottom(area to be painted) is "wet". Then, take an eyedropper and fill it with "unthinned" enamel paint, drop it into the wet lacquer thinner and watch it spread out to where you want it to fill. The lacquer thinner then evaporates off and your are left with a perfect fill and no paint on the interior sides of the emblem....just the bottom where you want it.

[71blksuper4x4]

Joel, do you use scale model paint? or like Rustoleum pint paint?

[JJanzen]

I have used both your garden variety enamels you find at the hardware store but my favorite is One Shot Bulletin Enamel. It comes in a wider variety of colors. It is the same paint that oldtime sign painters use and can be found at some automotive paint suppliers and sign material distributors. Here is their website:
http://www.1shot.com/home.html

['68 C-20]

JJanzen,
awesome idea. It would work well for restoring the old wheel covers as well!

[dan42]

Ditto that - killer idea. I have always wondered what the best way to do that is. Thanks for the input.

[72BlckButy]

Awesome idea JJanzen!

Filed that one away for future reference...

['68 C-20]

Originally Posted by JJanzen

I have used both your garden variety enamels you find at the hardware store but my favorite is One Shot Bulletin Enamel. It comes in a wider variety of colors. It is the same paint that oldtime sign painters use and can be found at some automotive paint suppliers and sign material distributors. Here is their website:
http://www.1shot.com/home.html

Are you refering to model paint or 1/2 pints of enamal? I would like to play with this a bit before I order the good stuff.

I see the one shot is owned by Spraylat, they make a pretty good line of customer Powders.

[JJanzen]

I think any enamel (suitable for exterior use) would work. My only concern about model paint is its' durability in an exterior application. The exterior enamels will have UV inhibitors that will keep it from fading and I don't know if model paints have that. If you have to thin it to get it to flow, use lacquer thinner, it will evaporate off the fastest. Also, I don't know how long this has been a Spraylat product...One Shot has been around for about 50 years or more. Like anything, you will have to play around with it to get it to work perfectly. Good luck.

[bigdon-70blazer]

Got the stuff and I am going to try it tomorrow! Thanks!

[71blksuper4x4]

Don, did you get a semi-gloss/Satin black??? Gloss will be to shiny and flat is really really dull. Trevor

[rambler]

subscribing to this post, and hoping for pics later of your progress!

[tcb-1]

too bad we can't give rep points jjanzen, you'd receive some from me!

post up some progress pics on the emblems, big bro.....

['68 C-20]

Will be monitorin' please post pics as soon as you can. I want to use this process on my hubcaps.

[bigdon-70blazer]

Originally Posted by 71blksuper4x4

Don, did you get a semi-gloss/Satin black??? Gloss will be to shiny and flat is really really dull. Trevor

They don't sell laquer paint anymore but I did find some in a spray can that I am going to try and I will post pics due to all the interest in this subject. Wish me luck, I'm going in!!!

[bigdon-70blazer]

I got gloss black because the area is so small...

['68 C-20]

Experiment with it on a scrap piece but I have found that a little Toluene available at all hardware stores will dull down the gloss a little. I stumbled upon it when I used a brush cleaned in it when I changed colors while painting steel patio furnature. I noticed that area that I started with was duller then the end I finished with. Then the light dawned and I realized my brush was still wet from the Toluene when I started to paint.

by itself It evaporates quickly and might just work as well as the Lacquer Thinner on enamel paints.

[JJanzen]

Don,
I don't think you want to use lacquer paint. It flashes too quickly and won't have a chance to settle in the piece like an oil based enamel. I think you could use any thinner that evaporates quickly....my preference is lacquer thinner because I always have it around.

[71blksuper4x4]

I prefer lacquer paint as that would be what the factory used and I think it adheres to the chrome better than enamel, though it might take a few extra coats.

[100gold]

Good ideas here. I shipped my woodgrain door inserts and glove box door down to the Terrys in Abilene and slipped all my emblems and the hvac chrome slider face in the box at the last minute.

His price for restoring my emblems was very reasonable. I want to say it was about 10.00 per if I remember right. They should be back today or tomorrow and I could post some pics if you're interested.

[gcburdic]

Good stuff!!...Thanks Guys!!

[bigdon-70blazer]

Originally Posted by 100gold

Good ideas here. I shipped my woodgrain door inserts and glove box door down to the Terrys in Abilene and slipped all my emblems and the hvac chrome slider face in the box at the last minute.

His price for restoring my emblems was very reasonable. I want to say it was about 10.00 per if I remember right. They should be back today or tomorrow and I could post some pics if you're interested.

Interested!

[bigdon-70blazer]

Well, I did it and they turned out fine! Used some acrylic laquer gloss spray paint, a syringe and needle, if you can believe that. Sprayed the paint in a container so I could draw some up into the syringe. Then I placed the emblems on a level surface, poked holes in a box and mounted them there then filled up the letters and lines with paint from the syringe. Easy! Let dry and mount. Don't know how long it will last but looks pretty good I think!