Painting emblems using lacquer paint and a hypodermic syringe

[kingstrider]

I've seen a few threads here about repainting emblems but nothing with photos showing how to do so thought I'd share. Over the years I've owned a number of classic cars and have tried most methods when refinishing emblems. Brushing with enamels usually turns out okay but the paint isn't very durable over time and is hard to eliminate brush strokes. Spraying can look really nice but masking is a total pain. By far the easiest method I've found is using lacquer paints and a hypodermic syringe, here's how.

While repairing and repainting the inner fenders on my 72, I thought I'd remove and repaint the worn emblems. Since the outer fenders are still on the truck, I had to get creative and modify one of my wrenches to reach the little nuts on the back side. Its amazing how much dirt these things trap under them.





Materials are pretty basic and include some commercial paint stripper, a toothbrush for scrubbing, safety glasses, rubber gloves (not shown), reading glasses or magnification (if required), a hypodermic syringe and needle, and lacquer paint, otherwise known as nail polish. The good thing about nail polish is it comes in a great variety of colors, many of which are suitable for projects such as this. The only hard thing to find is the needle and syringe but dentists use these routinely for irrigating root canals with NaClO or sodium hypocholorite, a bleach solution. I get them at the office but your dentist will probably give you a couple if you ask nicely.


Since my original emblems were pitted, I found some driver quality replacements on the board. All remaining paint was removed using the stripper and then neutralized with water.



When dry, the emblems were placed on my workbench by drilling holes to clear the studs and using a few q-tips to make sure they were perfectly level. That way the paint will flow out evenly across the surface.



For the white, I chose Maybelline Color Show 380 which was mixed and placed in the syringe. This was simply flowed into place, using the needle to manipulate it as little as possible. As long as your emblems are on a flat surface, the paint flows out very well by gravity alone. This is very similar to cloisonné in that capillary action causes the paint to flow within the recesses of the emblem. I also tend to use plenty of color, that way I don't have to go back and add a second coat later. Afterwards, the emblems were covered to keep dust off and allowed to dry overnight.





For the red, I bought two colors but wound up going with the lighter of the two, Maybelline Color Show 250. I wound up reusing my original Super emblems and had a couple of boo-boos but a little acetone (aka nail polish remover) cleaned them up once the paint was dry.




Once everything was finished, I simply put the emblems back on the truck as shown. In retrospect I think the red is a little dark but looks pretty good to me. Best of all I'm running OEM emblems and not imported repops or expensive NOS parts which is fine for a driver. Like I said, I've tried most methods but have found this gives a very nice result without a lot of effort.

[TheCougarine]

Wow im super impressed with how that turned out, I'll have to remember this if I ever need to redo some emblems.

[9teen69]

They look great, going to have to do mine now. Thanks for the info !
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[doo142]

Very nice, thanks fir sharing!!

[jondancer]

Great idea , thanks for posting

[Gromit]

Brilliant idea! Thank you for sharing... now that I see it I think "of course" but before seeing your post I know I would have been trying to mask off the emblem and cut the masking tape in the shape of the letters with an x-act-o knife.. even though I know how that usually turns out..(not perfect to say the least).. Your method works perfectly!

Agreed about the amount of dirt that collects under emblems but I'd like to add that even more so under trim. The space between the trim and body sheet metal all around my '70 was completely packed with dirt. I guess that when the body sheet metal gets wet the water mixes with the dust that has settled and it flows under the trim as an emulsion. Then when the water dries it leaves those accumulations of practically nano particles of dust.

Or maybe the air pressure from driving packs the dirt under the trim and emblems.

'70 truck trim still had holes through the body; I believe that GM wisely started with glued on trim a few years later to get rid of the through holes where rust could start as that accumulated dirt would turn to mud and hold moisture.

Thanks for the idea and thanks too for taking the trouble to tell the community.

[68bowtie]

this is fantastic, i've been wondering how to paint the black inside my choke delete.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Outstanding. Paint stripper doesn't harm chrome huh? I wouldn't have guessed. I have to paint mine as well, but black. Think I'm on board with this. Don't much know about nail polish, what brand did you use (edit: Maybelline, sorry) and why?

Good job, thread included.

[Man With A Gun]

Nice job! Definitely helps to see an alternative way of doing things.

[greedy geezer]

Beautiful Job

[motorcritter]

This is the solution I was looking for! Not just truck emblems, I've got a set of Triumph motorcycle tank emblems to repaint, and they've been done by the PO in enamel, and they look pretty nasty.
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[lutjanid]

It seems that nail polish isn't the most durable paint, but you could then spray the finished piece with a high quality clear to seal everything up.

[SideStepper]

I like your technic & the great looking results.
I am not a painter, so let me ask the question about using some kind of primer to ensure the lacquer adheres to the chrome.
I have seen "paint" chip off of chrome or stainless trim pieces as time goes on.
Is this a issue to worry about?

[toolboxchev]

I compliment you, on your ingenuity, skill, and thank you for sharing.

That's how we do it!

They look very professional

[87Skier]

Glad you posted this before I attempted painting mine!

[midniteblues]

Awesome job.they look killer
Thanks for sharing with us.

[Tdrcreyn4]

That's impressive. Where do you get the hypodermic syringe?

[Marla]

Wow...great idea...I will for sure try it myself...Marla

[bill3rail]

Great Job! I love little details like this being redone.
What was the red color?
Will you clear coat over everything to better preserve the finish?

Bill

[cooperhw]

Very nice job. Thanks for sharing.
"This is the type of thing a message board really shines at, which is sharing something that you know how to do with those of us who don't".

I put the ratty old C-30 emblems back on my truck after paint figuring some day I would find a nice replacement since repops are not available for mine. But now, I will be sprucing them dudes up.

Thanks again.

[FlameOut]

Wow, they look great! When I did mine, I used spray paint then just wiped across the top and sides with lacquer thinner. Turned out ok, but nowhere near as nice as yours did. I'm going to try this on my Chevelle Turbojet fender and Super Sport emblems

[Redline novdog]

Nice Job!!!! Thank you for the in depth how to also.This should make alot of people have a sigh of relief ! Me included. That looks to easy! but gratifying!

[kingstrider]

Thanks for all the compliments, always happy to share and to answer questions.

In my experience, paint stripper doesn't seem to harm the chrome but you should always test in an inconspicuous area first. Oven cleaner also works remarkably well for stripping paint and is even safe enough to use on plastics. I can't tell you how many model cars I've stripped using Easy Off oven cleaner haha. Of course YMMV and I would be hesitant to strip heavily pitted parts since the chrome is already failing.

As for the brand and colors, I just bought the closest colors for what I needed as discussed in the original post. The lacquer actually dries to a gloss and is fairly thick so I did not consider the need for a clear coat. In the event I need to refinish the emblems at some point, it is easy to take them off and repaint them and only takes a few dollars worth of materials.

Someone mentioned that nail polish is not very durable and I would have to agree when used for that purpose. After all, this is usually put on a woman's nails in a thin coat before rushing out the door to go to the market etc. Nevermind the nails contact everything and are subject to wear, or all the sebaceous oils and other crap on one's hands that prevents good adhesion.

I would argue, however, that cars and guitars were finished with nitrocellulose lacquer paints for decades and it is an extremely durable material when applied correctly. This includes proper cleaning of the substrate, as well as an adequate film thickness. Sure, modern automotive finishes are more durable but environmental restrictions are the real reason lacquer is no longer used by manufacturers. FWIW I used to build guitars and always used lacquer for my guitar finishes.

The only real concerns or reservations I would have are the possibility of lacquer checking when exposed to wide fluctuations in temperature, or color fastness of the red which is usually the least stable of any color. This might matter on a truck that spends all its days outdoors but since mine is a garage queen I have no worries.

Another question was in regards to primer to help the lacquer adhere to the chrome. I considered this but am not aware of any lacquer primers that come in small bottles. Using a disimilar material such as an enamel or epoxy primer might result in incompatibility issues and subsequent finish checking. Ultimately time will tell as far as the durability of Maybelline automotive products haha.

One final question was about the hypodermic syringe and needle, I'm a dentist so use these at work but you can start with your general dentist or endodontist. Surgeons also use the luer-lock syringes when administering IV medications but the needles are specific to dentistry.

Again thanks to all for the positive comments!

[NorCalC20LWB]

Wow, very nice! On my to do list, since the paint has been stripped off the emblems already. One question, do you flood the paint thick, or put on a thin coat?

Thanks again for such a great write up!

[Marla]

Originally Posted by kingstrider

Thanks for all the compliments, always happy to share and to answer questions.

In my experience, paint stripper doesn't seem to harm the chrome but you should always test in an inconspicuous area first. Oven cleaner also works remarkably well for stripping paint and is even safe enough to use on plastics. I can't tell you how many model cars I've stripped using Easy Off oven cleaner haha. Of course YMMV and I would be hesitant to strip heavily pitted parts since the chrome is already failing.

As for the brand and colors, I just bought the closest colors for what I needed as discussed in the original post. The lacquer actually dries to a gloss and is fairly thick so I did not consider the need for a clear coat. In the event I need to refinish the emblems at some point, it is easy to take them off and repaint them and only takes a few dollars worth of materials.

Someone mentioned that nail polish is not very durable and I would have to agree when used for that purpose. After all, this is usually put on a woman's nails in a thin coat before rushing out the door to go to the market etc. Nevermind the nails contact everything and are subject to wear, or all the sebaceous oils and other crap on one's hands that prevents good adhesion.

I would argue, however, that cars and guitars were finished with nitrocellulose lacquer paints for decades and it is an extremely durable material when applied correctly. This includes proper cleaning of the substrate, as well as an adequate film thickness. Sure, modern automotive finishes are more durable but environmental restrictions are the real reason lacquer is no longer used by manufacturers. FWIW I used to build guitars and always used lacquer for my guitar finishes.

The only real concerns or reservations I would have are the possibility of lacquer checking when exposed to wide fluctuations in temperature, or color fastness of the red which is usually the least stable of any color. This might matter on a truck that spends all its days outdoors but since mine is a garage queen I have no worries.

Another question was in regards to primer to help the lacquer adhere to the chrome. I considered this but am not aware of any lacquer primers that come in small bottles. Using a disimilar material such as an enamel or epoxy primer might result in incompatibility issues and subsequent finish checking. Ultimately time will tell as far as the durability of Maybelline automotive products haha.

One final question was about the hypodermic syringe and needle, I'm a dentist so use these at work but you can start with your general dentist or endodontist. Surgeons also use the luer-lock syringes when administering IV medications but the needles are specific to dentistry.

Again thanks to all for the positive comments!

Ah...cars and guitars...two of my favorite subjects...Marla