Painting emblems using lacquer paint and a hypodermic syringe

[bigmac73]

I just looked on amazon , several options for hypo syringe ect ect

[WarMonger]

One of the better post i have seen in a while. Great job.

[Heavy12]

Thanks for sharing all the details. Your letters look awesome the way they flowed up to the edges.

[New_70'C10]

I'll say it again, this is one of the most helpful post I've seen on here in a while. I think you've done a excellent job in restoring your emblems and a great service to our community by sharing what you've learned along your path. Thanks again.

[TexasLS1]

What!?!? This is awesome, thanks for sharing this. I have been wondering how I could add the blue paint to the GM badge on my under dash Harrison AC unit in the cab. This is perfect. Your badges came out fantastic!

[tim's68gmc]

nice job you make it look easy, will have to give it a shot on mine.

[cleszkie]

Remember not to share needles though.......

[snipescastle2]

I tried using one shot lettering enamel, but you cant go too thick or it wrinkles. I seen a tip somewhere showing some one using "Jewelry Resin" and a "Sharpie" pen for the coloring dye.
I bought some white pigment for the resin, because it's clear, did mine this way and they turned out pretty nice, even did my engine badges the same way. You can get the resin at any "Hobby Lobby" for under $20...... Enjoy!
Ben Smith

[kehstr]

never would have thought of this, cool idea!

[kingstrider]

Originally Posted by Marla

Attachment 1473001

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

Awesome collection you have Marla, I'm a huge Beatles fan as well. I like the Rickenbacker, I've never owned one but have had a few others over the years. I grew up in a musical family and started building guitars in high school. Years ago I was building a line of custom neck-through semi-hollowbodies in small batches and envisioned myself the next Paul Reed Smith. At one time I was even offered a job at a guitar company doing pearl inlay and finish work but wound up going back to school instead.

[Frank_Zappa]

If we had a "Best Post Of The Week" I would vote for this one. Nicely done badges are a cool addition. (even though we don't need no stinkin badges) Thanks man.

[Frank_Zappa]

Hubby: Hey Honey. Can I borrow your red nail polish?

Wifie: Well sure I guess. Hey where are you going with it?

Hubby: The garage.

Wifie: The garage? What are doing with it in the garage?

Hubby: The emblems on my truck are cracked and flakey.

Wifie: Yeah right. YOU ARE NOT FOOLING ANYONE BOB! IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A MIDLIFE CRISIS GO BUY YOUR OWN BOB!

Hubby: Women. Can't live with em...............

[Heavy12]

Amazing guitar work. I bet your detailing on your truck is second to none as well.There is so much to learn and so little time. My next project is a acoustic guitar for my son. Built him a electric one years ago.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by 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.

Seems then you're back to taping.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by Frank_Zappa

Hubby: Hey Honey. Can I borrow your red nail polish?

Wifie: Well sure I guess. Hey where are you going with it?

Hubby: The garage.

Wifie: The garage? What are doing with it in the garage?

Hubby: The emblems on my truck are cracked and flakey.

Wifie: Yeah right. YOU ARE NOT FOOLING ANYONE BOB! IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A MIDLIFE CRISIS GO BUY YOUR OWN BOB!

Hubby: Women. Can't live with em...............

ILMAO......Even more @ your handle. Vinnie Colaiuta is a top 5 in my drum player opinion (Bonham, Rich, Colaiuta, Peart, Beauford).

[PAWS 72]

Good looking job.

[snipescastle2]

not to hijack the thread, but some folks asked to see my fender emblems.....
Ben

[toolboxchev]

I want a set!

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

not to hijack the thread, but some folks asked to see my fender emblems.....
Ben

Be interesting to read the process/description for doing this "sharpie and jewelry resin".

[snipescastle2]

I found the jewelry resin info on youtube actually. You want to buy the "Envirotex" jewelry resin set one kit has two bottles, one- 1 oz. Bottle of resin, and one 1 oz. Bottle of hardener.
As I mentioned before, this resin is clear, so you have to use a pigment, I also bought a 1 oz. Bottle of white ( you can get other colors) but I only needed white, its called "Castin' Craft".
Now, for the Red, if I had used the white to make my red color, it would have looked factory, however, I elected to keep my red transparent, for a different look.
now, here's where the Sharpie pens come in...
If you have ever messed with any kind of a magic marker, and split it apart, there is a tube, kinda felt reservoir that holds the ink, well, that's what you use out of the Sharpie pen for the colored dye, depending on how dark or light you want the color, you just add more as you mix. That's it.....
One thing about the jewelry resin, it doesn't setup right away, took me almost 8 hours before it was dry to the touch. I would set the finished emblems in the utility room( covered so no dust would settle on them) and the added heat in the room would cure it faster. That's all, and it waz on youtube....

[Waldoe]

i have a new project now. very nice

[magicoolbus]

I used jewelers resin and the white pigment and the red. While not stock colors, I gave a similar result as the O.P.

[kingstrider]

Gentlemen, those emblems are very nicely done, thanks for posting photos. It is good to show other options for folks that want to do something similar.

Having also used resin I can say it works well, especially if you are going for a custom look like on the emblems shown. Epoxy cures hard so is very durable, much better than lacquer I'm sure. The downside is color selection is very limited for solid opaque hues, though they can be altered somewhat by mixing. Bubbles in the finish are another potential problem but can be minimized by allowing the parts to slowly cure at room temperature or by putting them in a pressure pot overnight. The biggest disadvantage, however, is removal and refinishing of the resin should the need ever arise due to color fade, cracking etc. This can be a real pain since you usually have to heat the part to soften the resin and physically scrape it off, though in some cases you can just pry it out with a tool. Just something for others to think about before going that direction since it is intended to be permanent.

In my case I went with lacquer paint since it looks more original with the right thickness and sheen. Compared side by side, epoxy resin looks like thick glossy plastic because that's what it is. Lacquer also costs less, about $8 for 2 bottles of finish which is readily available and can be found in almost any store. Shade selection is also very good which allows better matching of original colors. Plus it is easy to use, just shake and apply, no mixing required. Drying time is also substantially less, usually a couple of hours and can be accelerated by putting the parts in an oven at 170°F. Perhaps best of all, it can be easily removed if desired, something worth considering when repainting vintage and hard to find OEM parts. Only time will tell how the lacquer holds up but remember they used to finish cars with lacquer paint so I know it is a durable finish.

For those that are sitting on the fence, you really just have to ask yourself what you are most concerned with, longevity or authenticity. It would be interesting to compare how the two methods hold up over time.

[snipescastle2]

One thing that I did with my fender emblems, was to shoot some 2k Clear over them once they had cured, just to give them a little UV protection. I'm thinking of trying a larger scale resin project later, possibly the grill "Bow Tie"
but, using a transparent "Blue" maybe even with LED back lighting........ If I knew of a cheap Mirror "Silver" I think I could even replicate the factory look...
Have a good one!
Ben

[Metaldoc]

I've used the needle for refilling ink cartridges to paint with. they hole a lot of paint and has a good size tube.