painting emblems

[PromiseKeeper]

I was thinking about the "shine" on mine as well. I was going to use some jewelery cleaner. When I opened it up, it smelled like ammonia. I decided I would go that route instead. I soaked them in ammonia and gave them a good scrubbing with a brush. All the old paint came out and the chrome sparkled!

[bake315]

I was thinking about the "shine" on mine as well. I was going to use some jewelery cleaner. When I opened it up, it smelled like ammonia. I decided I would go that route instead. I soaked them in ammonia and gave them a good scrubbing with a brush. All the old paint came out and the chrome sparkled!

Hmmmm, I may give that a whirl.  I also was thinking about using a Dremel on low speed with some metal polish - probably something like "S" grade Nuvite.

[79 chevy]

i like it looks very nice. i took mine off wish i didnt now they were not that nice looking.

[bake315]

i like it looks very nice. i took mine off wish i didnt now they were not that nice looking.

Well, even these are fairly pitted from being exposed to the elements over the years.  Some folks like 'em for certain reasons (mine being personal nostalgia) others don't care for them and go for the clean look.  What's great is that both styles work and both can look awesome - just boils down to what works for ya. 

[79 chevy]

ya i might still clean them and paint just for something to do. it is pretty sweet what a little paint can do..

[PromiseKeeper]

Finally the promised pics! Drumroll please! The emblems had some pitting, but I was happy with how they came out, especially when I picked them up for $5 apiece 

[bake315]

Finally the promised pics! Drumroll please! The emblems had some pitting, but I was happy with how they came out, especially when I picked them up for $5 apiece 

Primo!  Nicely done! (clapping)

I have yet to begin working on my fender emblems, but have continued to work on my Camper Special badging.  I spent every evening this past week on just one - the one I've yet to paint.  You may be wondering what I'd been doing to just one of them if it took me so long, so I'll take a picture Monday and post it up.

[big bear]

looks great man !  good job

[bake315]

OK, here are some pics of the Camper Special emblem.  The pictures don't really do it justice.

 Took a week using a metal polish called Nuvite  and a Dremel.  Very fiddly stuff.  I did discover a way to polish in the smaller parts of the emblem.  I basically took Q-tips , cut them in half, then used the halves chucked in the Dremel.  As they got black and grubby, I swapped out for a new piece and keot on going.  You have to be careful when doing this - the chrome plating is very thin, and if you get too aggressive, you can burn straight through to the copper plate underneath.

[PromiseKeeper]

Looking good bake! Those emblems look to be in great shape. Did they have pits that you were able to polish out, or were they they not pitted to begin with? At any rate,  you sure have them shining!

[78 Chevyrado]

Dang!  What a transformation!  Can't wait to see them in paint again!

[bake315]

Looking good bake! Those emblems look to be in great shape. Did they have pits that you were able to polish out, or were they they not pitted to begin with? At any rate,  you sure have them shining!

Thanks guys! There actually are just a few pits in them.  The polishing more sort of smoothed them over, so they're a lot harder to see.  I'm very fortunate that all of my badges/emblems are in great shape considering their age.  I can't wait to see them in paint again, myself!

[Jason S]

Had to dredge up this post.  This posting is one that I read along time ago and spurred me to join the site.

Here a couple of photos of my emblems that were repainted over 10 years ago and recent, quick repaint on the grill lettering.

The orange on the Camper Special emblem is Testor model paint, the black and yellow were either Krylon or Rustoleum.  When applied, the model paint looked great, but failed to hold up to the elements as well as the spray can paint.  The closest yellow that I could find was Old Caterpillar yellow, and seems to be a pretty good match to the burnt yellow of the emblems.


The GMC lettering on the grill was painted with the Testor paint and had faded to the awful pink-orange like the Camper Special emblems.
I repainted the letters with about the closest orange I could find at the time, Krylon pumpkin orange, around June of this year.  It's a decent orange, but doesn't match the orange on the fender badge. 



Does anyone have suggestions about a close GMC orange that would be available from Krylon or Rustoleum? I don't think I really want to try the model paints again.

The Sierra 2500 emblem was a NOS piece that I put on about 12 years ago.  There "25 Hundred" is raised and there was black around the lettering. Any ideas on how one would go about restoring the black? 

[Engineer]

All right, spill it guys........

Where can I find the GM ochre?

I need to redo the square emblems on my cab corner molding.

[Jason S]

Unless someone has any other suggestions, Old Caterpillar Yellow is about the closest shade of yellow that I've found.