DIY Black Emblems
 

This may have been discussed previously, but I decided to black out my rear emblems with the use of some Plasti Dip purchased from Lowes. I first cleaned the emblems with alcohol then applied three coats over about 10 minutes and then let dry for an hour. The excess peals off. The emblems can also be returned to chrome by pealing off the Plasti Dip. Total cost about $10.

http://jch.smugmug.com/Cars/C63/DSCN...01_9uVKG-L.jpg

http://jch.smugmug.com/Cars/C63/DSCN...61_3yRrK-L.jpg

http://jch.smugmug.com/Cars/C63/DSCN...42_tXVWa-L.jpg

http://jch.smugmug.com/Cars/C63/DSCN...67_oWFzu-L.jpg

Man that looks great! I think I just may have to try this...but I do have one question; how were you able to peel off the excess without pulling anything off the emblems themselves? In particular, how did you peel the excess from the inside of the star and around/in between the letters/numbers?

Thanks!

Looks great! :y

The excess pulls off around the edges easily. You don't really need to score it although I did use a toothpick a little but just to get an edge to pull on with some tweezers on the interior areas.

Here's a link to a Lexus thread that does a good job of explaining
the process:
http://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-s...-required.html

wow great job.

Plasti-dip is some amazing stuff. I tried to black out my side markers using PD, but I could not get it to go on evenly. i kept getting little air bubbles trapped.

I thought about even using it for my rear spoiler, but after the issues I had spraying it on I decided that was not a good idea until I figured out how to use it.

Any suggestions?

Man this is terrific...I'm going to try this on my emblems, grill and the chrome window trim!

+1 - I was able to successfully handle the removal of the interior of the letters / numbers but after three unsuccessful tries I just left the inside of my star plastidip black

props to OP to getting it done right the first time!

Nice. Maybe not at home depot, but I believe Plasti Dip is available in different colors also!

How durable is this product with washes, rain or rock chips?

Having just applied it I don't have any experience with it yet, but the Lexus thread states that it holds up well over at least a couple years to rock chips, washes, etc. Probably want to keep wax off of it though so it doesn't discolor. You can always peal it off and reapply if necessary.

Nice DIY I did same thing last weekend, but I took the emblems by accident yesterday I wish I didn't.The front grill should get this done to protect it from rock chip.

But guys make sure to apply more that two clear coats using the PD to get thick rubber coat and can easily remove it.

This is a VERY cool trick, thanks for sharing! I'd be nervous spraying my paint w/plasti-dip spray but obviously it pulls off the paint. Not so sure about doing wheels like this (Lexus guys) but the emblems would be easy enough to touch-up if they got scuffed.

Looks great! Came out very clean.
I'm gonna head to Lowes soon. lol

These Lexus guys are insane... a 54-page thread on plasti dip.

BTW you emblems look good. Now do the ones on the front fenders :)

BTW your wheels look sick...and those orange side markers are like huge zits on an otherwise supermodel front fascia! Clear markers brah. :y

I have my front grille chrome Plasti-Dipped. Almost 8K miles, no chips. Looks just as good as the day i did it..

Exactly what I am going to do with my front grill and I am going to use the the same technique. I dont think with plasti dip you need to remove parts because excess just peels off...

Looks good!

Do you know how to remove the front grill? I tried searching but only found a thread on removing the standard W204 grill...I believe our grills are different.

Thanks!

Heres my Plasti-Dipped grille.

https://i902.photobucket.com/albums/...9/11683d1f.jpg


Heres the removal..

Remove the two plastic push fasteners on the top of the grille, than push the grille at the bottom where it meets the bumper. This will unclip it from the bumper. Now lift the grille straight up..
__________________

^^^^^
Thank you for the instructions...can't wait to get this done.

For the emblems, the plasti-dip makes sense b/c you can't easily remove them w/out having to realign and resecure them.

For the grille though, wouldn't it make more sense to remove the entire part and spray w/something more durable? Like a flat/matte enamel spray.

I agree with the grille removal. this is how i did it. As far as durability. I cant see any paint being more durable than Plasti-Dip. It pretty much becomes a rubberized coating extremely resistant to chips, and if in fact it does chip, you can just peel it off, and respray. :y

Right on. I'll have to try this when I finally get the courage to black out the emblems on my car.

great job. and seems very simple - i was thinking about blacking out my cls55 grille or buy buy another one and have it painted but this seems to be able to do the trick!

this gave me an idea--has anyone plasti-dipped their orange side markers?
I gotta get rid of these things and I was going to go with the million dollar evosport ones, but this might be a simpler and cheaper way to go and easy to remove if needed--does this $h!t come shiney or just matte?

Yeah, I tried to, but I couldn't get a smooth coat. I tried varying the spray distance, lightly spraying it on and finally just drenching it. None worked for me. It is definitely a matte finish. But it just peels right off.

Thanks for the DIY on this. It looks great!!!!
I will do this tonight on my mars red and post a pic.:y

damn it:wall: I was all excited for a moment:D

how easy is it to peel off? will pressure washing the car peel off the coating?

Pressure washing is pretty intense...I suspect that if you already have a tear or two in the rubber, pressure washing a weak spot might cause some flaking/peeling...

Agree. I have no issues with a strong garden hose though.

Lol thanks man. The side markers do kill the look of the front, Ive been meaning to order clear ones but just get lazy.

Here it is!!!
http://i51.tinypic.com/29qcej4.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/kpwed.jpg

Looks great! Nice color contrast. Initially I thought you PD'd the chrome trunk strip too, but I see that it's CF - where did you get it?

Thanks,

John

Love this look - great job bro!

Thanks for the + comments ! The chrome stripe is wrapped with the new scotchprint carbon fiber. See my other post about wrapping my grill.
This is a very easy mod (painting the emblems)! I was done in thirty minutes.

Awesome job jim!! Love the red & black theme.

I cannot wait to do this! I just dont get out of work in time - it's usually dark by the end of my day...hoping I can squeeze this in before the weekend though.

Looks great on red. Also like how you did the red around the tail lights.

Thanks to the OP
great DIY!

Just painted my emblems tonight including the trunk chrome strip, it looks really nice. Thanks for the inspiration JCH!!

My pleasure, guys - glad to help.:)

WOW...looks really good...good color combo :y

Now all you need to do is get a front lip and your caliper project :y

oh the side markers too :D

I saw a thread that tried this on his Wheels and he mentioned that is holding up and as long as you dont go to a gasoline station carwash or pressurized wash.

Went to the self car wash today and next thing I notice the plasti dip was peeling off. Maybe ill re-apply it, not sure though.

Already? How many coats did you put on?

3

I plasti-dipped me grill last evening. It looks great! I hope that it doesn't start peeling off.

Any thoughts on plasti-dipping the chrome window trim? Has anyone here tried that before?

I'm thinking an extensive painters tape job should keep my windows clean...I'm going to try it this weekend and will report back on how it all works out.

I removed all my window trim and had it painted gloss black. the upper trim is one huge piece I could see plasti-dipping being a challenge.

Also the side emblems don't look right all black they turn pretty much unreadable from more than 3 feet away and just look like a black blob. I went back to stock ones after painting them black.

How hard is it to remove the window trims? I was thinking of doing mine gloss black

Here's my E55 with Plasti-dipped grill. I think that it looks great. (Car is filthy though).
http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/r...k/IMAG0263.jpg

the big top piece just pulls right off, start on one side and work your way across. the bottom pieces slide out after you pull the end caps off. not hard at all.

What are you planning to use to paint it gloss black?

I'm going crazy because neither Plasti Dip nor Rusto-leum engine enamel (for painting the engine air box) are available in Dubai... :wall: and i can't ship any of those by air!

Don't go crazy, just get an extra set of badges from your dealer and paint them yourself, no big deal. Primer coat, then a few coats of flat/matte black enamel spray you should be able to find at an auto parts store. The Plasti Dip trick is useful if you want to "paint" the badges black without removing them from the vehicle, but IMO paint is still a better option...it wont peel away.

Too bad hearing about the Plasti dip peeling off under moderate water pressure. That's what I was afraid of.

After only a few days.... my plasti-dipped grill has already started to bubble up in a couple places.... Looks like I'm going to have to peel it off and try again. Has anyone peeled this stuff off? How hard is this going to be? (I did 3 coats)

This is a PIA...tried it this weekend, although I did rush, and experienced bubbling...I had to peel it all off, which was annoying, particularly around the lettering and between the numbers! I'm going to take some time out this weekend to try it again - hopefully it will be less windy and I'll be able to spray an even coat.

Did you guys clean the surface well with alcohol? My grille has been painted for thousands of miles, and not one chip, or bubble. Ive also, done friends cars emblems, and grilles. Ive even done a complete diffuser, and not once has any of them peeled off from washing, or rubbing against. :nix:

Be sure to do light even coats, and allow it time to properly dry.

When I was a teenager I worked at a body shop. It was drilled into my head that the prep work in 90% of a good paint job. It sound like you guys are not taking your time on the cleaning of the items you want the paint to stick to. The most important parts are the edges were you want the paint to separate from the overspray. If you have dirt or worse wax you are wasting your time.

Guilty as charged. I will be setting aside the proper amount of time this weekend to clean, prep and re-apply. The windy conditions and uneven spray from the can didn't help but I will try again this weekend in earnest.

Warm the can in the sun or warm water. It will make a finer spray.

Does anyone have any tips on how to quickly/easily remove the overspray? The wind blew some spray on areas of my car that were not taped up.

Ouch, hope you get that sorted out ASAP. Seems so not worth it to me. Previous owner of my car had all the chrome badges as well as the rear trunk strip and front grille professionally painted and by the time I picked up the car from him (car is an '09), the grill was full of rock chips and all the other painted chrome pcs were peeling and/or chipped. Thankfully, the shop didn't sand them down and I was able to restore them to the factory chrome. Also had the grill vinyl wrapped instead. Worked out pretty good I think although after about 6 months, I did manage to get one rock chip in the vinyl. I think some of u guys who want to do the window trim should consider using vinyl. Should be a bit more durable than paint or plasti-dip.

Well I'm not super concerned with the overspray because it's just rubber...I can get it out with elbow grease but was curious to know if there were any easy tricks/solutions to expedite the process.

Try a clay car..

I figured as much but when I used a clay bar last week, it left a strange, faint pattern circular pattern in the clear coat that I cannot wipe away or wash off...you can only see if from certain angles in the light but I am concerned because I dont know why or where it came from, I just know it wasn't there before I clayed it.

I used Mother's Quick Detailing spray and Clay Bar.

Hey Obsidian, did you have to mask off the gloss plastic parts? I'm not sure what type of surface that plastidip will stay on and what type of surface it will just come off.