DIY "Black Pearl" Emblems..

[dutchie101]

See here on club lexus:

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/automotive-care-and-detailing/302602-tutorial-diy-black-pearl-style-emblems.html

Copied here:

Tutorial: DIY "Black Pearl" style Emblems

yep, not exactly the same as this method is paint based but il be damned if it doesnt look good

Materials Required:

1-OEM Chrome Emblems (duh )

2-Soap+water+sponge+cloth+etc...

3-Tamiya Polycarbonate PS-31 Smoke Spray Paint (your local hobby shop should carry this)

4-beverage of choice

5-rubber/nitrile/latex/vinyl gloves

now, let me note that the emblems i made-over were new, relatively clean, and therefore didnt need to be taken off the car or prepped much.

Procedures:

1-acquire emblems:

heres a set of V8 emblems BEFORE paint.

2-place beverage in cooler/refrigerator to chill

3-use soapy water and a sponge/rag of your choice to THOROUGLY clean (but try not to scratch) your emblems wipe dry with cloth. wearing gloves after this would be a good idea so u dont get any fingerprints on the emblems as they would show up thru the paint.

4-take your paint and follow instructions on can to shake and then spray several LIGHT LIGHT coats over the emblem maybe 10-15 seconds apart. remember, we DONT want a deep coat, just enough to darken up the chrome and still look even.

heres the paint i used.

5-take beverage and relax for a few hours to let the paint dry, do NOT try to touch it early, because we're painting on a shiny surface any mistakes on your part will look worse.

6-enjoy your freshly painted emblems for a fraction of the cost of OEM black pearl

heres the result of the V8 emblems from earlier

Total Cost:

Paint - ~$5 at hobby shop

soap+water+rag - ~$3

beverage - ~$(?)

Total Project Cost: <$10

questions or comments are welcome

NOTE: if the emblem is on the front of the car or in a high wear area (near rear edge of a fender for example) putting a layer of clear coat is prolly a good idea. im not clearing the emblems on the sides of the car but am using clear on my front emblem.

EDIT 10/25/09:

Alright guys, to cut down the number of PMs flooding my inbox, here are a few additions.

Clear: I prefer DupliColor Automotive clear, in several light coats as directed on the can, on ANY emblems going on the front of the car, or near the trailing edge of a wheel arch, as these will see the most rock chips/debris. i currently clear ALL emblems i do for protection.

Shade: To keep your emblems the color you want, for the first pass, spray a couple LIGHT coats of the tamiya paint, and stop when the emblems are a shade or two LIGHTER than what you want as a final result. wait ~2-5minutes and evaluate if it's dark enough for you, if not, spray an extra coat or two, then pause again. the whole idea is that when wet, the paint willl appear slightly lighter, though varying results have been seen. overall, it's easier to make the final product darker, than it is to make it lighter. Once you have your desired shade, proceed to clear.

Adhesion Promoter: I recco DupliColor Adhesion Promoter, use very light coats (1-2, keep it thin) on a well cleaned and degreased shiny surface, and proceed with the tamiya/clear process. Some members have reported hazing issues, so ymmv.

Posted by PureDrifter.

[juvenile]

Tempting, Netz and Auris badges Nice one

[u54mot]

Tempting, Netz and Auris badges Nice one

Should try this colour

[-DAvo]

lovely work mate :)

can also go to your local panel shop and get them to mix up something special with lots of flake for a 6 pack :) i had mine done in black with goldish flake mmmmmm

[le.vinh.zr]

awesom Peter!, gonna do mine pearl white! :)

[dutchie101]

Thought some of you might like it... :)

Careful guys, The Smoke is actually a transparent colour/tint. If you go with other Tamiya colours you bound to just get a opaque colour, not transparent colour over the chrome. Also be careful to stop when 1-2 shades lighter than you like, it will darken upon drying. And dont forget the clear coats after!

Like Davo said, you can have some paint mixed up to your liking at your local painter. Perhaps a pearl white "watered down" with clear and a little more pearl mica added in would get you the white pearl you desire Vinh. I would say, you could then just take it to your local autobarn or similar shop and have them put it into a pressure pack for you... we did this back in the day for custom matching show car bits.... Or just give the painter another 6 pack and get him to paint it for you with a few extra coats of clear over the pearl.

Debating whether to get some extra new Lexus badges to try it out... but considering there is a load of other chrome bits on the car, it might look out of place..

Other Tamiya Paints that may be applicable:

PS-36 Translucent Silver

PS-37 Translucent Red

PS-38 Translucent Blue

PS-39 Translucent Light Blue

PS-40 Translucent Pink (looking at you John)

PS-42 Translucent Yellow

PS-43 Translucent Orange

PS-44 Translucent Green

PS-45 Translucent Purple

Non translucent:

PS-57 Pearl White

PS-58 Pearl Clear

[johnnieboi]

Ouuu.. a gold titanium hue would be something different..

[dutchie101]

If you wanna get creative with an air brush, you can copy styles similar to Grazio&Co:

Blue Splash:

Gold Splash:

Example of the Black Pearl:

[jeffy]

that gold one looks very niiice :] !