DIY - Matte Black Emblems

[dutchie101]

Hey hey,

Again, another great emblem mod from ClubLexus guys..

Enjoy!

Problem: After searching long and hard, couldn't find any matte blackemblems to purchase for the IS350... The black pearl emblems are out of the budget so I decided to just do it myself. Like most folks I hate the idea of having to use fishing line or something else to uninstall emblems then reinstall with new 3M tape.

Credit here.

SO here goes.. shooting black emblems with PlastiDip!

Materials

1. Can of PlastiDip purchased from Home Depot

2. Small plastic pick/spackle thing.

3. Masking Tape

4. Newspaper

5. Patience

6. Rubbing Alcohol, Soap, water

7. Cotton Swabs

8. Clean Towels

Steps

1. Clean around your emblems. Use soap and water if your car's real dirty. Then make sure you get down into the cracks. Dry it off and get back in there with some cotton swabs & alcohol. Again make sure the surface is dry before you even think about painting.

2. Mask off the area with some masking tape and newspaper in case of overspray.

3. Now you're ready to spray.. WHAT? NO SANDING? Right.. no sanding. Plasti Dip is a multi-purpose air dry, synthetic rubber coating that can be easily applied by spraying. Its been used on grills by BMW, Audi and many lexus owners too. Do a search and you'll see.

4. Make sure you shake that can up and do a test pass on some newspaper so you see how much comes out of the nozzle. From there shoot a thin coat on your emblems.

5. Wait a few minutes and make a darker pass.

6. Then give it 15 minutes or so then apply a second coat. I went and did a 3rd coat. I didn't want it to appear too thick.

7. I let it dry for about an hour before i decided to pull off my masking tape. Some folks say 30 minutes. The can said an hour.

8. Now peel off the masking tape.. You'll notice the rubber want to pull off with the tape, thats no problem, just don't go rubbing it too fast. Thats no fun. when the rubber breaks and u have to get into the little cracks of the emblems to pull it off.

[dutchie101]

9. Now with your fingers, just begin peeling it back. The PlastiDip will peel off your paint no problem and it begins breaking around where the emblem adhere to the car.

10. To get into the middle areas, just use a plastic pick or your finger nail (if you have access to small fingers?) and pick at it.. It'll just peel off like dry elmer's glue again.

11. Enjoy your new emblems.

FAQ

How long does it last especially without any prep work like normal paint?

Again, its a synthetic rubber spray.. It requires no prep besides a clean surface to adhere to. The plastidip does last long, and if there is a blemish, peel that stuff off your emblems, mask and repeat.

Have you used it before? How do you know?

I've sprayed my BMW front grills and emblems and they've held up for a couple years without any chips. Car washes are fine too Also do a search, you'll find a lot of people using plastidip.

Remember, to each their own. This look isn't for everyone. I have matte black wheels so I decided to go this route on the car. Enjoy!

Posted by wearegiant on ClubLexus

Original link here:

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-second-generation/527165-diy-matte-black-emblems-plastidip-no-emblem-removal-required.html

[jtron85]

Great post Dutchie! I found the sanding process a little too laborious. Have you tried it yourself?

[dutchie101]

No, havent tried it yet.

I think only a light sanding is needed to help promote the adhesion of the paint to the emblem. Sanding down to the plastic is just over the top i believe. A light sand a prime should suffice in most cases.

[stock]

damn this is awesome.. might look into doing this :)

[jeffy]

woo!

[itsmehuey]

damnit, if only i knew about plastidip before i did my diy :(

was a real b!!ch trying to sand down the badge and get all the sticky adhesive leftover gunk when i took off the factory badge

[Shogun125]

I did this a few days ago. bought a can of plasti dip. masked off the the car like the pics above and then gave it four layers.

The end results were quite pleasing considering there wasn't any sanding involved. took a total of probably 1 hour to complete including waiting time.

The quality of the paint is quite solid as well. seems like it will hold up against the elements.

Only downside is one can of plastidip is so expensive. I bought mine for $25 whereas their only $6 in the U.S...

Anyhoo, heres a pic of the pealing process. prob the most fun part :D

[LFT-OOF]

where did you guys find the plasti dip from? i will do it this weekend

[Tash]

Pretty tempted to try this out on my grille actually so it stays black, sick of rubbing trim blackening products over it all the time!! Could potentially work on foggie and mirror surrounds as well maybe, though might be a bit thick. Wouldn't work for me badge wise cos I'd want them glossy I reckon.

Where can we source the PlastiDip from locally? Autobarn, Super Cheap, Repco?

[69.NIX]

Pretty tempted to try this out on my grille actually so it stays black, sick of rubbing trim blackening products over it all the time!! Could potentially work on foggie and mirror surrounds as well maybe, though might be a bit thick. Wouldn't work for me badge wise cos I'd want them glossy I reckon.

Where can we source the PlastiDip from locally? Autobarn, Super Cheap, Repco?

Tash....

You need this!

http://www.carcareproducts.com.au/product/black_wow/black_wow :P

[jeffy]

Ohh you guys, made the same mistake I did when I edited my post, :P

Read number 1, can be purchased off a home depot, ;)

[1stKill]

Pretty tempted to try this out on my grille actually so it stays black, sick of rubbing trim blackening products over it all the time!! Could potentially work on foggie and mirror surrounds as well maybe, though might be a bit thick. Wouldn't work for me badge wise cos I'd want them glossy I reckon.

Where can we source the PlastiDip from locally? Autobarn, Super Cheap, Repco?

I like the way your thinking Tash,the painted grilles cop a pounding from the elements and day to day driving,i need to redo mine soon and this has got me interested,do you guys think this stuff will be stronger against stonechips ect ect?

and i almost forgot....nice post Dutchie

Cheers

Lee

[juvenile]

Excellent Pete,that's brilliant, but can I do my rear bdage even though it's painted? My Auris badge is still chrome.just the logo is painted...

Thanks for the info, might paint the whole car just to peel it off,hours of fun

[dutchie101]

Check out the link to the original thread, its many many pages and covers peoples exploits with PlastiDip, grills, chrome window surrounds ect ect.

John, I would say it would be fine on paint also, if your talking bout your colour coded rear emblem, its clear coated a few times so should be fine.... if in doubt test a little but im sure it will be fine if people are spraying it on their panels.

B)

[juvenile]

John, I would say it would be fine on paint also, if your talking bout your colour coded rear emblem, its clear coated a few times so should be fine.... if in doubt test a little but im sure it will be fine if people are spraying it on their panels.

B)

Yep talking about my rear one you made for me, it's a top paint job so I think it should work well with plastidip.

Someone posted a clip of that stuff I remember, doing a set of wheels in blue,wondering what colours available.

[dutchie101]

PlastiDip Aust Distributor:

http://www.plastidip.net.au/index.php?module=Website&action=Text&content=1157845530718-0723&parentContent=1157875515625-6910

PlastiDip Ebay store:

http://stores.ebay.com.au/Plastidip-Australia

[corza]

This stuff really is amazing. Didn't like the front badge black so I just peeled it off.

Rear badge done in in less than 2 hours.

[mikalphan]

This stuff really is amazing. Didn't like the front badge black so I just peeled it off.

Rear badge done in in less than 2 hours.

hey man where did u get ur can from?

[dutchie101]

Corey, do i see little dabs of bluetack in the gaps of the emblem to ease removal of the finished product??

[corza]

hey man where did u get ur can from?

Prime Electronics in Bowen Hills. Check the website for distributors: Plastidip Distributors

They also have black again on their ebay page.

Corey, do i see little dabs of bluetack in the gaps of the emblem to ease removal of the finished product??

That is correct dutchie! :P Worked a treat

[jeffy]

i propose a group buy in vic ?

anyone interested ?

we'll start a new thread or leave it here ?

[YE34OK]

ooo la la so much easier! They come in blue, yellow, black, white and red i think lol Might give this a try soon :)

[dutchie101]

If you are game, you could also undercoat with the white palstidip, and then spray any colour you liked over the top, then it is still easily removable later down the track... i would probably mask a little closer to the embelem if you did this and protect from overspray with more paper too...

[LFT-OOF]

http://www.plastidip.net.au/find-a-distributor/new-south-wales find a stockist of plastidip in aus im doing my this weekend maybe