Well, I just did this and looked and looked but found no How-to. Its not difficult but figured might save someone some time.

Tools:
Ratchet with 10mm socket
Newspaper
Painters tape
Razor blade
small pick (or something with a sharp edge for pushing tape into emblem corners)
Spray Paint color of choice
Clear Coat
Rack to place bowtie on

1. pop hood and reach in through the opening for the hood release, you will see two small bolts behind the bowtie. These are 10mm nuts and need to be removed to take bowtie off. Use the ratchet or as i did, simply attach a small extension and turn with finger (they aren't that tight) take car to not push too hard and crack your grill or fascia. Save these nuts.

2. With the bowtie off make sure you clean thoroughly to clear any junk that make be on your bowtie. Must be clean or Paint will not adhere properly.

3. If you want the whole badge one color with no silver trim, skip to step 5. Take the painters tapeand begin wrappnig the silver trim. I found using smaller pieces that fit just one flat area at a time are perfect. use small pick to push tape into corners. I left about a 1/4" overlap onto the gold allow remainder to hand under bowtie. Do not tuck the tape under.

4. Once all the tape is in place use either your fingernail or gentle pressure with the pick to trace the outline of the gap where the silver trim and gold meet. Once you have done this, take your razor and hold flush against the gold section. insert the razor into the small gap between the two colors and trim around to remove tape from gold. This will insure the silver is covered fully and give clean crisp lines. Now remove excess tape from gold.

5. Now, place the newpaper on the rack and place the badge on top of that. I used an old mesh rack that let me push the bolts on the bowtie through the newspaper and through the holes to allow badge to lay flat and flush. Use excess tape to hold piece in place.

6. Begin painting, I used GM color match paint since I wanted Orange to match my car. Use whatever you like. I also purchased Rustoleum's small plastic snap on gun. It snaps right to the top of the spray can to give it a more "Paint Gun" feel. plus no mess on fingers. Start with 1 medium coat of paint (NO RUNS!), allow 10 minutes to dry and then apply 1 light coating of color every 10 minutes afterwards. Apply 4 to 5 coats this way. Lastly apply one more coat that is more like a light-medium. Allow this coat to dry for 25-30 minutes. Begin applying Clear coat in same manner. 1 medium coat/10 minutes, 8 light coats/10 minutes, 1 light to medium coat and let dry 6-8 hours, or overnight as I did.

**Note: Be sure you circle the bowtie completely to cover all edges and angles with paint and clear coat. I purposely put the edge that faces forward (left side of emblem) away and only directly gave it the 1st, 3rd, 5th and final coats of paint. It left it a little light and allowed the jeweled look from underneath the paint to show a little. Cover ALL sides with clear**

7. Once the Paint is fully dried and cured take the razor to the edge between the tape and freshly painted badge. DO NOT LAY RAZOR FLUSH AGAINST PAINT... YOU WILL LIFT SOME! Instead hold steady with both hands and just push the edge into the gap and trace around. This will release any paint that is attached to the tape so it does not lift as you remove the tape. Once you have done this, you may SLOWLY remove the tape. If there are any uneven edges where the paint is still spanning the gap, you may trim it with the razor, just be careful not to remove more than you want.

8. Reinstallation is simple. Line badge back up (it has a TOP label so unless you are a dyslexic stoner and get excited, this should be fairly simple) reinstall nuts on bolts and tighten to a snug and secure fit but do not over tighten. You could also take the opportunity to clean under the badge if you are crazy like I am... and did.

Finished Product should look something like this unless you decided to paint the whole bowtie:



**Sorry for the crappy pic its with a cell phone**

I did not inlcude step by step photo's since it is a pretty straightforward project and I completed it last night. Good Luck and Enjoy!

 

The bowtie can be removed from the chrome frame for an easier, no-mask job. It is attached with adhesive, which will need to be cleaned off and new glue used for reassembly.

 

^^ Yeah, what he said. That, and the bowtie can be reattached with the 3M double-sided foam tape that most people use to hang posters. I used that stuff and my bowtie's been holding strong for a year and a half through countless car washes, storms and even a winter.

 

i used super glue to put my bowtie back on the chrome trim

 

LOL, I didn't realize you could remove it. I didnt have the glue or tape, It was a quick and easy tape job. Maybe if there was a How-To I woulda known I could remove it. LOL. Thanks guys.


Woohoo I got a How-to!

 

I am also doing this DIY and I already pm'd OrngBalt letting hom know that I will have pics along the way, so either I can post then here or make my own, up to the mods...And I already have like 9 pics with paint on so only like 2-4 more pics, damn paint takes to long to dry.....

 

if you have a black car it looks nice to paint the whole thing.. chrome and all.

 

I agree, mines red, and I was going to do that but I like a little chrome (plastic) in the front.

 

Hey Viper, sorry I never responded. If you leave me the addresses of the pictures I can include them into the original post or you could host them yourself and label them as each step. Thanks for the pics.

 

I could do that, I have my own server so whenever I'm done (prob. Friday) I will upload them and label them or send links to you and give you a brief discription. I don't have Photoshop anymore so I have to use the Kodak program (P.O.S.) to resize them, thanks for accepting my offer.

 

HELP REQUEST:

So I followed each step and have been attempting this now for the better part of a week...

I took the bowtie off the silver backing to make things easier... I picked up some high gloss black spray paint that SUPPOSEDLY! will work with plastics...

I've tried 5 times now to paint the bowtie and most recently I had a very nice coat on it and then when I applied the clear coat the entire thing crinkled and came off like snake skin...

ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO FIX?

I'd prefer not to have to resort to sanding the emblem if at all possible I've also purchased a Plastic Primer spray paint but I'm a bit hesitant to use this based on what I've experienced so far to date....

PS: I'm painting it high gloss black to match the car

 

The paint I am using and have used for numerous plastic jobs is Krylon Plastic paint, you need no prep or anything just point and paint, then clear with an acrylic or laquor for extra shine.

Hope this helps.

It would be best to glue it back together with some hobby CA glue, it's a 2part compound and dry's fairly quick, or use crazy glue.

 

Make sure you are not mixing types of paint and clear coat. I would suggest going with the same brand for both and make sure you get the same kind of paints. I believe if you mix paints and lacquers you are going to run into this problem. I used GM colormatch spray paint and duplicolor clear coat from autozone. When I did my headlights i ran out of clear coat so I used Krylon for plastic with the GM paint. If that still doesn't work try the primer and see what happens then.

good luck

 

Thanks guys for the help... I'll keep you posted on how it turns out and hope like hell this works this time.

 

I got mine all done and I pm'd OrngBalt the pics I took along the way.

 

pickin some paint up tomorrow hopefully

 

sry if i missed this part and asking the same ? over but how do you get the bowtie to come off the chrome

 

Heat gun, but be careful it's all plastic....

 

anyone know if the back bowtie pops off the chrome plastic like the front one?

 

It should but I never done it.

 

I think im painting my tommorow...probably black...maybe white..haha

 

Since yours car is yellow, black would look sweet.

 

Yeah..i was looking at the front of my car today...and for some reason earlier i thought the whole front was black..
mostly where the emblem lays on the yellow part..
Its def. getting painted black.

 

 

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