Repainting Emblems

[Cloyd]

Does anyone have advice for repainting emblems. What kind of paint should I use to repaint my black and white honda cb550 emblems? Do I use a brush because it seems kinda hard to mask it all off?

 

[crqcycles]

I painted my CGL 125 emblems using acrylic paint and a tiny paint brush. Pulse-painting is needed so you better be sober!
Just kidding!

 

[jetmechmarty]

The first step is to remove as much of the old paint as possible. Next, paint the entire thing black. Use something like:

Paint the raised areas with a paint pen. The one in the example is gloss white.

When you're done, paint the whole thing with clear. It might not be a bad idea to use the same paint brand from start to finish.

 

[scfire]

Use a syringe filled with model car paint and flow it into the emblem if it is recessed

 

[MatthiasSalzburg]

Paint the raised areas with a paint pen. The one in the example is gloss white.

That's the same thing I did when I painted a badge on my scooter.

 

[hurricane7]

Does anyone have advice for repainting emblems. What kind of paint should I use to repaint my black and white honda cb550 emblems? Do I use a brush because it seems kinda hard to mask it all off?

Cloyd,

If you've got the emblems that are "satin" black, with white inner letters and chrome raised border, here's my advise...(FWIW, I used to do the paint work for a guy that restored these bikes in the SF area, so I have done a bunch of these exact emblems.)

-If you haven't already done so, strip all the old paint off 'em. Start with clean chrome.

-At this point, you'll want to mount the emblems to a work surface, raised above said surface, with double sided tape or what ever.

-Get yourself some wide masking tape. Wide enough to cover the letters on the emblem. With one piece of tape, lay it over the letters lightly and as flat as possible. You don't want any wrinkles. Trace the raised chrome border of the letters by rubbing them with the side of a pencil. Transfer the tape to a cutting board and with an X-acto knife, cut out your letters just inside the outer edge of the chrome border. After cutting them out, transfer each letter mask onto the emblem. Your masking does not need to be perfect. In fact, it is better to leave a bit of the raised border showing.

-Using the rattle can of you choice*, spray the black outer border. Have some thinner handy. Immediately after spraying, pull the masking off of the letters. (A tip here... to keep my meat hooks from touching wet paint, I used a chopstick to hold the emblem down on one letter while pulling the masking off another letter with a pick tool or X-acto )

*I recommend using an oil based enamel that does not dry instantly. You can use mineral spirits for thinner.

-Wrap a fine cloth rag or paper towel soaked with thinner tightly around a small piece of wood or other flat, firm object. Lightly wipe the raised border until you have removed most of the black paint from the raised border. Don't use the same part of the rag twice. Keep moving it to a clean part with each wipe. A little "film" or residue is OK. Let it dry thoroughly and repeat the rag and thinner process to clean the rest.

-For the white (or whatever color you like) letters, get yourself some lettering enamel (1-Shot is my favorite) and a fairly decent brush, and start filling in the letters. You can try and be neat about the lines if you want, but you don't have to. Just use the same method of wiping with a rag and thinner (mineral spirits for 1-Shot) if you get outside the lines. You can do one letter at a time, or all of 'em. The 1-Shot will lay down nicely, and not show brush strokes like model paints or the like will. It also drys nice and shiny.


The satin black part of these emblems are what makes restoring them a PITA! If you would be happy with a glossy black, you can use the same method as the letters for the outside black border, avoiding the masking part.

Hope this all makes sense and is helpful to you man. Post some pics when your done!

Cheers,
-Jeff

 

[Cloyd]

Thats some really good information thanks for the help Jeff

 

[jetmechmarty]

I just repainted a couple of badges. Here is what I did.

The stuff.

Ugly badges.

Resurfaced with 400 grit sandpaper after mending cracks with Super Glue.

Plastic primer

Satin black

Paint applied with gold leafing pen

Sprayed clear

Someone with more patience and a steadier hand can achieve better results than I did.

 

[jetmechmarty]

I had my daughter redo these by the same method I used. She is better at it.

 

[RoadRash]

In the past, when dealing with raised lettering, I shot the whole thing in black, applied the paint for the raised portion to a flat surface, (I think I used felt?)about and pressed the emblem down onto the paint. Kinda like a reverse printong press. Let it dry and repeat as needed, then clearcoat.