Emblem Restoration

[hdscarbro]

On my SRX600, the finish on emblems with the word “YAMAHA” were damaged. I would have replaced them if new ones weren’t so damn expensive. List price for one of these plastic emblems is $55.00 each (or $36.00 mail order). I decided to try refinishing them and am happy enough with the result that I though I'd share.

First, I stripped the old finish.

I then painted the emblems gloss black and restored the chrome finish to the letters using Bare Metal Foil, a product designed for model builders.

Here's an emblem with foil before trimming. I worked the foil into place using a blunt toothpick and trimmed it using an Exacto knife and tweezers.

Here are the finished emblems and the Bare-Metal foil used on the letters. The foil is very fragile. I clear coated it for protection.

The finished emblem back on the bike. The gloss and aluminum color is not a perfect match to the original, but the difference is not obvious.

 

[jetmechmarty]

I did mine with a gold leafing pen. I think yours may look much better. Could we get a another hi res photo?

 

[hdscarbro]

I did mine with a gold leafing pen. I think yours may look much better. Could we get a another hi res photo?

Your pen work looks good, even better than the foil. I was worried about pen strokes and already had the foil, so I decided to give it a try.

Here's a closeup. The wrinkles in the foil didn't appear until several hours after applying it. They appeared before it was clear coated. I think maybe the base paint needed to cure longer.

You can get Bare-Metal foil in different metals. I noticed they have gold.

 

[jetmechmarty]

So, you stick it to paint that isn't fully cured? I never got that sophisticated when I was modeling, so I have no clue. What are the adhesive options.

 

[hdscarbro]

The foil is adhesive backed and sticks on it's own. Had I given the emblem enough time to cure, I don't think the foil would have wrinkled. I used 2K automotive paint and figured 24 hours and an afternoon in the sun was enough time. The tech data sheet said it would dry in 60 minutes.

There is some info about applying the foil on the Bare-Metal website: https://www.bare-metal.com

So, you stick it to paint that isn't fully cured? I never got that sophisticated when I was modeling, so I have no clue. What are the adhesive options.

 

[jetmechmarty]

Thanks. This is great info.

 

[High On Octane]

The foil is adhesive backed and sticks on it's own. Had I given the emblem enough time to cure, I don't think the foil would have wrinkled. I used 2K automotive paint and figured 24 hours and an afternoon in the sun was enough time. The tech data sheet said it would dry in 60 minutes........

You must have done something wrong. I have never used any automotive 2K product that wasn't fully cured in 24 hours.

The chrome foil thing you did looks good tho, nice work on that.

 

[westgateok]

What did you use to strip the emblems? I am getting ready to do this myself and think that yours came out great!

 

[hdscarbro]

What did you use to strip the emblems? I am getting ready to do this myself and think that yours came out great!

I turned the air pressure way down and bead blasted them.

 

[jetmechmarty]

I stripped mine with sandpaper, probably 400 grit or something like that.