digitalricepape

anyone know how to take it off/paint it? i know maybe you have to sand it and what not .. any feedback would be appreciated.

p5sunDevil

I think there is a how to on the other forums...

Basically you can peel the chrome M off the black plastic part with a flat head screwdriver, just becareful witht he edges. Then yes I would suggest sanding it with a very fine grit sandpaper(automotive or not) and then you can straight paint it black or gunmetal. If you are going with a color other than a gray/black then I would also primer it before the paint. Maybe even a clearcoat if you want.

All depends on the finish you want.

I am doing mine next month when I get back home and have tools around.

digitalricepape

is it like the honda emblems w/ the two thigns in the back or is it straight glue on ?

hihoslva

The emblem has a couple of prongs on the back, but the glue is all that holds it on.

Just pry it off - no sweat.

I'd suggest not painting the emblem, however. I took mine off, sanded, primed, and painted it, and it looks bad now.

Road debris/sand/weather wreak havoc with it, and mine is all chipped up. And you can see the dull chrome (sanded) under every chip (I painted it black). In fact, I probably have 15 light coats of paint on it (first color was gunmetal, then when that chipped to hell, I tried black), and it still gets all spotted and nicked.

Not worth the effort, IMHO. I'm gonna have to keep painting this stupid thing every 2 months to keep it looking good. I'm just going to get a new one and say screw it.

Best of luck to you.

~HH

digitalricepape

then how do people make their emblems black ?!

Esquire

I think I remember a thread where someone put vynil on it. It seems like that would be easy enough to do - put it on there then just cut off the excess.

I did it to a friends car (not a mazda) with a couple coats of latex paint and then about 4 clear coats. That was about a year ago and it still looks good.

hihoslva

It depends on your area, mostly. I'm in NY, so the roads are always dirty from winter sandings, etc - even in summer, there is still grit on the roadways. You should see what my windshield looks like after only 50,000 miles - it's a nightmare.

Most people who go black on the emblems do in fact paint them. I was just relaying my own experience, and of course the road conditions have a lot to do with it.

You could also see if a local body shop would shoot them for you - maybe for free if you wait until they spray a car black. A good auto paint would probably be more durable than regular spray paint.

~HH

Esquire

That's very true. Here in alabama we don't even have the equipment in our large city to even salt / dirt the roads. That might explain the paint lasting longer. The guy that started the thread lives in California - pretty vague - so depending where in CA, paint might be just fine.