So - I had the day off today and decided to continue being a spray-paint madman, and painted my chrome emblems gunmetal.



It took forever to get the "5" that red color. First, I tried to paint the background on the "Protege5" emblem black after using the gunmetal spray, using model car paint and a tiny brush, but it just didn't come out right. So I scrapped that idea and stripped the black off (another thumbs up for SEM bumper coater paint - I used two different thinners to remove the black, and the gunmetal color didn't budge!). Then I tried the same type of model paint for the "5", and that sucked, too - it was "lumpy" and not smooth-looking. Finally, after trying a bunch of brushes and coats, I decided to try the paint really thin. So I stripped the "5" back to gunmetal, thinned the red almost down to like ink, and used a q-tip to swipe on a quick coat of thin red - then a dry q-tip to wipe off the excess - looked good, but the color was still slightly uneven, so I did a very very light dusting with the gunmetal color, and it came out awesome - evened out the color and it still has the red tint to it to set it off from the rest of the badge.

And here they are back on the car:


I can't say enough about this SEM paint. It is so easy to work with, and the colors are absolutely great. For those interested (because after posting my interior painting pics, I was asked for the paint info), I used SEM "Bumper Coater", #39413, Medium Platinum Metallic, and Trim Clear, # 39043. You'll find these paints in body-shop supply places.

And props to njaremka for doing it first (well, before me anyway) on his Black Mica ES, and giving me the great idea.

 

damn dude! you got some time on your hands, huh? make me some of that stuff! that is sweeeeet...

 

no prob, man! looks sweet! got a full-on back shot of the 5 after the paint? did you put clear over the emblems after the gunmetal?

 

OMFG...that is so awsome.....you could make serious money doing that

 

I took a better pic of the rear, full on, and one of the front, too. Still not the best, but what the hell - you asked for it:



And, NightOwl: I don't know how I could make a "ton of money" doing this, but if you really think so, tell me how! Better yet - wanna be my first customer?

Well, anyone who really can't do this themselves, if you want to send me your emblems, I'll do any color you want + clearcoat for $25 - that includes the return shipping. I take checks, money orders, cash, and PayPal.

I'm kidding, of course - unless someone really wants me to do it for them - in that case, I'm dead serious!