Cheap badge emblem refurb

Ped

Club Member
I had been given a 280z badge some time ago. The condition was pretty poor with the chrome worn, scratched and faded and the plastic flat and dull.

Decided to see if I could revive it with the 2mm 'Liquid Chrome' pen I have used on a smaller badge to great success.

So, I degreased it and then sprayed it with an enamel gloss black rattle can. It would have looked better in satin, but I don't have any at the moment, and this is just a test anyway.

I then flatted off the top on the lettering with wet and dry, and 'coloured in' the letters with the pen. It came out pretty well, compared to how it looked before hand. From a couple of feet away it looks really pretty damn good. The finish does look more chrome-like in reality, the photo isn't great.

Would I do it again on such a large surface area? Well, if the badge was in poor condition, you don't have anything to lose. My tips would be that; satin black would look better and that you need to work quite quickly and cover each letter in one go with the liquid chrome. Don't be temped to put too much on either, a single thin layer looks best. If you miss a bit and try and touch it up it doesn't look great.

Condition before 2/10
Condition after 8/10

I will see how well the chrome sticks and whether it stands up to a scrub with a car brush and sponge.

badge280z1.jpg


badge280z2.jpg


badge280z3.jpg


badge280z4.jpg
 

uk66fastback

Club Member
Excellent work - do we think this might be an idea to use on the 'plastic chrome' details on the door cards (that get old and peel off revealing a blue finish) ... I see so many like that ...
 

Ped

Club Member
Just wondered to myself if you could airbrush this stuff, and right enough there is a guy on YouTube who has done it. It looks very good. You can get a 30ml refill bottle and use it straight into an airbrush. Wouldn't really be practical to try and airbrush an emblem as you would need to spend a few hours masking it up properly.

Check out a brief video:

Or a very long winded video:
 

Ped

Club Member
Cheers Ped, will take a look

I noticed that on the badge experiment, handling the item does affect the finish, even after it is dry. The chrome look can start to look flatter. Next time I will try a clear lacquer over the top to seal the finish. I think I will remove the chrome with wet and dry and redo it.
 

uk66fastback

Club Member
'Flatter' meaning not as shiny?

How long does it take to dry completely out of interest? Did you let it dry naturally or use a hair dryer etc?
 

Ped

Club Member
I left it for a good 24 hrs, just dried at room temperature. I think when I sand it down again I will black enamel the whole thing and then try and put the chrome straight onto the black. I did notice that's what they did in the shorter of the 2 videos. Still reckon a clear coat over the lot when it's done just to be safe. Will see if I can get time this week to experiment...

Have a look at the fingerprint on the longer video (about 4:20 seconds in) and you can see what the issue is.
 

Ped

Club Member
Right, so I rubbed down the badge, resprayed it black and left it to dry. Then coloured in the letters straight onto the black... and well, not great. It looked patchy, so some areas looked silvery and some chrome. I think the surface needs to have a key for the stuff to go on evenly. Anyway, left it to dry and went back over it with the pen. The result is that it looks like chrome, no silvery bits. However the surface looks a bit uneven...

fairladybadge.jpg


Conclusion: I would say that in smaller items the pen is ideal. If I wanted to use on larger surfaces spraying would be what I would try next time. The stuff really does work and looks like chrome, it is just a matter or trial and error to get the best result. Finger prints are going to be an issue, but hope that if I leave it to dry for a week or so it shouldn't mark. Will experiment with a clear lacquer at some point.

Still very pleased with the smaller item it did first:

badge280zxx_copy.jpg
 
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