Give Your C6 Corvette a Custom Touch With Just $10 and a Few Hours’ Time
If you happen to own a C6, and your badges are starting to look a little gross, or you just want to do a little color customization, we’re here to help. This walk-through will show you step-by-step how to peel off half of your crossed flags emblem, recolor it, and then replace it to get the dramatic effect you see above. Best of all, it won’t take more than a few hours’ time.
Let’s start by getting the old badge out. This is one of longest parts, and the bit that requires the most patience and care. We are using sharp objects, so be warned (Corvette Forum does not accept responsibility for lost fingers, cuts, or trips to the ER because a razor blade decided to eat you). Taking a new razor blade, carefully cut around the edges of the emblem, between the chrome and plastic. Then carefully insert the blade under the bottom edge of the emblem and pry up. Be extra careful not to apply too much force, or you could break the emblem. Once you start to get some separation, move the blade around the emblem until you get all the glue cut and the badge comes off.
Now it’s time to prep the badge for its new coat of paint. Using your razor you can scrape off the majority of the residual glue and paint. At this point you should see portions of the badge that now appear clear. You can see that because the gold accents like the bowtie are recessed, and will remain gold inside the badge. Once you get done scraping, take some 1000-grit sandpaper, and go to town until all the old red paint is completely gone, and you have a nice smooth surface.
From there, it’s time to paint. For this one we used some Dupli-Color satin-black wheel paint. The rest of the car is getting black accents and details, so this is just a nice color match for the rest of the ‘Vette. Hit it with a few coats, making sure to apply as evenly as possible. Also allow some drying time between coats. If you did everything correctly, the finished product should look exactly like the OEM badge, but just with a different backing color. Thanks to the recessed factory gold paint in the emblem, you still get that awesome 3D look in the paint.
To attach the badges back to the car, use some high-grade super glue. Thanks to the paint, the sun won’t be hitting the glue, so there’s no need to worry about UV degradation. If you end up with some extra glue oozing out from the badge, just make sure to wipe it off immediately with a damp cloth before it dries. If you have any residue later, you can clean it off with some q-tips and nail polish remover.
That’s it. With a few dollars’ worth of materials and a few hours’ time, you can add a striking custom detail to your Corvette. If you decide to do a mod like this yourself, be sure to drop some photos in the forum.
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