Originally Posted by AdamMeh

Used paint on mine as well, but I really like the way 7T1's turned out. I may end up stripping mine and trying again.

Before (nose emblem)



After (before I cleaned up the edges)



Adam

Originally Posted by The Punisher

That turned out great. Is that with testors paint?

Originally Posted by 7T1vette

Here's what mine look like. Baked-on porcelain paint that isn't affected by weather and UV. If folks have an interest, I will provide details.

Originally Posted by AdamMeh

Thanks - yes, it's enamel thinned a little so it would "flow". The only problem I have with the results is that I would like a little smoother finish then I was able to achieve this way. That's why I mentioned about stripping and trying again with the ceramic paints that 7T1 suggested. I'm thinking that the heat used with the ceramic paints may offer a better, and possibly more original, look than I am getting. Maybe more durable as well!

Either way it's better then paying $100+ for reproductions - that's just crazy money for what you get IMO.

Adam

Originally Posted by 75+78 Corvettes

I like the porcelain finish. looks great. Now what about the chrome. given that the badges are just pot metal can you just take it to a chromer and tell them to dip them and be fine? how much does that run?

Originally Posted by 7T1vette

The chrome needs to be in 'decent' condition. You should strip all existing paint with chemical stripper, then wash/rinse/dry the emblem completely.

Go to Michael's Craft store (or the internet) and purchase three small bottles of Porcelain [brand name] model paint; this is paint that is normally used for putting on glass, plates, metal, etc. Get 'Anthracite Black', Crimson Red', and a bright white (I can't find my bottle of white to give you the actual color title {"Hey, Sherri. What did you do with my bottle of Porcelain white?} [got no response, sorry] Also buy a small artist's brush with round shape that comes to a point.

Position the emblem on a hunk of clay, Play Doh, or in a modeling fixture so that the area you will be painting is level and so that when you need to do another area you can adjust it to level easily. This is VERY important, as you don't want the paint to run onto areas you don't want to receive paint.

Now, the strategy for painting is a bit different. You DO NOT want to 'stroke' the paint onto the emblem. You want to 'wick' the paint into the areas to be painted and let it flow out to fill the surface. So, get some paint into the end of that artist's brush, then touch an spot in the middle of the area you want to paint and allow it to just adhere to the surface an wick down/flow out. Doing this will allow the paint to achieve an even thickness and not have brush strokes. You will likely need to do this just ONE time for each checkered square; but you will do this several times for the red flag. This is why you need to be able to re-adjust the position of the emblem as you are painting, because the red flag is 'wavy' and you will be putting several daubs of paint on it. You need to keep moving and lay down a new paint daub right next to the last one so that it has no time to set up/dry. If some paint wick's up too far on a raised surface, just let it dry. After an hour or so, use a sharp X-Acto knife blade to shave off any unwanted paint. DO NOT BRUSH THE SHAVINGS OFF...blow them off. If they won't come off completely, wait until the paint is completely dry to use a brush and clean all excess off.

Do one color at a time and do all areas of that color. Wait about an hour between colors. {Put brush in cleaner between colors. I think Porcelain is water-soluable, but I can't remember for sure. The bottle will tell you what to use.} When all of the flag is done, let it dry completely overnight. Then, bake the emblem in a kitchen oven or in a toaster oven, according to the instructions on the Porcelain bottle. Do not overheat and do not leave it in too long at baking temperature. When the time is up, LEAVE THE PART IN THE OVEN but turn OFF the heat. Allow the piece(s) to cool slowly so that you don't get any crazing of the paint. The toaster oven cools more quickly but still will not craze, so I prefer to use that.

When cooled, check your work. If you don't think the job is good enough, just strip all the paint again and retry it. You have only lost a bit of your time. The first one I did took three tries. But, that was primarily to find what worked best and provided me with the 'process' that I just gave to you. You may need one attempt to get your hands and mind in-sync with the painting process.

Good luck! I have been very happy with the results. The emblems have lasted 7 years (so far), with 5 of them in AZ summer sun. So, they are durable. And, I get lots of comments on how good they look at car shows. Can you imagine? Comments about your emblems? Makes me grin....

Originally Posted by dshawster

Thanks for the write up! I'm going to give this a go on my faded emblems, I ordered everything online as Michaels doesn't carry any of the porcelain paint. The employees there didn't really seem to know what I was talking about. My emblems are sitting in some lacquer thinner now to get all the old stuff off. I'll post some pics of how mine came out when I'm done.

Originally Posted by kettererhouse

7T1vette Thanks I had always used testors and oven baked but think that porcelain would hold up way better. Very nice.

Originally Posted by 7T1vette