I just bought my first vette, an 82 CE, 95K miles. The past owner did a nice job repainting the car, but did not put the decals back on. I think it looks great, but is this taboo to not put the decals on? He said he also considered having he decal patterns painted on. Has anyone heard of that?

 

there are plenty of resto-manufacturers thatll have the decals. DEFINITELY dont paint them on, thats just a silly expense. If you wanna keep your ride more original, go get the badges, if not, leave em off....either way no harm, no foul...IMO

 

thanks for your input. How do I find out if the 82 CE has all the correct badges?

 

First off, good luck finding the original decals, they have been sold out for about 3 years now. The last sets were selling for over $1,200 on ebay if I remember correctly.
There is one company making repo's, I think it's called "phoenix graphics" one of the guys in Germany has used them and he was happy with them.

As for painting them on, if your CE is not a show only (NCRS) vette, then you cannot beat the durability and cost of having the fades sprayed on. I did it to mine, and it sure is nice being able to polish them to a mirror over the hazy look of a decal. Out here in the desert sun, the decals would only last about 6 years anyway.

The pinstripes kits sell for over $500.00, if you get with the paint shop, they should know a pin-striper that can match the original design and color for about half that price.

Here is what mine look like, with the reflection I was able to get with the painted fade's.



The only problem I had, I wasn't able to be there when the painter did them, and he placed the fade from light to darker colors to far forward. The fades on the sides came out just as nice.