Topic: Restoring Honda emblems...

[sbparks]

Hello everyone,

 Still in the process of rebuilding...  Still having fun.

 I've got the emblems off my tank and the side covers.  The tank emblems are metal and the side cover emblems are plastic.

 What is the best way to refinish these to their original state?

 I can see how I would be able to strip the paint from the metal (tank) emblems and apply the black and white paint.  I'm afriad to put paint stripper on the plastic.

 Does anyone have experience with refreshing these emblems so they look original?  Any ideas before I start thie process?

Thanks, Scott

[ironbutter]

Gas tank, its not just for breakfast anymore!

[1974CB750rider]

I'm sure the professionales have a better way to do it, but a friend of mine taught me this.
He restored a 1968 Firebird and took all of his emblems off and cleaned them really good and repainted them with testers model paint. they look really good and Testers actualley makes a clear coat for their paint.

[klp]

Yeah, I am in the process of restoring some too - the plastic side cover badges on my cb125s. I was thinking maybe model paint so that is good to know. Not meaning to thread jack here but what is the best way to re apply them? I don't know if it was factory or not but mine had some real thick almost foam pad like stuff holding them on. That and the two posts - each side only has one left.

KP

[ironbutter]

That tank is in great shape, and the color is awesome, cant wait to see the emblems restored and back in action.

[jsaab2748]

To completely strip the metal tank emblems you can soak them in a cup of laquer thinner.

[sbparks]

IronButter,

 I laughed a little as I brough the tank inside and put it on the kitchen counter to remove the emblems... Gee I wonder if my wife will mind this in our kitchen?... No problem, I'll put this shop towel on the counter to protect things.  Everything will be OK...

 My wife is great.  She never said a word.

 At my age, I need the light in the kitchen to see things properly.  She understands.  I cleaned everything up and put things away.

Jsaab2748,

 I agree, I can strip the paint off the tank emblems with whatever nasty chemical I want, but the side cover emblems are plastic.  Can I strip these and not harm the base emblem?

 These are actually pretty tricky pieces to restore.  A base of silver, then black, then white.  To restore completely, I'll have to do some tricky masking to keep the silver base.

Scott

[jsaab2748]

I have to admit I aint very good at detail painting. Byt I'd first use an old toothbrush with some kind of wax remover that wont hurt plastic to clean out any old wax residue that's accumulated in the nooks and crannies in the sidecover badges, And as suggested earlier, testers model paint works well. I'm thinkin that properly thinned paint would flow better and give better coveraage than non thinned. That's what I'd try if I ws doin it again. My 550 ones turned out ok using model paint. They couldve been better tho i think.(paint properly thinned) I got lucky with my 750 ones, they're o.e. and still look good.

[Raul CB750K1]

I painted mine with nail polish. Glossy, thick and easy to apply -and cheap too-

First of all, remove the old white paint in full, otherwise it will be noticed.

[celebutante]

I stripped my 750 side cover badges with lacquer thinner (and a nylon brush). Miraculously, it removes the black and white paint but doesn't hurt the fake chrome (but it starts to burn your hands after a while!).

I'm not totally done (lazy!), but I have the same style badges as yours, and I masked them then cut outside the "frame" with an x-acto, then rattle canned flat black so the paint would only hit the outer edges. Then I painted the "ribbed" inside black with a small brush. It's a bit tedious, but it's not that hard because it's easy to get paint of the raised letters without affecting the sunken parts (just keep thinner and paper towel on the ready!).

If you do yours, it should motivate me to finish mine!

mitchell

[flybox1]

i restored the black of my 350F side badges over the summer.  they came out great.
here's what i did.
cleaned with simple green, warm water and a soft nylon brush.
masked the whole thing with blue painters tape.
a clean table, 3 exacto blades, and 90 minutes later i had cut out the areas i needed to black.
3 thin coats with flat black i had laying around. be sure to hit from all angles.
24 hrs later removed tape and 2 coats of clear.

maybe 3 hrs total, but worth it.
 

[kghost]

I paint the Chrome.

Then the black.

Then the white.

With an Airbrush.

Between coats a wipe with MEK on a rag...real quick like removes overspray off the chrome color.
whites easy after the chrome and black

[haill]

dependent on the current paints condition you may want to strip out the old with paint stripper/remover then get some oil paint in the colours you like. paint out back ground with thin tipped artists brushes. then get a Q-tip and take some of the cotton off of it. dip the Q-tip it in varsol and remove the excess fluid so it is just damp. take the Q-tip and run along the raised tops of the letters to remove any paint that got on the raised sections. let that colour dry, then do the interior of the letters the next day when dry and repeat with the Q-tip method.

[cookindaddy]

That's the way I did it (same as haill). Tedious work, but not unpleasant if the light is good (at my age I don't see as well if it is not!)

I'd like to know about the airbrush method mentioned by kghost. I don't have an airbrush, but if it makes it easier/better?

 

[sbparks]

 I have some finished shots of my cover emblems and the side covers that they'll be mounted on.

 I worked on these emblems along with my metal tank emblems, but I felt that these needed to be treaded differently as they are plastic.  The metal emblems were stripped to bare metal.  I was afraid to place the plastic emblems in any type of solvent, so I didn't strip.

 Basically, I just did my best with model paint to restore the color, as necessary.  I was able to wipe away any mistakes as they occurred.  I used the Testors model paints, the small model paint brushes (trimmed as necessary to make even sharper) and I thinned (just a little) the paint so it would flow into the corners and crevases.

 Here's my new question... These plastic emblems are missing their mounting posts.  I'll need to use something to mount the emblems to the side covers.  I'm thinking silicone... Should stick, resist vibration and evn release in the future if necessary.  Is this the best 'glue' to use of this sitution?

 Thanks for looking and for any comments.

Scott

[sbparks]

Another picture of the emblem...

[Johnie]

Yes, silicone will work fine. If you have enough of the broke stud sticking through the cover you could silicone the end of the posts. Or just do the back of the emblem. I tried to use the post method so it would be easier to remove if I had too. Here is a shot of my freshly restored K4 tank badges. I used like 1000 grit paper to really shine the HONDA edging. Those look like freshly painted side covers there Scott. Don't you just love that sunflake orange!!!

[Nikkisixx]

 Here's my new question... These plastic emblems are missing their mounting posts.  I'll need to use something to mount the emblems to the side covers.  I'm thinking silicone... Should stick, resist vibration and evn release in the future if necessary.  Is this the best 'glue' to use of this sitution?

Hey, those look good.  The little ridges in that style emblem make them tricky to paint, nice job!  

My 2 cents to attach them I use double stick tape.  3M makes an autobody product specificaly for the job.  http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Automotive/OEM/Prod_Info/Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S0S0_node=XF2PZG8JHCbe&PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S0S0_root=GST1T4S9TCgv&PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S0S0_vroot=BQTF5J02MFge&PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S0S0_gvel=V0141B40KNgl
At my local supply house it is about $15 for a roll (which lasts forever).  If you need to take the badges off, you can use dental floss slipped between the two surfaces to saw throught the tape.

[sbparks]

 Thanks for the comments guys!

Johnnie,

 SunFlake Orane - Love it!  So Seventies! 

Nikkisix,

 Thanks for the idea.  I hadn't considered that.  I just don't want a permanent installation that I can't redo in another twenty - thirty years (well, maybe it will be one of my boys by that time!).


 A side question... Do the modern digital SLR cameras have a 'macro' mode where you can focus really close for detail?  I can't find it on mine - I have a Nikon D40.  Not terribly high end, but a real good camera.  I love the shots where you can see all of the detail.  Mine are close, but not quite there.  Any ideas on this?

 Thanks again.

[Gnat]

Just a note: the quickest strip for plastics is Easy Off Oven Cleaner (Yellow Can not the BLue) I have been a scale modeler for my whole life and have stripped the paint of many a plastic item and nothing I have ever found does it like Easy Off won't harm even the smallest detail. As far as silicone goes I would be afraid that after a while it would harden up and let go. So I suggest tapping the studs for a small screw and and use it with locktite and a washer to hold it on..

Just my 2¢

Gnat

Look for the flower symbol on your camera usually in the "special" picture section of the menu. I haven't seen one without Macro in a while
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/users-guide/menus-setup.htm

[Johnie]

I used Model Master Acryl black and white on those K4 badges. I first used white lacquer which was suggested by the guy at the local hobby shop. That stuff went on to thick and did not flow at all. I suppose I could have thinned it. But I then wanted to try the acryl which was nice to work with too. Not sure how it would hold up if gas got to it, but I am pretty careful as we all are while gassing.

[69modelj]

 Here's my new question... These plastic emblems are missing their mounting posts.  I'll need to use something to mount the emblems to the side covers.  I'm thinking silicone... Should stick, resist vibration and evn release in the future if necessary.  Is this the best 'glue' to use of this sitution?

Hey, those look good.  The little ridges in that style emblem make them tricky to paint, nice job!  

My 2 cents to attach them I use double stick tape.  3M makes an autobody product specificaly for the job.  http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Automotive/OEM/Prod_Info/Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S0S0_node=XF2PZG8JHCbe&PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S0S0_root=GST1T4S9TCgv&PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S0S0_vroot=BQTF5J02MFge&PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S0S0_gvel=V0141B40KNgl
At my local supply house it is about $15 for a roll (which lasts forever).  If you need to take the badges off, you can use dental floss slipped between the two surfaces to saw throught the tape.

X2...I have done this with my 550 cover badges. They can be removed later on too. Get the thinnest tape they make.
This is done on cars every day. It aint comin off till you take it off. I prefer this method over the factory way.