Badge Painting

[WRXGRL09]

This is the beginning of the saga since I still haven't found paint yet. Tomorrow holds a trip to the hobby shop (hopefully they have the shade I want).

We started off with this:
-Hairdryer
-Dental Floss (This did NOT work. I recommend fishing line. I don't fish so we tried to improvise.)
-small file/screwdriver..anything that is tiny enough to get in between the gap once you soften the glue.
-Paint Stripper
-Brake Cleaner
-Headlight (Plastic) cleaner
-Acid brushes
-GLOVES
-Shop rags

Step One: We used a hairdryer to soften the glue behind the badge for about 5-10 minutes....since the dental floss melted and broke (DUH?) we resorted to CAREFULLY sticking a small screwdriver/fingernail/anything that can fit into the gap to pry off the badge. Once we got the badge off, we cleaned the glue off the car.

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac23/wrxgrl09/TheCars008-1.jpg

Step Two: Removing the glue on the back of the badge is a pain. It resembles a huge really sticky gross snot. I just poured a ton of paint remover on it and used a green scotch bright to get it off. There may have been some assistance from a razor blade...but be careful doing that because if you go too deep you will scratch the plastic.

Step Three:
Once the glue is gone, use the acid brush to apply the paint stripper. This is the part that requires some serious OCD/anal retentiveness. Be careful not to get the stripper in the recessed parts of the stars. You don't want the chrome finish to come off. Let the stripper sit on the paint for a couple minutes at a time to get it loose. Do this about 300 times...(I was really crazy about detail)...and once all of the paint comes off and is practically clear use the brake cleaner to get all of the residue and yellow junk off. (I have read that the brake cleaner also takes the paint off....It didn't work for me...hence the stripper). After the brake cleaner, I used plastic cleaner to completely fill in the scratches, etc. You can switch back and forth to get it perfect, but I would recommend washing with dawn and water in between.

So...I am ready to paint....
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac23/wrxgrl09/TheCars009.jpg

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac23/wrxgrl09/TheCars013.jpg

I will post this weekend after I paint.
Good Luck!
P.S. Thank you Limey!

STAGE II
I finally finished the badges this weekend! I found some paint at a local hobby shop...I looked everywhere and couldn't find a shade that I wanted so I had to hit the enamel model paint.
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac23/wrxgrl09/TheCars029.jpg

I also bought some cleaner-which I recommend before painting. After painting...I sprayed with a clear coat.
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac23/wrxgrl09/TheCars033.jpg

The finished product.
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac23/wrxgrl09/TheCars039.jpg
On the car....
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac23/wrxgrl09/TheCars072.jpg

I am posting a new thread on the rear badge ---which was a bit different.

[arlia11]

wow - I can't wait to see the finished product!

[frenchie]

It looks good already, waiting for the rest then I might go for mine, in gold..

[xxthat girlxx]

Looks great so far. Lots of patience and elbow grease!

If I debadge my car, I might make mine pink and then into a belt buckle. :D

[Jer]

Looking good, I did something similar with my old wagon, paunt matched it WRB with some touchup paint I had.

http://www.jeremykeith.com/Photos/2004WRX/IMG_0117.jpg

[07SubieQT]

That looks great so far!! :D

[96impreza2.2rs]

i did mine before i hit the deer which stole it :/

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee48/boyband_01/my%20scooby/DSCN1971.jpg

[Kerplunk105]

Hit a deer about a month ago. Had to get a new hood and grille. Put on the pink badge I had laying around :) I think the pink and white look good. I just need to get a fog light cover and we'll be back to good!

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j83/Kerplunk105/Cars/100_3478.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j83/Kerplunk105/Cars/100_3475.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j83/Kerplunk105/Cars/100_3476.jpg

[SVeXy96]

Looks awesome, which is especially good considering all the butt puckering you had to do to get it there ;)

[GirLDriven08STi]

Nice. Love the color

[LGTgurl06]

WD-40 will aid in the removal of the glue also(It's a pain in ass but it works). :) Plus it doesn't eat the paint. :) Just a tip I learned when I debadged my LGT. ;)

[Pearl07STI]

I know I'm super late on this but nice write up, it looks really good!

[ksubb_love]

So question-- CAN you get the chrome off and repaint the stars a different color? Stupid question, I know..

[xxthat girlxx]

^yes you can.

Step 3 says to be careful with paint stripper to avoid removing the chrome if the stars. If you want to paint the stars then don't worry about that.

[Lperkins88]

nice write up!

[turboranger]

Hmmm this sounds like a nice winter project... im gonna try this to my "I" badge

[.Heather.]

Love this! I am thinking of doing a pink badge too!

[MissVenezuela85]

That looks super! I need to do mine but I suffer from mad amounts of LAZINESS.... I will ask the hubby to help me since he painted his red lol

[shefledthescene]

So question-- CAN you get the chrome off and repaint the stars a different color? Stupid question, I know..

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1134460
:)

[STiNA]

^^ Nice! I saw that a long time ago and totally forgot about it. is your name on nasioc the same as on here?

I didnt let the paint dry enough when i did my trunk badge black so the middle of my badge looks crazy almost like carbon fiber or something. i mean.... i totally meant for it to look like carbon fiber..! :D :D

[shefledthescene]

i actually had to doublecheck my name over there because i totally forgot haha yeah its the same. the only place it's different is on clubwrx [wrxtreme06]

[ChristinePurdueBTFU]

Just did mine last night.. thanks for all the tips in this thread.

materials used: paper towels, goof-off, model paint, small paint brushes, double sided tape, headlight lens restorer

Some pics of the finished product. . .

http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/yy229/Rosco2010_2010/IMG_20110403_213821.jpg

http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/yy229/Rosco2010_2010/IMG_20110403_213749.jpg

[STiNA]

i actually had to doublecheck my name over there because i totally forgot haha yeah its the same. the only place it's different is on clubwrx [wrxtreme06]

mine is the same too! :D

and Christine your badge looks awesome!! :love:

[.Heather.]

Soooo, does anyone know of a good website to order a new badge without paying an arm and a leg?? Because the goof off ate everything, and left this nasty white residue :(


My fingers hurt ALMOST as bad as after debadging. :(

[shefledthescene]

:( ebay would probably be your best bet

[.Heather.]

:( ebay would probably be your best bet

Well there is hope, I used the plastx stuff, and its looking good, but we spray painted it and the paint just stayed tacky, so tonight I am redoing it! lol

Lets hope I don't have to order a new one, but if I do I already know of a unique one I will be ordering! :)

[WhtRexGrl]

I did these forever ago and they are going to be changed this month but this is what mine looked like as of last week. The back is the same color but it's hard to see.
http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad175/whtrexgrl/Cars/2010-04-08182425-1.jpg
http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad175/whtrexgrl/Cars/ap1.jpg
better pic of the rear badge
http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad175/whtrexgrl/Cars/2010-10-14_14-59-05_516.jpg

[MissVenezuela85]

Soooo, does anyone know of a good website to order a new badge without paying an arm and a leg?? Because the goof off ate everything, and left this nasty white residue :(


My fingers hurt ALMOST as bad as after debadging. :(

Something similar happened to my husband. My husband used an adhesive from 3M and it ate through the paint and plastic. He called 3M and sent them photos, they re-imbursed him for the cost of the new badge (ordered thru subaru and it was expensive). So perhaps you can contact their customer service?

[MissVenezuela85]

Just did mine last night.. thanks for all the tips in this thread.

materials used: paper towels, goof-off, model paint, small paint brushes, double sided tape, headlight lens restorer

Some pics of the finished product. . .

http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/yy229/Rosco2010_2010/IMG_20110403_213821.jpg

http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/yy229/Rosco2010_2010/IMG_20110403_213749.jpg

Looks good.

Christine (WhtRexGrl)- yours look good too. I know you had the front ones but the back looks good. Badges are on my eventual to do list lol

[.Heather.]

Something similar happened to my husband. My husband used an adhesive from 3M and it ate through the paint and plastic. He called 3M and sent them photos, they re-imbursed him for the cost of the new badge (ordered thru subaru and it was expensive). So perhaps you can contact their customer service?


I will look into that, I re did it today, and it ended up looking decent from arms length, but I can still see the little cracks and the foggy haze it left. Maybe I am just too OCD???:p


Anyways, Here is my 2 day work of art! :lol::lol::lol:
http://i52.tinypic.com/2ekhppk.jpg

[PinkTWRX]

Mine has a foggy haze. And I never got to repainting it. :(

[.Heather.]

Mine has a foggy haze. And I never got to repainting it. :(

Mines in the lower right corner more than anything, and it chipped a bunch!

However, I did find out that some Plastx and a tooth brush do magical wonders! :D

[PinkTWRX]

Mine is the cheap kind that you can't remove the paint from. Its all gell. It's weird. I have to order an actual plastic one to do the colorsi wanted.

[JaclynWRX03]

i just finished mine today!

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c253/Snowbunny951/DSCN1662.jpg

[shefledthescene]

that's intense. reminds me of the 80's lol

[MissVenezuela85]

^ I am knitting a scarf with those two colors!!!! Awesome!

[WhtRexGrl]

^ totally!!! Reminds me of the old Vuarnet France T-shirts from the 80's! Oh yeah I rocked these babys :lol:
http://assets.svpply.com.s3.amazonaws.com/large/87901.jpg (http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-89-VUARNET-FRANCE-RETRO-WINDBREAKER-HOODIE-/250484095171?pt=Vintage_Men_s_Clothing&hash=item3a5203f8c3#ht_2381wt_1127)
http://worthopedia.s3.amazonaws.com/images/thumbnails2/1/0509/18/1_17e7684b28e69e3d1d3a423ece2a6cc4.jpg (http://images.cloud.worthpoint.com/wpimages/images/images1/1/0509/18/1_17e7684b28e69e3d1d3a423ece2a6cc4.jpg)

[JaclynWRX03]

haha i like bright colors much like the 80s it will match my bright DC shoes i have haha

[WhtRexGrl]

^ I dig it - it's cool! I love bright ugly shoes!! I have a pair of Osiris that are awful....but I :love: them

[ChristinePurdueBTFU]

mine left a bit of a foggy haze too. i used headlight cleaner to rub it off as best i could.

[ChristinePurdueBTFU]

I will look into that, I re did it today, and it ended up looking decent from arms length, but I can still see the little cracks and the foggy haze it left. Maybe I am just too OCD???:p


Anyways, Here is my 2 day work of art! :lol::lol::lol:
http://i52.tinypic.com/2ekhppk.jpg

it looks great :)

[italianhunnybee]

Those look fantastic!!! I totally want to try this!

[Sugarpie]

If gold wasn't a "less is more color" and by going with more I end up going blingtastic, I would so do this. :)

[shefledthescene]

^ think if you were to do black background with gold stars/oval it would look nice & not too blingy.

[Sugarpie]

^ think if you were to do black background with gold stars/oval it would look nice & not too blingy.

I did/am considering that... :D

[subarugirl46]

Just did mine last night.. thanks for all the tips in this thread.

materials used: paper towels, goof-off, model paint, small paint brushes, double sided tape, headlight lens restorer

Some pics of the finished product. . .

http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/yy229/Rosco2010_2010/IMG_20110403_213821.jpg

http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/yy229/Rosco2010_2010/IMG_20110403_213749.jpg

I'm doing the exact same thing this weekend, starting reading the thread and thought ohhh pink stars black background = SEXY!!!! Now I just know its going to look ahhmazing!! Awesome job.

[ChristinePurdueBTFU]

I'm doing the exact same thing this weekend, starting reading the thread and thought ohhh pink stars black background = SEXY!!!! Now I just know its going to look ahhmazing!! Awesome job.

thanks!

[subiegirlC8]

I screwed up my badge! There is a crack in it...so it is all fogged up. Now I need to just buy one. Anyone know if the year of the badge is important...the ones on ebay I want are 02-05 and I have an 06? OR is there anywhere else to buy them besides ebay?!

[turboranger]

If your looking to replace the badge you can replace it with an "I" badge ( "I" for Impreza ) its a good looking badge if your not to fond of the oem Star badge. I know my local Subaru dealer carried both the after market "I" badge and the Star badge... see if yours does.



( saving this spot to put my "I" badge up, if any of you are freinds of SG on FB then you probably saw it )

[Anay<3WRX]

I finally did mine thanks to some help from you girls! <3 http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/rubberduckiesrgreat/car4.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/rubberduckiesrgreat/car1.jpg

[Joslin Rae]

I can't for the life of my do mine correctly. I have tried it twice and failed both times. I guess im not using the right stuff.
What do you guys use to get the paint off? That's my big problem.
I have one badge left and would like to try this again, but I wanna really be prepared this time lol.

[JaclynWRX03]

i used finger nail polish remover and let it sit just make sure none gets on the front b/c it made mine kinda blurry and scratched looking

[Joslin Rae]

I finally did it using goof off and Q-Tips :) works like a champ!!!

[ylime]

:-) lookin' good!

[aubreyskingdom]

I love that! Pink's my favorite color :-P

[Anay<3WRX]

I used to sandpaper to take the paint off, if that is what you mean. You have to be careful because you dont want to scratch the badge. But it worked great and was so fast!

[chelseaWRX06]

I just did this a few weeks ago! White with black stars.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z474/chelseawrx06/IMG_0457.jpg


Did you ever do the write up for the rear badge?

[jnh717]

looks great! love that its original

[Subie.Tiff]

I just found this thread - I am most definitely doing this on mine! I had never even thought of doing this before :)

[Caitorade]

On a Friday night while taking care of my newly neutared puppy I have decided to try this.....holy OCD is right. :lol:

[italianhunnybee]

I really want to do this but I'm super nervous that I'd mess it up :-/

[Joslin Rae]

^ that's why i bought a couple of them on ebay haha they aren't expensive at all. Well the "i" badge isn't. Idk about the star badge.

EDIT: Ya the star badges are cheap too. Like $9 and some of them come prepainted pink if that's the color you're looking for.

[twiztidwrx]

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg130/twiztidlilgoth/WRX/frontnew.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg130/twiztidlilgoth/WRX/rearnewbadges.jpg

[Joslin Rae]

^ That looks great! Lots better than Rudolph :p

[twiztidwrx]

^ Exactly! :lol:

[Legacy Lover]

Hey Ladies -

Just wanted to show you pics of how we took my 08 LGT back badge apart.

I bought an extra badge from the dealership so that when it was completed all i needed to do was take the one off my car and quick replace it. I can take my time taking it apart and painting it.

Pictures of process:
-original badge
-chrome piece left after removing the emblem
-cleaned chrome piece, you can see the drill hole we did to release the emblem.
-The emblem with paint still on
-Cleaned emblem ready for paint, we used fingernail polish sanded it down and then used clearing solution to restore it.

I'm going to pick up paint today, so watch for more pictures!

[lovemysubi92]

When i had my 96 Legacy. I did it the same way you did i pulled it off my grille, got it pryed apart and used goof off or whatever to eat away at the paint inside so that my paint would show up...i might have a picture of what it looked like before. I got mine to be limegreen stars and black background. my favorite badge ever. :D

[MrsPMS]

Looks really good!! My husband and I have our own powder coating business so I have powder coated a lot of my parts. Haven't done any badges yet as my car is de-badged.

[BoostinChick]

Looks great, ladies! Since my car is OBP, I think I will be going with the black background and pink stars like in post#22!

[vicky_808]

I like the idea.. I do think I will be doing mine this weekend..

[musilvr4eva]

I need to find a replacement 2.5 RS emblem before I can do anything :(

[BoostinChick]

Finally finished mine today as well. Took me 4-days, thanks to the cold making the paint take forever to dry and 6 coats of paint on the stars!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/sexydsm95/IMAG0325.jpg

[subie*chick]

Love it, I just bought a 95 Legacy L wagon in green and now idk what i want to change on it first...

[sukisukinow]

wow that looks amazing definitely want to do that to my car!!! I want to powder coat my rims but i dont know what color i'd love to do pink but with a red car my color options are limited. any suggestions

[WhtRexGrl]

gold for the win :)