Old badge painting

[munkyfistfight]

I have an old Yamaha badge from an old tank. I cleaned it up as best I could and would like to repaint it. Has anyone done this? It's still in really great shape. Any tips? Also, how would I go about mounting it on the tank?

***The tank and the side panels are at the painter right now. I'm going with a glossy black finish with a white racing stripe. I think it would look super sweet to throw an old Yamaha badge on one of the sides.

[Cdnlouie]

Now this would be a great topic to research. When you find out let me know because I would love to have an easy solution to this one? I wonder what would be the closest technique available to restore it close to original.  The same goes for the side cover emblems which invariably show wear over time.  I am sure the solution may be a painful one, like cutting out gold foil and clear coating it  :o!

[Lucky]

i just did my 850 badges.  i've tried it before with mixed results,but this time was better. here are the details:

Realise that your not going to get a shiny 'chrome like' gloss no matter what the sample on the outside of the can looks like.  i've called the paint companys & that representation is bull....

Prep the  badge by cleaning all the adhesive off the back, usually it's a sort of double stick tape, that will peel off with thumb pressure, if not, or it's something harder, carefully trim it down to the palstic with a sharp razor.

cleaning the background is a little difficult, but an old toothbrush & liquid dishsoap work wonders.  you really can't sand the background to prep it, but clean is a good base..

get a FINE sanding sponge & sand down the tops of the letters until smooth.  blow all the dust off or wash again & dry thouroughly.

you will be painting the black background first.,
choose a black in your prefered gloss.  shiny will look good, but flat or semi hides imperfections better.  get  couple of artists brushes & carefully paint the background. don't load the brush up with paint, dip just a bit of the tip & wipe one side of the can as you come out. just touch a wider part of the background & allow the paint to flow on the badge just a bit, then when the brush is more empty, use the tip of the brush to move paint into the more confined areas.

once you have done the entire background let the paint dry per the can instructions or overnight.

for the gold, buy a can of gold flake artists finish.  a pint or less will do (btw, stay away from model paint & testors, it just doesnt hold up outside for long)  stir the can up with a popsicle stick, seal the can back up & shake the shit out of it till your arm falls off, then shake 5 min more...

apply the gold in the same manner as the black, paying attention to the sides of the letters.  you MUST let these paints dry several days between coats.  do at least 2 coats, allow to dry for a couple of days more.  a week is better, then topcoat with clear laquer (fuel proof). several thin coats (follow directions.  if you want to be anal about it, wet sand the top gold coat, add another layer of gold, wet sand again (1500 grit) and do the same with the clear.)

this seems like a long project, but it's the only way i've found to get good results,  

alternativly, you can take them to a high end car dealership & talk to the guy who gold leaf's the cars badges.  you'll pay big bucks for this service.

apply your 'new' badges to your (unwaxed) tank with trim adhesive from the auto parts store.

--Lucky

[Lucky]

top one as i got them, bottom one is done except for clearcoat.  i didnt wetsand them, just painted.

[QBS]

So, Lucky, what is the status of your 850 project?

[Lucky]

stalled, being out of work 2 months slowed things down.  i'll post more abt the 85o soon.

[Rikugun]

Lucky, that badge looks real good - being meticulous payed off!  Why do you advocate such long dry time between steps?

[munkyfistfight]

Great advice! Thanks. I decided to do the yamaha logo above the tailpiece as well....after I glue it back together :-\

[lexx790]

Great topic, it was one of my most time consuming, most effort for least amount of result thing I did restoring my bike.
I tried painting with various paints, gold and silver but all looked to matt.
I tried gold leaf, tin foil , gold chocolate wrappers and copper leaf.
All going on a gloss black background.
I even considered making moulds and making them out of brass, but that was a step too far.
In the end I went back to gold leaf and oversprayed with a clear topcoat.
And before anyone hunts my bike down to melt it down for the gold, the gold leaf book was only £5 about 7 USD .

[Lucky]

Lucky, that badge looks real good - being meticulous payed off!  Why do you advocate such long dry time between steps?

the metalic paints cure slow.  since the piece is plastic, you really can't do much to speed it up.  you want it thouroughly dry before coating with the laquer so it doesn't react with the metalic which i couldn't tell from the can if the paint was acrillic, enamal or what...

[fret not]

Lucky, What did it smell like?  You should be able to get a pretty good idea if it is lacquer or enamel since they don't smell the same.

[Lucky]

*sniff*  *sniff*...

Hmmmm  not sure...

*Sniff* *snif*...

*snifff sniff   sniff**...

sniiiiifff   fffff  sn... iff

i thINKmy blub33ry treee IS Brkkeee  Wheee!!!!!!!!!!

[Rikugun]

Yikes! And I thought Lucky's spelling couldn't get any worse!  :o   QUICK, put the caps back on!!!   :laugh:  ;D

[Re-Vision]

See how well you do after sniffing paint. LOL

BDC

[Rikugun]

So I'm reading an article about a GT380 restoration in Tigers favorite rag "Cycle Canada"  :P and read this quote:

"Fossat's fiance, Takami, who is an illustrator, took on the precision task of repainting the fuel tank emblems; the translucent lacquer of red nail polish nicely simulated factory paint."

I wonder if they make chrome nail polish?  :)

http://www.cyclecanadaweb.com/galleries/14500/?im=11

[Re-Vision]

Bet that nail polish would be good for touching up the YICS emblems.    BDC

[fret not]

Lucky, you know what i meant.  When you were applying the "paint" you couldn't help but notice the odor coming from it.  Now, get your nose out of the paint can!  It will make your eyes cross! ::) :o