I got sick of all this sanding and priming, and sanding again, so I took some time off and made some badges while I was doing that and put them on today after I finished the final sanding.

They were done by removing the old badges, priming, painting them with Plastikote spray, polishing them, then using a paint marker to make the black outlines. After that was all done, I clearcoated them a few times with a good polyurethane.

They turned out pretty good and look alot better then the cheap black plastic ones.





While the glue was drying, I went around front, masked off some stuff, and blacked out the vertical posts on the front so it looks a bit better. I'd like to cut all the plastic out of that opening, but that'd mean patching up the points were it was removed and painting more. I think it would weaken the fron a bit too much as well. I pulled the fron plate off too, my buddy has had his removed for over a year now and never recieved any legal flak for it, so I figure I'm ok.

 

That looks really good, especially the badges on the back. Great job!

ps. that's a shiny hood too!

 

not bad,, i totally removed mine, but that looks good.

 

I thought about doing that, but the previous owner(s) used some strong *** epoxy to hold the RX-7 badge on and I made a mess of things removing it, and wanted to try this out anyways after touching up the front Mazda decal with the same paint marker.

I'm glad you like them though. It'll be interesting to find out how well that old *** paint marker black holds up. I've had that marker for the last 4 years and hardly used it, lol.

 

im gonna remove mine as well

 

Nice job!
And a GREAT idea.

 

Badges!!! We don't need no stinkin' badges.




*cries for not having any badges*

 

Why does the left side of your exhaust look like its dipping down?

 

Referring to pyrojunkie

 

Screw the badges, I like the painted tail light surrounds! More people with S4s need to do that.

 

Yah your exhaust looks like it's sagging a bit, no offense.

 

Oh, and I think the badges look hawt.

 

and i thought only black cars have matching badges ^_^

but those are nice =)

 

Ya, that's the next project. The previous owner put the rice pipes on, but didn't mount the left side correctly. The right is nice and solid, and straight, but I have to use aircraft cable on the left to correct the alignment and strengthen the mounting.

I'm going to finally fix it when I replace my gaskets and/or cat.

 

Looks very hot, I definately like the red badges with the black outline.

I'm more interested in hearing some more details on what you did when you were painting your taillights. Did you have a lot of trouble matching the red paint for the taillights? Also, what did you do to prep them before painting them.

My taillights look like crap... they are very scratched up looking, and I am constantly putting armorall and Back to black to get rid of the fading on them. I wouldn't mind painting them.

I need to paint my mirrors also. The driver's side is fine but the passenger side one is faded very badly.

 

I like the painted tail light surrounds, if I ever get my S4 running again, I will do that. I'm sure it will look good in blue as well.

 

that is nice great looking car good job

you know if you paint the black outer layer around the hatch it looks good too, mine is done that way

 

They came out nice, but it's not my style. I prefer them unpainted but you did good work. I think a nice metallic charcoal gray would have been nice.

 

the Badges look great, an inspiring idea. Now if you could your license plate straight!! Just joking you a bit.

I'm going to let Doriftwolf in on my plastic secret........Mop & Glo. I know sounds crazy but. We used to use it on our MX bikes on the tanks and number plates etc. Only last for about a week, so you have to apply after your Saturday bath. Repaint is the best but the M&G is a short term fix

 

Hehe, the plate gives it "character". Just like the remaining rust, right?

I didn't paint my S4 surrounds, but the previous owner did. I can give you the jist of it though. You'll need: sandable primer, color matched paint, 600 and 1500 grit sandpaper, masking tape, old enwspaper or other masking material, fine polishing compound.

1.) Mask the area that you don't want painted off (make sure to mask any near-by large flat surfaces, like the rear hatch, lower bumper, rear quarters, etc).

2.) Prime the area with Plastikote primer (previous owner didn't do this, so the finish isn't as smooth as it could be and it's flaking in places.) I choose Plastikote because the color matched touch-up paints are readily available in my area from Pepboys. Try your best not to mix brands when it comes to the primer and paint.

3.) After applynig a layer of primer, let it dry for 1/2 hour, then wet sand it with 600 grit sandpaper, then apply another layer and keep repeating that process until there's none of the black of the surrounds showing.

4.) I usually let the primer dry for ~hour after the finally sanding just to make sure the finish is hard enough to accept the paint properly.

5.) Apply the color matched paint of choice, let it dry for 45 minutes, and wet sand with the 600 grit sandpaper. Repeat this a couple of times (I usually do 3) until you're satisfied with the coverage.

6.) When the final layer is applied, whip out some 1500 grit sandpaper, and wet sand the area again, then wash it down.

7.) Let the finish dry for 7 days, then use some good fine polishing compound (I use the 3m stuff) on the painted area and it should shine very nicely after a couple of passes with that. Wax it for protection, and you're good to go.

It should also work great for the mirrors, which I would actually suggest pulling off the car since it's pretty easy. I'm going to redo all my plastics after I finish patching up the exhaust.

What's you're guys' opinion about color-matched trim? I'm swaying back and forth on the subject. I'm either going to match it or vinyl dye it back to pure black.

 

Thanks guys for all the info... especially the step by step on painting the plastic parts.

I'll try the Mop n' Glow thing later on this week for the short term... but I think I'll be painting them shortly.

 

Minnesota, ha! I used to live in the ice box. Looks like you've got the car out for the 4 months of summer huh? Cool looking badges man!

 

awesome, too bad my 86 base has the stickers instead of the badges. I'd like to do that after I get the car painted,it looks perfect with thr tail lights

And keep the trim black