Blacking out Emblems w/ Plastidip (DIY)

Blacking out Emblems w/ Plastidip (DIY)

You'll need Plastidip, blue painters tape, and newspaper.

The first thing I did was clean the emblems with warm water/microfiber towel and some isopropyl alcohol. The emblems need to be clean and dry.

I masked off the entire back of my car with newspaper and tape. Cover everything! Overspray WILL happen. Try to leave AT LEAST 1/2" gap between the emblem and tape/newspaper. It makes it easier to peel off.



Shake the can of Plastidip for 30-60 seconds. I did a test run on a piece of newspaper to see how it looks. Now we're ready to apply the first coat, which I'll call the base coat.Spray the can from about 1 foot away, using an even swiping motion. The "base" coat is supposed to be thin and look splotchy.

1st coat:




I waited 25 minutes after this base coat. I went in a little closer than 1 foot this time since the coat was looking the same, and I felt that I was wasting more Plastidip than I had to. By this coat, try to cover your emblems in black. It'll still look a little splotchy with an orange peel texture, but that will dry up to leave you with a matte finish. Wait for this coat to dry COMPLETELY so you can see the imperfections and spots you missed for next time. (You can shine a flashlight on it and If it's glossy, it's still wet. If not, you're ready for the next coat.)

2nd coat:



I waited 50 minutes for the 3rd coat. There were still a lot of speckles, so on the 3rd pass, I went HEAVY. Wait for this to dry completely too.

3rd coat:





Use the final coat (#4) to touch up areas. I noticed that the sides of the emblems were STILL not 100% covered yet. Finish with a light spray, back to standing 1'+ away.

I removed the masking halfway through the final drying.





By the time I finished removing the masking, the plastidip was ready to be removed. This stuff is AMAZING. It peels off as easy as everyone claims. As it peels it literally feels like plastic rubber, kind of like a garbage bag. Just make sure the edges are dry before you start. If they still look glossy it won't peel in a clean easy piece, in fact it'll be liquid.

Note: An easy way to tackle the blue part of the Hybrid emblem (on the rear and sides of car) is to spray completely over it. Ignore what I did in my pictures. Don't even bother masking the blue part. It's much cleaner and easier to scrape the plastidip off with your fingernails. The tiny tiny gap between the chrome and blue is enough to make the plastidip peel off with relative ease.



Pretty easy! We're not quite done yet...







The last part to peel (this was done several months later FYI)




Finished.

 

Hahaha....I LOVE thank yous when the occasion calls for it. You can wait for good weather or you can do it in a garage like I did. It's 40 degrees here and raining outside! Brrrr! (I couldnt wait)

Exactly, I used a toothpick and the inside layer picked right up.

I am - I think it looks batmobile-esque. I'm doing the same thing for the front emblem.

By the way, these pictures show the plastidip not 100% dry. It's so cold here it may take another few hours to dry completely.

 

It'll look something like this:

In other words it'll look really good.

 

FYI - there's a better way to mask off the blue on the HSD logo and Hybrid logo (side emblem).

Spray the coating directly over the blue -- don't even bother making. Why? When it dries and youre ready to peel, you can use your fingernail to separate the blue from the chrome. Works like a charm.



Also a couple more things I noticed from doing the front and side emblems;

Go light the first layer, and add as many layers on after that. This works much better than a heavy initial layer. I tried both ways, the first method looks way better.

Don't spray too much from an angle to try to get the sides and crevices of the emblems. For some reason it makes it harder to peel; the plastidip between the emblem and car (at the perpendicular junction) did not separate easily when I sprayed heavy on the sides.

 

Thanks again man. Well it looks like it's raining this week so we'll see how it holds up.

 

Definitely. After playing with the stuff all day, I'm almost worried that it's too easy to remove. A high power car wash might lift the film right up. People say it survives car washes, but I see a few vulnerable spots on my emblems, particularly, one of the side emblems and the rear HSD emblem.

The good thing is I can always spray it again if it rips off...and I'd know how to do it right next time

 

Yup that's the one! I got mine at Home Depot for 5.98. They only had black. Red emblems on red might look odd truthfully. Red for the grill (if you do that) would blend nicely though.

Just FYI, I used about 2/3 a can for all my emblems. If I need to redo a couple I think I have enough left. But if I ever have time to do the grill I'll definetly need another can.

Good luck!

 

It actually has quite high adhesion; if there are no gaps in the plastidip (i.e., no chrome showing) then this stuff may last forever. This easy to achieve with the right technique.

The same goes for the grill application; you would have to remove the grill so that you cover it completely. If it's sealed, it's solid.

The problem with that is ease of use and reversibility.

Today I must say that the emblems look and feel much more like rubber now, kind of like a rubber case for your iphone.

 

Thanks man, I can explain this better with a picture.

When you spray, there is naturally a tiny tiny gap from the 3M adhesive tape that attaches the emblem to the car surface. When the Plastidip dries, the gap causes the plastidip to separate and become detached. This is likely because it's sitting on air. Anyways, this is exactly what's supposed to happen; this is the magic. It happened to me 95% of the time, but I'm sure if you did it, you could get 100%.

However, if you spray heavily on the top, bottom, or sides of the emblem, which I did because I thought they weren't getting good coverage, then you will end up having a thick layer that doesn't separate when it dries. Therefore, when you try to peel the plastidip, it'll all be one piece. This is not how it's supposed to work.