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How To Restore, Paint & Chrome Damaged Car Emblem & Hood Ornaments

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Most car enthusiasts want to restore their cars logo emblems for their beauty. Beyond enhancing any cars appearance, original emblems also increase its re-sale value. You can purchase New Original Stock (NOS) emblems via the internet and local car shows, but you can save money by painting the originals you already have. Vintage, cast emblems have paint-filled depressions in a many colors. Most emblems are fastened to the cars metal body parts, and must be removed from the car for restoration. Emblems mounted on the car body feature pegs in the back. Punch holes in a cardboard box and slide emblems pegs through the holes to hold it in place. If you can not remove them, take the car to a body shop.

Car collectors save vintage badges and emblems because original parts are important to the car’s authentic restoration. Many suppliers now manufacture reproduction emblems (especially in China). Most reproduction badges don’t carry those original part numbers. New old stock (NOS) emblems are becoming harder to find, making them more expensive, so always try to save your original emblems!

Tools Needed For This Job:

Soap & Water
Toothbrush (any small brush)
Clean rags
Safety glasses
Safety gloves
Hobby knife
Paint stripper
Small, pointed paintbrush
Model paint
Paint thinner
Steel wool (extra fine)
Chrome polish

CAR LOGO EMBLEM PLATING TARNISH
Is the plating on your original emblems in good condition? If so, matching model paint, a small-pointed paint brush and paint thinner will quickly bring your emblems looking like new again. To find the correct color, take your emblems to the hobby shop with you. NOTE: Model paint needs a temperature of @70 degrees or less to flow well and dry slowly.

CAR LOGO EMBLEM SCRATCHES & CHIPS
Car emblems are divided into depressed areas with metal ribs. You must clean chipped or scratched areas to the bare, smooth metal BEFORE you even attempt to add any new color. If there are only a few chips, they can be scraped down to bare metal with the tip of a small knife. You might need paint stripper to fully clean out some areas. NOTE: Never sandblast chrome, as it will ruin the plating! You can use a toothbrush to remove dirt in the tiniest corners. After you remove the old paint, clean the emblem with paint thinner and wipe it off well with a clean cloth. Now, set it aside to dry completely. Then, wash it with soap and water, and wipe thoroughly again with the clean cloth. NOTE: Always work in a well ventilated area and properly dispose of all used containers and rags.

CAR LOGO EMBLEM PAINT RESTORATION
Before opening, shake the model paint by hand for a couple of minutes. Mix the model paint, making sure it’s at room temperature, so thin enough to flow freely. Pour small amounts into a clean, separate container if you are going to dilute the paint with thinner. Put a drop of paint on the end of the small, pointed paintbrush and gently, slowly place it into the emblem area you wish to paint. NOTE: DO NOT BRUSH or PUSH the paint into the area. Simply allow several drops to flow together and fill the space. If the paint is too thick, it will not flow enough. You must add more paint thinner to the paint bottle to thin it. Then, apply more of the now flowing paint until your area is fully covered. Position the emblem so it is level and let it dry thoroughly before handling. This can take a few minutes, or a few hours, depending on the thickness of the paint. You can use a hairdryer. or CLOSED sunny window, to speed up drying time. NOTE: You must clean the brush thoroughly before you apply a new paint color. Do this by washing the brush in the paint thinner several times.

CAR LOGO EMBLEM PAINT EDGING
Car emblem details are very tiny, so some paint will always end up flowing where it doesn’t belong. Let the paint dry overnight, then scrape unwanted paint off with a small knife. Scrape any spills or uneven paint, including raised edges. Patience is the key to success when working with extremely detailed, small pieces. NOTE: some imperfections were already present in the factory emblems, so youre not seeking perfection now. Emblems are mostly viewed from several feet away, and they look perfect from that distance.

CAR LOGO EMBLEM CHROME POLISH
Now that youve let the paint dry on your entire emblem, the last step is to polish the chrome until it shines like new again. Polish the chrome plating with a small piece of fine, steel wool. NOTE: Carefully avoid touching your new paint job…or you risk redoing it again. You can also apply a little fine chrome polish with the steel wool for extra shine.

How To Pound Out, Or Pop Out, A Car Dent, Diy Auto Body Dent Repair

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TOOLS NEEDED:

SOFT HAMMER
(or Ball Peen Hammer)
BODY HAMMERS
HAMMERING DOLLY
(or Solid Metal Piece)
TORCH or LIGHTER
VICE-GRIP PLIERS
36-120 GRIT SANDPAPER
600 GRIT WET/DRY PAPER
SMALL WOOD BLOCK
METAL FILE
SUCTION CUP
DRY ICE
RULER
DRILL & GRIT DISK
SPRAY PRIMER

Auto body dents come in all shapes and sizes, from a large crease, to a shallow depression or just a little ding. One quality they all share is they distort the original shape of the sheet metal. The general definition of a dent is any place where the metal of the cars body has been stretched. So, in order to repair the car body, one has to bring the dent back to its original shape by un-stretching the metal. Depending on the type of dent, one can pop out the dent or pound out the dent.

If youre the DIY (Do It Yourself) type, then you’ll try to repair dents in your car’s body yourself. Before attempting this, compare the costs of hiring a professional with your confidence of doing the job properly yourself…and be honest about your auto body repair experience and ability. If youre one of those people that starts a car project and then gets frustrated half way through because its harder than you thought, (YOU know who you are!) then it is probably best only to risk a dent repair job yourself with an older, less expensive car. That way, the repair costs might already be more than the car’s actual value. Even then, you may only be able to repair fender dents, as they can be removed without anything from the car’s interior getting in the way (IE inner door panels).

There are two main types of car dent repairs: paint restoration repair and dent repair without paint. The first type of dent repair is for minor dents and dings, and paint restoration dent repair is for when serious damage was inflicted on the car body part(s). Many car owners, especially in this economy, are looking for ways to get around paying to take their car to an auto repair shop. With this in mind, Ill cover both DIY small dent removal and large dent repair. Ill put a disclaimer right up front that the following methods with not work for every dent, every time. Yet, there is no harm in trying them to save a buck.

Small Dents & Do It Yourself DIY Fender Dent Repair

SOFT HAMMER DENT REMOVAL:

Most cars today feature a car body so thin and flexible that dents can be created accidentally…by simply leaning on your car! Most very small dents can be easily repaired with a soft hammer. Always aim for the center of the dent, to avoid making new marks on the outer circumference of it, and pound out the depression. NOTE: you may have to view the dent from the underside of the car. With a fender dent, this can only be done by raising the vehicle and removing the wheel under the dent. Then, while hammering with one hand, you can feel the outside of the fender with your other. This allows you to check that the dent is evenly pushed out. If you *still* cant remove the dent, jump ahead to the large dent removal section of this article, as you will have to remove the fender from the car.

TORCH, LIGHTER & HAIR DRYER DENT REMOVAL:
http://metacafe.com/watch/963248/remove_car_dent_with_a_lighter/

You can heat the convex (dented) portion of a car dent with a torch, lighter or hair dryer, until it glows a dull red. Then stop heating it and let the dented surface cool. As the metal cools, the dent will shrink back, and hopefully pop out, leaving the surface very close to original.

SUCTION CUP DENT REMOVAL:

If you are not able to pound out your small dent easily, you may have a medium dent in your car. In that case, you can attach a large suction cup with a handle to the dented car part…and pull out the dent. How does this work? As you squeeze the cup against the car bodys dented surface, you are actually squeezing the air out from underneath it. The resulting vacuum you create causes the suction cup to stick onto the surface. Start by placing the suction cup along the edge of the dent, pulling it out, and slowly working your way inward. If youre still having trouble, you should try tapping the dent with a soft hammer, from the inside, while you pull out the dent from the outside.

DRY ICE DENT REMOVAL:
A How To Video of DRY ICE DENT REMOVAL:
http://metacafe.com/watch/yt-ab5PdrAIKeo/how_to_cure_car_dent_with_dry_ice/

Dry ice may be used to repair a small car dent, and is sold by many grocery stores. (Always remember to use gloves when handling dry ice!) Simply place the dry ice in the center of the dent, wait for it to attach firmly to the car body, and gently pull out the dent. You may have to repeat this procedure several times for the dent to be totally removed.

Large Dents & Do It Yourself DIY Car Dent Repair

OK…the Intro To DIY Dent Removal 101 class ends HERE. The following techniques are for large dents, requiring more car repair experience and skill. Start by removing all bolts from the fender, and taking it off the car body. If you cant remove the fender, there is at least one hidden bolt left intact…find it and remove it. NOTE: Never force the fender off a car. (*Some* mechanics also recommend you drill a hole in the center of the dent, using a 1/8 inch drill bit. This is entirely up to YOU. If you are using a dent repair kit, you will most likely find a plastic adapter and glue gun included, and these would be used for that task.) Once the fender is lifted off, use a heavier hammer to pound out the dents from the fender’s underside. Always start from the CENTER of the dent and use short, small taps on the dent, not long, hard ones. As you pound out the dent, hold a hammer dolly against the outside of the fender to prevent making new protrusions around the dent. If the fender supports are bent, be sure to straighten them back out with vice-grip pliers. After youve successfully fixed the dent, simply re-attach all the bolts and put the fender back on the car.

Body hammers and hammer dollies come in many shapes, sizes and weights. First, examine the dent closely with a ruler for depth and length. Then, always choose the best-shaped and smallest size hammer that will do the job, and the dolly that has the closest curvature to the dented panel. If you don’t have body tools, you can try to use a ball peen hammer and solid scrap metal piece as your dolly. This will take a lot of taps, but wont do as much damage to your car body panel. Since all dents are unique, so is each dent repair, and you truly have to use your own best judgement to get the metal straightened. Start by placing the dolly against the top side of the dent and, swinging the hammer from the underside of the dent, begin tapping with MANY short, small taps.

The fender pictured above has a typical dent in the side: oval-shaped, 3 inches long and 2 inches wide. In that case, they used a hammer with a large, flat round top, to be sure the overall force of the blows would be evenly transmitted over an area of a couple square inches. This helped pound out the dent without creating unsightly, little pin-sized mounds. The head of the hammer should strike the sheet metal flat against its surface, as, at the same time,
you hold the dolly directly over where you are striking.

Note that, after every few taps, you must lift the dolly and examine the dent to be sure the taps are reducing the depth of the dent AND not resulting in little convex dents. If the taps are leaving little mounds on the surface, you must start using a hammer with a larger head. If the dent hasnt moved at all, put the dolly down and hit the inside of the dent harder. After the dent popped out, it left a slight raised section, which is easily seen under the straight edge.

If you pop out the dent, but end up with one spot that stands up too high, dont worry. This is common, and there are two ways to fix this reverse-dent. This time, put the dolly underneath the fender and gently tap the convex (raised) area with the smaller head of the hammer. Repetitive, small hammer hits should level the surface completely.

How To Tell If The Repair Conforms
To The Original Car Body Surface?

Using the body file, you can find the high spots that need additional attention, and very lightly tap them down until the surface returns to its original shape again.

You can now file the once dented area, scraping off the etching primer coating. As you file the surface, take note of which areas are still a little low and which are now a bit too high. Go back and re-do one of the above methods until the dent is removed enough to meet your standards. Then, use a medium grit disk mounted on a drill to grind the paint down to the bare metal for at least one inch around the dent. Next, fill the area with a high quality body filler. Allow that to dry completely, then sand the area with a block of wood wrapped in sandpaper. Prime the area with 6 coats of automotive spray primer. Be sure to allow each coat of primer to dry completely before applying the next one over it. Sand the primer using a 600-grit wet and dry sandpaper to remove scratches. Touch up the area with a matching automotive paint. When applying automotive paint, do so using a spray gun and in a brisk, fluid motion. If the newly painted area is not smooth, re-sand and re-paint it until it is.

How good you need your dent repair to be is really up to each individual. You can keep working the dent until your file shows the metal surface is perfect, or you can leave little low spots to be filled later with body filler. NOTE: Overworking the metal can leave it brittle, and it might begin to crack instead of bend.

Sometimes…Less IS more! *smile* Generally, if you are considered (by yourself or others) to be a Perfectionist, then its probably best to have your car professionally repaired to its original, perfect self. Otherwise, you might find yourself endlessly obsessing and working the dent until it cracks. If your standards are more flexible, youre on a tight budget, and are handy with a hammer, then try our dent repair methods and let us know how it goes…GOOD LUCK!