Got bored and decided I wanted to get rid of the chrome.

Sanded my emblems with 2000 grit wet sandpaper, taped off, and used spray paint w/ clear coat to finish.
Sprayed grey primer, let dry, then taped in the pattern, sprayed black, let dry, then removed the tape.

In total I painted: Front & Rear Chrysler Emblems, Fog Light Covers (Base model), and my chrome license plate frames (sorry, no pictures yet). Planning on painted my door handles/fender strakes as well. Also debadged the "CROSSFIRE" lettering from the rear hatch.

I like it. Feel free to toss in your opinions too.

I'll add pics of the rear as soon as I take them/get the gunk off from the "CROSSFIRE" lettering. I've tried WD-40...but it's not working so well. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
-Eric

 

Here's another picture of the front. You can see my new Needswings DCAI a little better too

 

Sooooooo is thisss going to be a... zebra car??? orrrr .. onlyyyy in California..

Btw, try Goo Be Gone. Double check to make sure it is ok on painted surfaces. I use it on mirrors/tables/plastics etc, but havent tried a car.

 

Thanks for the Goo Be Gone suggestion. And it's not supposed to look like zebra

It's supposed to be kind of an urban camouflage pattern. It's grey/black. I should have used a darker grey

-Eric

 

Looks like those symbols you scan with your phone to get information.

So if people look like they are taking close up pictures they may actually be expecting to get to a Crossfire site.

 

What, like a barcode?

haha

 

i like it! .. this looks good i like the light conrast and i think if you do the door handles and side strakes it would fin nish it off nicely!

-Jason

 

Thanks! That's the plan!

 

Hey Eric I took my letters off using the floss and heat gun (careful you could ruin your paint!!) To remove the gunk I tried just as you did wd-40 then moved to some good ol 93 octane (gas) worked like a charm!! Dont mix the heat gun with the gas bad juju!! very bad juju!!

 

Hahaha....

I did everything except the 93 octane gas. If I knew where to find that I could try it... highest around here is 91 (at the regular stations at least) but I don't know where to find anything higher.

Thanks for the insight though

-Eric

 

eh 91 will work 93 was just what i had in my jugs for my 250f

 

I ma not trying to be critical, but I would NEVER let gasoline touch my finely polished XF (or WD-40). 3M makes a VERY good wax and adhesive remover specifically for the job, been using it for 15+ years to debadge, amongst other things.

It does not have the immediate effect gasoline probably does, but it is safe for automotive finishes and only takes a few minutes to penetrate the adhesive....

 

I keep crazy amounts of wax on my car and as long as you remove the gas quickly you'll have no problems I didn't.

 

I am cautioning people because this is not a good idea, and I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone that would say otherwise, especially when they make a product specifically for what you are doing.

If you honestly think that the gas, which is caustic enough to disolve (eat through) automotive grade adhesive, will not eat right through your wax, I want some of the stuff you are smoking.

And more importantly, I am not sure what crazy amounts are, but it has been proven that after the second coat, it offers no difference if you do three or 3,000, same effect.

 

Alright, good to know.

I'll check out the 3M product.

 

Automotive clears are fuel safe (from what I have just read) since the 90s. They would have to be example 1 what happens when you accidently drip on the side filling up? In my case driving to carlisle in the rain and having a semi in front of me leaking large quantities of diesel. My car was covered along with Tom and Mikes. Mikes being white looked like a coffee stained paper!!! Took us about 2 hrs to get it off but no harm was done. Im sure using a product that is specifically designed for this job is a better idea but gas worked for me with out hurting anything...

3M
Solvent naphtha, petroleum, heavy aliphatic <-Propellant
Terpenes and Terpenoids, type citrus oil <-Cleaner

naphtha or napthalene- mothballs
aliphatic- found in every gas that ends in the letters ane, ene, and yne butane methane Phellandrene ect.

So your pretty much using a concoction of gas and orange juice... lol

 

To remove the adhesive I got it hot with the heatgun and then doused it with goo gone and used my fingernail. You will have to polish out and rewax the area after but it does work. If you find the thread I started a few months ago I have a tutorial. Mine came out virtually perfect to the eye after I was done polishing.

 

Excellent. From far away you can't even tell, but from up close there is still the "ghost" lettering.

Thanks everyone, i'll try some stuff probably this weekend since I work til it's dark outside all week :/

-Eric

 

I'm not sure what polishing supplies you had but, with my Porter Cable orbital polisher I was able to eliminate all ghosting. I probably used an orange cut pad with either Optimum Hyper Compound or Optimum Compound, then went down to polishing on a blue polishing pad with Optimum Polish probably two passes. Then seal with your choice of wax. I am OCD and there's literally nothing that shows letters were ever there!

 

Mine either! After taking the letters off I used nufinish polish and a microfiber rag and good as new!