How I refurbished my badges!

I have just finished refurbishing my Volkswagen badge and I must say, I am extremely happy with the results!
The reason I have decided to refurbish them is because I can't find a new Golf CL badge, I know I can get new a Volkswagen badge but I thought I would trial run the process on a badge that I can replace if it goes wrong, so I started with the Volkswagen one..
My badges had already been painted with silver nail varnish (don't ask) so I needed to remove this first.



I used 1200 grit wet and dry to rub the entire badge, I then used a degreaser (Jizer) to clean up the badge and remove any polish/wax residue. Cotton buds came in handy for this bit.



Using a tack cloth I wiped the entire badge to ensure that there was no dust or dirt on there.
I then gave the badge 5 very thin coats of satin black spray paint so that it looked like this



Once dry I could start the tricky bit, I placed a small piece of sticky backed foil over the first letter and gently, with a cloth, rubbed the foil down so that I could see the letter underneath.



Using a craft knife (I suggest a good quality knife for this bit) I carefully cut around the letter until I could remove the excess foil.



I continued with this method until I had finished all of my badge





I am extremely happy with my results and I will be starting my Golf CL badge tomorrow, once complete I will post a picture up of that badge too.

It has taken a lot of patience which I do not normally have and it was a struggle at times but I managed to get a good technique and after spending 45 minutes doing the first 5 letters it only took me 15 minutes to do the last 5  I'm still thinking about putting clear coat over the top for extra protection so I will let you know what happens if I do this.

Overall it has cost me less than £10.00 and I could probably do another 50 badges before I run out of paint or tape Good luck if your having a crack at this and the best bit of advice I can give is to take your time, give the badge lots of thin coats of paint and don't get stressed if you make a mess with the foil, just rip it off and start again. 

Thats excellent mate,great idea & alot of work you put into it

GolyTheGolf said

Overall it has cost me less than £10.00 and I could probably do another 50 badges before I run out of paint or tape 

I'll send mine over then ; )  Great job!

where did you get the silver foil from?

skipper1 said

Thats excellent mate,great idea & alot of work you put into it

Thanks skipper1  

Mr_Rossy said

I'll send mine over then ; )  Great job!

  My brother wants his doing on his Mk2 Polo saloon first  

shepp said

where did you get the silver foil from?

Hi Shepp,
It is available from Toolstation http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Adhesives+Sealants/Tapes/Aluminium+Foil+Tape+50mm+x+45m/d180/sd2420/p97723 , I'm not sure if you can get it from places like B&Q but I guess they will be more expensive anyway.  

I've started sanding the Golf CL badge and is it sad that I am excited about how it is going to turn out?   

Would you guys put some clear coat over the finished item to make them last longer?

Top work  im going to have to give this a go 

This looks fantastic. I was trying to work out how to do something like this and now you have given me the solution. Thank you

das_auto said

Top work  im going to have to give this a go 

allenrobin2002 said

This looks fantastic. I was trying to work out how to do something like this and now you have given me the solution. Thank you

Thanks  

I managed to get the CL badge done yesterday! I think I could have made it a little better but I'm just being picky! I'm going to put clear coat over the Volkswagen badge later to see how it looks.

I did exactly the same to mine a few years ago, using the same technique.

I did not clear coat the first attempt and after a while in the elements the aluminium foil showed signs of oxidation.
So I did them all again and clear coated the second time.

Then some brand new genuine badges became available and I just couldn't resist !!

lhasadreams said

some brand new genuine badges became available and I just couldn't resist !!

This is exactly what I will do    I'm just struggling to find a Golf CL badge at the min. 

Nice job - looks spot on.  

Well done. I also ended up buying new ones.

Shughy said

Nice job - looks spot on.  

Well done. I also ended up buying new ones.

Thanks Hugh, 
Keep your eyes peeled for a new Golf CL badge for me if you can! I've not managed to find one yet but I'm sure one is out there!  

What a great idea and really glad you took the time to share you work. I too will be giving this a go and would prefer to refurb mine rather than buy new just for the satisfaction. I would finish with clear coat to protect the foil.

ridders said

What a great idea and really glad you took the time to share you work. I too will be giving this a go and would prefer to refurb mine rather than buy new just for the satisfaction. I would finish with clear coat to protect the foil.

Thanks ridders , I have given them a spray with clear coat today and I am very happy with the results   They will not be going on Goly until she is out of the bodyshop and I hope that they last a good few years before I need to do them again.

Can you share some photos of the completed badges? It would be good to see the finished standard.

I positioned them on my Golf last night after putting clear coat on, just to see how they looked, so these are the only photos I have at the minute. Please ignore the state of my car, its having a bare shell respray next month so she will be looking spanking by this time next year  

I can second this approach, it's the way I did them a few years back and have just redone them recently.  the movie prop makers love aluminium tape, they use it all the time as it makes things shiny on screen.  

I didn't paint the plastic as without etch primer and the right paint it tends to flake off over time, a light sand (800 grit) and a clean with a tack cloth was enough to let the tape stick fast, didn't clear coat and wont be doing it this time either, the tape is designed for use on HVAC ducting, a days curing and it's stuck for a long time.

JackGraceMK1 Just thought I would share this thread so when you get the badge you can make it look like new.