what to do about faded rear door emblem?

[canadave]

So the Pontiac arrowhead on the rear of our 2004 Vibe is faded to almost pink. What's the best + cheapest way to handle it? Ideas:

-- replace it (most expensive, unless someone knows where to get one for $10)
-- paint over it (not sure which type of paint to use)
-- plastidip it (next most expensive)
-- decal on top of it (cheap and easy, but would it last/look good? Plus, don't know precisely what colour to get)

Thoughts?

[meidou]

Debadge

[canadave]

Debadge

Not an option If anything, I'd love to get a new, larger arrowhead badge! It's relatively expensive though Trying to save up money for radio upgrade!

[Doug14]

I painted the back one on mine using Krylon fusion for plastic, hasn't faded(i also treated mine with a UV protectant) for all the rest i ordered from http://www.grafxwerks.com/shop.php?part=VIBA1

[canadave]

I painted the back one on mine using Krylon fusion for plastic, hasn't faded(i also treated mine with a UV protectant) for all the rest i ordered from http://www.grafxwerks.com/shop.php?part=VIBA1

Interesting...when you painted the back one, did you mask off the thin silver "star" in the middle of the arrowhead emblem, or did you just spray over it entirely?

[Doug14]

I masked off the silver star and the edges, it took a few tries to get it right, if you go this route I recommend using 3m blue tape or similar to mask off as the green is too weak. Heres a pic :

note* i only painted the rear arrowhead black. The rest of the emblems are overlays from grafxwerks.

[canadave]

Wow. How the heck did you manage to mask off the star? I would think that's pretty hard to do...did you get very tiny scissors to cut the tape that thin?

Thanks for the pic btw, looks very nice!

[Doug14]

Hahaha, it was a bit of a pain, but I used a combination of scissors and a very thin razor blade. The star in the middle was a few pieces of tape layered then trimmed and pushed to the edges so it was as flush as I could get it, wish you luck!

[Derf]

Went with a decals, many colors, and if you decide down the road to try something different just peel and apply new. Reading posts, the decal lasts 2-5 years depending on how vigorously you wash your Vibe and you local climate.

Link viewtopic.php?f=33&t=40941" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ColonelPanic]

Highly recommend getting the overlay from Grafxwerks. It should have been standard equipment to cover that emblem that faded to pink while the cars were still brand new on the lot.

Have lots of stuff from them 7+ years old now I think and still looks fantastic.

[Kincaid]

Doug14, that is impressively clean.

[Doug14]

Doug14, that is impressively clean.

Thankya!

[M1MECHANIC]

if you go the paint route, for the star get some grease and apply it just over the star (bearing packing grease works good) that will keep the paint from sticking over the star. used to do this in the military when painting the vehicles much easier than tape and just wipe off around the star and spray paint. let it dry completely and just wipe the grease off and there you go. hope this helps anyone out there.