Vbelisle Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I have been getting requsts to know how i made my emblems and it was really simple so here we go. The first part of the process is to remove the emblems and remove the blue paint. To show this follow the steps I copied from here: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58516 so props to giotein for the first half. (i do not know how to post pictures as "thumbnails". i apologize for those using 56K. if anyone could point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated) Ever thought of buying a jdm pink subaru badge? or even any other color? black? yellow? red? green? What was it that stopped you? The price? Worrying of purchasing a fake one and the fitment is off? Well... all these stopped me..... but i have found a solution.. your worrying is over.This DIY mod is for anyone who wants a new look to their badge.. and for those who do not want to have to worry about fitment issues or getting a financial hit on their wallet when they could have spent that money on something else (ie. gift for the wife or gf.. ) Difficulty: easiest of easiest. Amount of Time: a RELAXING 4hrs... or you can even spread it out and slowly work on it (but you will be driving around without badges) STEP 1.Remove front and rear emblem. Using either a heat gun... or leaving your car baking in the sun... warm up the glue that holds your emblem inplace. Using fishing line or dental floss (any sort of strong string will be fine) slowly remove emblem. REAR EMBLEM HAS TWO PEGS THAT HOLD THEM IN PLACE. i did not snap them off.. but lets just assume they are fragile so we dont need to buy a replacement. PIC OF EMBLEM REMOVED. (MY EMBLEM) http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/giotein/SP_A0206.jpg STEP 2.While the front emblem easily falls out of the chrome ring almost instantly after you remove the left over 3M tape. PIC OF FRONT EMBLEM. (MY EMBLEM) http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/giotein/SP_A0215.jpg the rear emblem you must drill a small hole in the back of the bracket. PIC OF SMALL HOLE IN REAR EMBLEM BRACKET. (THIS picture is NOT my emblem. it is my friends who drives a WRX. OUR 'pegs" are thinner. i havent had time to finish the back) http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/giotein/5.jpg **** ONLY drill enough, so you can reach the six star emblem piece.Once you drill enough to reach the six star emblem, use a small tool like an alan key, or small screwdriver to poke it out. STEP 3.Now that you have both emblems out of their "housings", the rear will look like this. EDIT: the rear is a PITA to take out. it is easier if you drill a bit bigger hole than the one in the picture. Our emblem bracket was thicker than i expected. so i ended up not drilling through completely.... so it was quite hard to work with. PIC OF REAR STAR PIECE EMBLEM. (MY EMBLEM) http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/giotein/SP_A0216.jpg You can start sanding away the back. The blue paint is actually on the back of the lens. STEP 4.After you have finished sanding, the emblem should be clear of blue, leaving only the chrome stars. PIC OF CLEAR EMBLEM. (MY EMBLEM) http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/giotein/SP_A0218.jpg Now heres where the carbon fiber look comes in. I ordered the "vinyl" here: http://www.decalfx.com/ But it reminds me of a sticker more then anything. *Try to ignore all the ricer cars I know it will be tough * here are some pictures of how the material looked before I put it on my emblem. http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n227/OOOVICT0ROOO/DSC_0005-3.jpg STEP 5. Apply to the now cleared emblem and trim away excess. I used a very small amount of epoxy to hold the emblem to the metal backing, I would recommend this but make sure you get it on the sides of the emblem where the sticker isnt to make sure it holds the important piece to the car. If something is not clear feel free to let me know in this thread or a PM and I will do my best to answer your questions. Its not that difficult so GOOD LUCK!! Some completed pictures installed on my car. http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n227/OOOVICT0ROOO/DSC_0002-1.jpg http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n227/OOOVICT0ROOO/DSC_0003-2.jpg And here are the real ones http://www.japanparts.com/images/ImageFromDB.php?base=1&no=15500 feel free to purchase the real ones here for a little bit more http://www.japanparts.com/db/parts_detail.php?submit.x=47&submit.y=2&NUMBER=00021298&VOLUME=186-006-005&DEALER=1&CAR=6&MIDDLE=&SMALL=&MAKER=90&VOLKEY=&SEARCH_DEALER=1&SEARCH_CAR=6&SEARCH_MIDDLE=&SEARCH_SMALL=&SEARCH_MAKER=90&SEARCH_VOLKEY=&SEARCH_page=2 DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES I MAY HAVE CAUSED YOU WHILE DOING THIS DIY MOD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 SWEET! That looks really awesome!You could sell those. "real ones" are over $200! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04GTLIB Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 An excellent post and a sensational result Vbelisle.I only recently cleaned mine up and painted them gun metal. I'm really happy with the results but I wish I had seen this thread before hand as a carbon fibre set would have looked even better. Anyone have front and rear badges there willing to sell for cheap. LOL. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireB Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 I always thought you bought the one from K2 Gear. Nicely done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lofthouse_gt Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 I wonder what it looks like with black carbon... def more my style, but yours look great and almost just like the real thing. Is there any sort of cloudyness from where you sanded the paint off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vbelisle Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 I wonder what it looks like with black carbon... def more my style, but yours look great and almost just like the real thing. Is there any sort of cloudyness from where you sanded the paint off? There is because I was rushing to get them done, but I just took the rear one off to sand it better to get it nice and smooth. But you really cant tell its cloudy with the silver CF unless your looking at it extremely close like almost touching the car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windy Road Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 I've been waiting for the spring to pull off my rear emblem to paint it DGM or something close to it. What did you use to hold the emblem back to the trunk? 276hp/347tq On a DynoJet Dyno Video - Had a big lean spot as you can tell in the second pull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vbelisle Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 I've been waiting for the spring to pull off my rear emblem to paint it DGM or something close to it. What did you use to hold the emblem back to the trunk? 3M automotive tape Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lofthouse_gt Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 I couldn't tell any cloudiness fromt the pic they look really good, I just assumed there might be what grit sandpaper did you use to clean it up more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vbelisle Posted April 3, 2010 Author Share Posted April 3, 2010 I couldn't tell any cloudiness fromt the pic they look really good, I just assumed there might be what grit sandpaper did you use to clean it up more? I would use a rougher one to remove the paint and then go over it with a smoother one to clean up the scratches the rougher one makes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhdrockstar Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 So correct me if I am wrong. I just am not 100 percent sure of this. The stock blue color is on the black of the lens? And the chrome stars are on the outside of the lens or molded into the interior of the lens? Just curios if after sanding the blue off could you use a headlight restoring kit on the back of the lens to possibly buff it up and make it a very smooth surface before repainting? I just happen to have bought the headlight restoring kit for my gf's brothers wrx headlights and it was amazing how it went from dull haze to brand new look. Not sure if it is necessary but figured I'd see what you think of the idea. The lens I assume is just a plastic which is what that headlight restoring kit is for. -Urban Cowboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 So correct me if I am wrong. I just am not 100 percent sure of this. The stock blue color is on the black of the lens? And the chrome stars are on the outside of the lens or molded into the interior of the lens? Just curios if after sanding the blue off could you use a headlight restoring kit on the back of the lens to possibly buff it up and make it a very smooth surface before repainting? I just happen to have bought the headlight restoring kit for my gf's brothers wrx headlights and it was amazing how it went from dull haze to brand new look. Not sure if it is necessary but figured I'd see what you think of the idea. The lens I assume is just a plastic which is what that headlight restoring kit is for. no, after you take the emblem off it's black on the back as pictured, the silver part is in the recessed area, so don't sand all the way down there and you will "retain" the silver if that makes any sense to you and it's just plastic, so i don't see why you can't use the headlight restore kit, but I don't think it's necessary tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhdrockstar Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Hmmm I might just have to take my emblem apart to fully understand. I could sit here and try to explain what I mean but I better just take it apart. Thank you though! -Urban Cowboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 think of it like this if you flip this the badge back when it's in this condition http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/giotein/SP_A0218.jpg you'll see the silver star area still be black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhdrockstar Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Yeah I just took my front badge off and am looking at it. So mainly I have to sand down that black portion that is about an 1/8th inch thick? How far down do you have to sand till the black is all gone and you get to the blue and then all your left with is the clear and chrome stars? It looks to me like a lot of sanding? Is this correct? Just want to make sure I am doing the right thing. -Urban Cowboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 you gotta dig pretty deep but as long as you dont sand the recessed area of the emblem, the silver star stays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhdrockstar Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Alrighty. Yeah I just took out the electric sander and started in on it and noticed the blue backing color is not as deep as I thought. I will go buy some finer grit sand paper and then some emery cloth to get rid of any rough spots. But yeah it is a little intimidating starting in on it when I wasn't 100 percent sure on what to do. Thank you though. -Urban Cowboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhdrockstar Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd148/adhdrockstar/1304803584.jpg Here is an image of just a little bit of the black back coating of paint removed and down to the blue coating. Just showing those who have not done this that you are only going to be sanding through a few layers. I was worried that you had to sand through about half the thickness of the lens but I was wrong. Just wanting to post this for others. -Urban Cowboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhdrockstar Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Brake parts cleaner FTW! No sand paper needed. Just a little elbow grease. -Urban Cowboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spritefiend Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 hate to resurrect a thread this old, but this is AWESOME! just found this while looking for the authentic ones.. F spending $200 for it! this is legit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Shark Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Very interested in doing this, do you have to use silver? I want gunmetal black carbon fiber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj808 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Brake parts cleaner FTW! No sand paper needed. Just a little elbow grease. Would this really work instead of sanding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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