DIY - Paint your Subaru badge, both the stars and background

[ALbadboy]

Before we get started, all credit goes to Durmiente on the NASIOC forums. All I did was link the additional DIYs & reformat and word some things.
Also thanks to @ihaskrayon for linking it.


Here are some materials you might like to get before doing this:






Recommend:
-Q tips
-Tooth picks
-A heavy duty remover (i.e. Goof Off). nailpolish doesn't really work. Just whatever you use, don't use something that is harmful to plastics. Goof Off is pushing it, but he didn't notice it eating away at the badge plastic.


The Steps:

1. First you need to pop your stock badge off from the car. This is relatively easy to do, but be careful to do it slowly, you can find DIYs on here (Remember the front badge has clips and you need to remove the bumper to get it off without breaking it).
Link to DIY debadging
Link to DIY removal of front bumper

2. Here we have the badge off the car. He actually did this to an '03 WRX badge, but it's the same for all Subaru badges according to the thread.



Here is the reverse side of the badge. It is basically chrome inserts covered by blue paint.



3. First off, start off by using some of the goof-off to start removing the blue paint. It comes off pretty easy. Use a Q-tip saturated in the remover to rub off the paint. You might also pour some of the remover on the badge and let it soak so as to soften up the paint. As you do this, most of the chrome will start to come off the badge. However, little specs of chrome will remain in the edges of the stars. Use a toothpick to scratch at these and remove them. This part was a PITA and took a very long time. Continually inspect the badge until you remove all the chrome.



4. Next, clean the badge very well with soap and water. Then let it dry. Check again that no chrome specs are in the stars. Your badge should look like this from the reverse. You'll see some remaining paint on the edges, but this doesn't matter as you can't see it from the front.



5. Now it is time to paint the stars and the loop. He did this with some red caliper paint. Just spray it into a cup and brushed it on. It’s good to have some paint thinner and paper towels handy to wipe off any mistakes, if made (it’s pretty easy to paint the wrong part of the badge, especially considering the nooks are so small).

6. Give your badge 3-4 coats, allowing enough time to dry between each coat, like any other paint job. Make sure you have enough coats so that when you hold it up to the light, no light can get through the paint. It should look like this:



And the front side:

[ALbadboy]

7. Mask off the sides and front of your badge like so.





This is to prevent any paint from seeping onto the face of the badge when you paint.

8. Spray paint the badge's back face with any color you'd like. Just like any paint job, start slow, and do multiple light coats.

The reverse side now:



9. Throw on a few coats of clear coat for protection.

10. Now you're done! The finished product:



11, Reinstall. To attach, just use some strips of 3M automotive double sided tape. It works very well.

Here it is on his car... He did red/black to match his color scheme and wheels. It turned out well:





Enjoy!

[Lee358]

Did you try this on our brz badges?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ALbadboy]

Originally Posted by Lee358

Did you try this on our brz badges?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No I had an FRS but was totaled last month. I'm picking up my BRZ march 15th and I will be trying it at some point. It's the same for any subaru badge though.

[Doborder]

This is pretty cool. Great idea guys!

[sweeney208]

huh? why have i never seen this until now haha its a really cool, simple mod to just give your car something a little different. can't wait to do the same for my red brz!

[briang0901]

What part of the process is the insect killer for? lol, just kidding, looks good!

[ZetaVI]

I like the clever thinking and process of the mod. A small mod that makes a drastic change in the appearance of the car. Very clean.

[Turbowned]

Nice find!

[kbye]

that looks pretty cool! I think I would do the Pleiades part all black, and leave the background clear.

[MmmDieselFumes]

I bet it'd look pretty sharp with some metallic/flake black paint as the background. Nice DIY!

I'm actually curious if anyone's actually debadged their subie yet. Would be nice to find a place buy that Subaru badge, then incorporate the toyota emblem into (for us guys that like the idea of a "Toyoburu" badge). Would be much easier to do this than trying to find a place that'll make a custom badge.

[Sac-BRZ]

Awesome idea!

[sweeney208]

so does anybody know if the DIY on de-badging is the same for the subaru? I'm assuming its the same thing for either emblem.. and you actually have to take the front bumper off just to get the front emblem off?

[WolfSongX]

I did this mod on my WRX wagon.... badge looks similar to this one and I figured I could do it again if I felt like it. It is a LOT of work to strip it and clean it.