F type side vents, black with red lettering anyone?
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
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It's really really easy (and satisfying) to paint that lettering yourself, I did it on my side vents only a couple of months after I bought the car (Sept 2016), they look great and the paint has not faded or deteriorated one iota since.
Just start with the basic OEM black vents still on the car, no prep or treatment needed other than to clean them thoroughly, I used meths.
I then used silver coloured spray can calliper paint, left over from years ago, but of course you can use any colour you like. Likely that other types of paint (eg engine enamel) will also work it's just that I had some silver calliper paint left over and it worked perfectly.
Spray some paint into the bottom of the lid (make sure the lid doesn't have a hole in it like many do, if so find some other small container to use as a paint pot!) then use a medium size artist's paint brush to paint the lettering.
Don't worry about getting paint outside of the lettering, you clean it off later.
Slather the paint on good and thick, do two or three coats waiting around 20 minutes between coats.
Then grab some mild solvent (don't use acetone it will destroy the finish on the vent!) and a clean microfibre cloth and wipe/rub across the lettering to gradually remove the excess paint. Don't rub so hard that you pull the paint out of the lettering, just hard enough to remove the excess outside of the lettering, wiping is better than rubbing.
I used some leftover Dr Colourchip blending solution, I found this was the easiest and best solvent to use, but if you don't have any you can use turps.
If using turps it's best to clean the excess off after each coat after around 10 minutes otherwise if the excess builds up too much and/or sets hard it can be a chore to remove.
Just start with the basic OEM black vents still on the car, no prep or treatment needed other than to clean them thoroughly, I used meths.
I then used silver coloured spray can calliper paint, left over from years ago, but of course you can use any colour you like. Likely that other types of paint (eg engine enamel) will also work it's just that I had some silver calliper paint left over and it worked perfectly.
Spray some paint into the bottom of the lid (make sure the lid doesn't have a hole in it like many do, if so find some other small container to use as a paint pot!) then use a medium size artist's paint brush to paint the lettering.
Don't worry about getting paint outside of the lettering, you clean it off later.
Slather the paint on good and thick, do two or three coats waiting around 20 minutes between coats.
Then grab some mild solvent (don't use acetone it will destroy the finish on the vent!) and a clean microfibre cloth and wipe/rub across the lettering to gradually remove the excess paint. Don't rub so hard that you pull the paint out of the lettering, just hard enough to remove the excess outside of the lettering, wiping is better than rubbing.
I used some leftover Dr Colourchip blending solution, I found this was the easiest and best solvent to use, but if you don't have any you can use turps.
If using turps it's best to clean the excess off after each coat after around 10 minutes otherwise if the excess builds up too much and/or sets hard it can be a chore to remove.
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I simply painted the letters then wiped/rubbed off the excess.
I suppose you could say I used a little bottle (of solvent) with a dauber (a MF cloth)!
I have done this - picked out recessed lettering in contrasting paint - several times now across all three of my Jags and you would be amazed how easy (and satisfying) it is!
Last edited by OzXFR; 05-09-2024 at 07:52 PM.
#9
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Nup, that shine/gleam around the rims is simply camera flash / sunlight reflection off the diamond cut edges of the dead stock Blade wheels.
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