Hi everyone. Albeit I recall having read of someone doing it, I have been unsuccessful in finding the thread on the topic via a search. I am considering painting the inside of the recessed jaguar lettering found on the rear 'trunk' chrome accent as well as the lettering found on the side louvers by the turn signals. I am wondering on the durability of painting the inside of the lettering on the chrome. Thoughts, concerns? Thanks….

 

not needed in my humble opinion. let those that pass by wonder if it is a jag or aston

 

You will need to etch the area you want to paint. That nice shiny chrome doesn't have much for the paint to stick to.

 

I mentioned this in passing when talking about a car for sale on eBay. It can be done easy enough, but as mentioned above it doesn't stick well to chrome.


I do this with golf clubs, repainting the number of the iron on the sole of the club after it has worn off. Since you won't be pounding the back of your car into the dirt, it may last a while. I use a toothpick for the painting as a small brush carries too much paint. Don't worry about a little overrun outside the letters. Let the paint dry and then go over it with the rough side of a Scotchbrite. It will remove the extra paint and leave it in the depression of the letters.

 

I wouldn't bother. The car speaks for itself.

 

Yep - the car stands tall as it is and needs nothing.

 

In England you hear the opposite question, how do I remove all adverts from my car.
In America my truck has Chevrolet stamped into the steel in raised letters, across the entire back. I suppose its for the sake of the blind.

 

I do this with golf clubs, repainting the number of the iron on the sole of the club after it has worn off. Since you won't be pounding the back of your car into the dirt, it may last a while. I use a toothpick for the painting as a small brush carries too much paint. Don't worry about a little overrun outside the letters. Let the paint dry and then go over it with the rough side of a Scotchbrite. It will remove the extra paint and leave it in the depression of the letters.[/QUOTE]

Dam , you repaint the numbers. I thought they were the wear marks and when you can't read them it's time for a new set. Then again someone told me the other day that they only use 1 golf ball per round. I use a new one on every hole. I guess I gotta read the rue book again.

 

Only 1 per hole? You must not have many water hazards, or dense woods...

 

I say go for it. I think its a nice touch, not for me, but a nice touch and still classy and it looks nice. I blacked out all the chrome on my car, some people like it, some don't. Doesn't matter to me because its my car and I like it. I plan on painting my hood vents black and doing the "supercharged" lettering in red.


As for the golf, I can only imagine using the same ball for the entire round!!! I usually lose 5~6 of them.

 

The paint will eventually wear off of the chrome making a beautiful Jaguar look cheap. Don't do it, or heed the warnings here. You will be sorry you did it over time.

 

I'm not sure it really is chrome, but if it is, massively bad idea, the proper prep, either sanding or eating the chrome into a rough enough surface for the paint to stick, will allow an oxidation layer to form behind the chrome, rusting the part from the inside out. The outside will remain nice and shiny, but the integrity of the part will fail, until it just crumbles. Its generally best to leave chrome alone, completely strip it, or perhaps cheaper than stripping it, replace the part outright with something that is not chrome.

Getting the part stripped and painted is probably a better long term solution than trying to just paint the letters.

 

Adhesion and looks is not your only problem, you will never get the edges of the paint sharp enough to look rich.
Go to a sign shop and have them cut you some lettering from vinyl wrap, that will stick to chromed plastic. Or take the pieces of and send it to Britishautowood. They do that stuff all day long. He can probably even do carbonfiber.

 

Yep, it's 'chromed plastic'. Drilled through it to install my backup camera.

 

What I'm seeing here is a bunch of people who have never tried doing this but think they are experts. My sense is that they just don't like the idea of you individualizing your car, because somehow you will lessen its "Jaguarnesss".


Heck, give it a try and see how it comes out. If you are not satisfied, it will be easy to remove. If you like it, it will be easy to touch up as necessary. The car I saw on eBay had some very subtle touches like the ones you are describing, and it looked very nice. To the casual observer they would look factory.

 

Dam , you repaint the numbers. I thought they were the wear marks and when you can't read them it's time for a new set. Then again someone told me the other day that they only use 1 golf ball per round. I use a new one on every hole. I guess I gotta read the rue book again. [/QUOTE]



Yes the golf industry wants you to buy new clubs every year! Look at the ads. This years clubs are much better and longer than last year's; and they were better than the year before. So you should be hitting your 5 iron 300 yds. by now.


Also, you need to throw away last year's ***** and rush out to get new ones. You should always have fresh *****.

 

I appreciate all the feedback, and yes, as usual there always will be a difference of opinion amongst the purists and the individualist……. at the end of the day its only a car, and, as you can see, my car is already far from stock - by choice. I certainly appreciate the point of view of those who say don't mess with 'perfection'. After all, the car does carry very nice lines and certainly looks good driving down the street with no modding required. I think I shall try to insert the vinyl lettering to gauge the look, and if I like it, paint. Good discussion…..

 

Please let us know about the vinyl process. I have never dealt with it, and my first thought is that it would be tedious to do letters. I have some plans of my own and vinyl might fit in.

 

SickRob, I agree. The vinyl letters will be a bit hard to work with and insert perfectly into the indented stamped JAGUAR lettering. I will only do it to get a sense of the look. I think the contrast should be decent enough as the rear spoiler and diffuser are both black……Now you have me curios on your plans…..

 

Wish I had enough height in my garage for a lift like that, nice. (I know other members out there have them too, I just get envious every time I see one in a picture...)