How would you paint lettering on chrome? For example, the imprinted Mercury lettering on the hood and deck lid chrome emblem or the belt line stainless. I tried a search on here with no luck. I was thinking of using contact paper and an exacto knife. Then scuffing the area to be painted and then using black paint. I'm not that steady with a pinstripe brush freehand. The lettering on some areas of my car has just worn off. In others, the piece has been re-chromed and the letteing never reapplied. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
You can use vinyl sign material...but you'll have to be good at cutting it out...or have the sign company make a pattern for you, then they can cut it out and you apply...as for hand painting, it is just that... PS, use a flat tipped "lettering" brush, not a pinstriping brush for lettering. R-
I went to the local art supply store and found Paint Pins, I think made by Sharpe to re-paint my 4 speed cover. They had a flat point pen for large background areas and fine points for lettering. I think it came out pretty good for my driver; someone more artistic might do a better job.
The marker idea is good. The other idea I had going along with 40studedude was to use white paper. Hold it over the letters and shade over it with a pencil to get the letter shapes/pattern. Then cut them out, transfer them (trace) to some type of black vinyl. Cut those out and stick them on. I can't believe someone like Dennis Carpenter or Mac's doesn't sell sticker kits for this application.
Check these Artline paint markers out. They have some available which are very fine and they do a nice job. I have used them for the same purpose before and they make a really wide range of colors too. http://www.artline.com.au/Pages/Category.aspx?CategoryID=91 http://www.4expertise.com/Artline_Markers.html
I had a local sign painter do the lettering on my valve covers years ago. They are Milodon covers and I had the letters painted to accent the engine compartment. This guy did everything freehand,he was great. He also put a coat of clear on the letters to protect the paint from any possible gas spill. Still looks like new 25 years later,,,,did it all for 35 bucks,,took him about 10 minutes. The sign painters can do anything,,and make it look great! Robert Evans was his name,,he died about 15 years ago,,,what a talent. Tommy
Chaddilac, another great idea. I didn't think I could get nice crisp edges that way as the letters are pretty close together. I may rub off part of the lettering.
Like others have said, paint pens work great or rattle can. Ive done both, and the paint pens were way easier. The mineral spirits and the rag takes a while, but had anice little zen feel to it though. Or maybe it was all the fumes. Defiantly looked good though.-DD
If you use a tight weaved material like a cotton shirt, it should be really clean... it'll cut it right at the edge of the letter's impression in the stainless.
I've painted the lettering on hubcaps and trim pieces for years , using One-Shot lettering enamel. I just finished striping four wheels and lettered the matching Ford hubcaps .
Clean the surface with lacquer thinner, the wax and grease remover and buff all residue with a clean dry cloth. Use one shot (do not thin), add Smoothie (fish eye inhibitor) and allow to dry in a warm area. After the enamel is well dry, about a week, wax, wax and wax again. The paint cannot penetrate the chrome surface, so the paint is just hanging on and will fail sooner or later. Vinyl works, but lacks the ability for small detail. Clear vinyl can be applied over the paint and will extend the paints life.
If the letters are stamped into the chrome piece like some of the Ford hubcaps, I like to take one shot and thin it out some so that it is runnier than it is in the can. You can use a small brush to load the depression and let it flow out to the edges filling the depression without actually applying the paint with a brush. Raised letters are the hardest but I used to spend a lot of time with an exacto knife masking letters. Now I use cherry flavored chap stick to mask the raised areas where you don't want paint. The red colored cherry chap stick lets you see where the mask is before you apply paint. It's very easy to control using the tube it comes in. It's great for the old Corvette aluminum valve covers. You can spend hours masking one of them. Raised letters are the hardest. I do mine by hand with a small model paint brush. The perfectionists can find flaws if they look close enough but that doesn't bother me.
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