I’ve had some trouble with car emblems that are on top of paint that needs to be polished out etc. For instance, a Mercedes star on top of neglected paint etc. Do you guys pop off these emblems, detail that area and re attach the emblem, or something else? Thanks, Wesley.
Hi Wesley, and thanks for submitting your question.
Swirly paint under or around car emblems can be challenging to say the least. In most cases, the only way to really get it fully corrected is to completely remove the emblem, polish the area underneath, and then replace the emblem.
The problem with that however is that not all emblems are easy to remove. Some of them are simply bolted on (easiest to remove), some go on with double-sided adhesive tape, and some are a combination. You also need to be very careful when doing this too because emblems can be fragile, and can get broken during the removal process. Since you’re a detailer, I would recommend speaking with your customer in advance to discuss the areas in question. If the swirls and defects are heavy, you can discuss the options with them and let them know that defect removal in that area will be limited if the emblem remains, but to gain access underneath it may require a replacement of the emblem. Provide them with the options, and let them make the decision.
As you can see on this Ferrari F355 GTS, I am completely removing the emblem to polish underneath…otherwise there would be a very noticeable difference in the paint correction in that area. I replaced it with a brand new emblem.
If the defects aren’t too bad, or if emblem removal isn’t an option and you just want to get it as best as you can, then you can also use your PC to get it as good as possible. In this case I will use my PC7424XP with a 4″ spot pad (usually no more aggressive than white) on a slower speed with a medium to light polish. You want to be extremely careful however when using this method. If the emblem is loose or has a lot of sharp edges to it, I would not recommend this method. A Mercedes emblem however, at least on the newer models, is a good candidate for this.
If neither of the above options are available to you, then I would just recommend polishing the area by hand. You’ll get limited results, but you can still make it look better.
I hope this helps!