Pickup tailgate lettering

[slusher]

I am curious how other the decals to color the letters on the tail gate? If there raised I can  paint GMC but stamped into the tailgate my hand is not that steady. Looking for ideas ? and how you do it?

[Plowboy]

On recessed letters, I paint them with acrylic paint before I sand and polish. Any mishaps will be taken care of the minute I sand the tail gate. I try to paint them neatly. But, if I can't, I don't worry about it. That's how I did the letters on this tailgate. 

 

[David G.]

Hi Carl.

I know that on some vintage GMC and Chevy tailgates, the embossed letters weren't painted. So that's always an option.

But many more were painted.

A technique I would try is dry brushing. I would use a short-bristle, medium-stiffness brush and Tamiya acrylic paint. Lightly load the brush with paint and brush most of it off on a paper towel or such then brush a very light and thin coat on the embossed letters one letter at a time.

Brushing might not be the best term for applying the paint. It's more like highlighting or tinting. It does take some practice.

This will take numerous applications and much patience but the chances of slopping it up are greatly reduced.

I would use Tamiya acrylic paint as an accent for the embossed script over a basecoat of enamel or lacquer. This way any errors can easily be removed with Tamiya acrylic thinner and a firm cotton bud. There will also be almost no chance of damaging the base color if it is lacquer or enamel and it's fully cured.

Tamiya has a selection of cotton buds in a variety of shapes that are perfect for just such an occasion. I have couple of favorite shapes that I always keep on hand.

I hope that helps.

David G.

 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by David G.
typo

[Can-Con]

Carl, what I did with this one was first sprayed the part in the color you want the lettering to be and give it a couple coats of clear. The clear helps keep you from going right through to the primer and having to start over like I did. ?

Then I painted the body color. Light coats, carefully wet sanding the lettering off between coats, just enough to expose the letters but not going through the clear. I'd suggest 4000 or 6000 paper for sanding. 

And, of course, clearcoat after the last coat of color and sanding. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

On this Ford, I  painted the body first, masked around the letters using BMF and then shot a light coat of color, followed by clear coats.

Not the easiest solution, but it worked well for me.

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

[thatz4u]

5 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

On this Ford, I  painted the body first, masked around the letters using BMF and then shot a light coat of color, followed by clear coats.

Not the easiest solution, but it worked well for me.

 

 

 

 

Steve, any more pictures of this beauty around?

 

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, thatz4u said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[thatz4u]

47 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Super nice...you have any more of these?

[StevenGuthmiller]

53 minutes ago, thatz4u said:

Super nice...you have any more of these?

More pictures, or more models?

I have plenty of photos and can always take more, but this is the only early 60s Ford truck that I have outside of a 1960.

 

 

Steve

[slusher]

On 7/31/2021 at 6:38 AM, Plowboy said:

On recessed letters, I paint them with acrylic paint before I sand and polish. Any mishaps will be taken care of the minute I sand the tail gate. I try to paint them neatly. But, if I can't, I don't worry about it. That's how I did the letters on this tailgate. 

 

 

On 7/31/2021 at 7:26 AM, David G. said:

Hi Carl.

I know that on some vintage GMC and Chevy tailgates, the embossed letters weren't painted. So that's always an option.

But many more were painted.

A technique I would try is dry brushing. I would use a short-bristle, medium-stiffness brush and Tamiya acrylic paint. Lightly load the brush with paint and brush most of it off on a paper towel or such then brush a very light and thin coat on the embossed letters one letter at a time.

Brushing might not be the best term for applying the paint. It's more like highlighting or tinting. It does take some practice.

This will take numerous applications and much patience but the chances of slopping it up are greatly reduced.

I would use Tamiya acrylic paint as an accent for the embossed script over a basecoat of enamel or lacquer. This way any errors can easily be removed with Tamiya acrylic thinner and a firm cotton bud. There will also be almost no chance of damaging the base color if it is lacquer or enamel and it's fully cured.

Tamiya has a selection of cotton buds in a variety of shapes that are perfect for just such an occasion. I have couple of favorite shapes that I always keep on hand.

I hope that helps.

David G.

 

 

 

On 7/31/2021 at 9:50 AM, Can-Con said:

Carl, what I did with this one was first sprayed the part in the color you want the lettering to be and give it a couple coats of clear. The clear helps keep you from going right through to the primer and having to start over like I did. ?

Then I painted the body color. Light coats, carefully wet sanding the lettering off between coats, just enough to expose the letters but not going through the clear. I'd suggest 4000 or 6000 paper for sanding. 

And, of course, clearcoat after the last coat of color and sanding. 

 

On 7/31/2021 at 11:08 AM, StevenGuthmiller said:

On this Ford, I  painted the body first, masked around the letters using BMF and then shot a light coat of color, followed by clear coats.

Not the easiest solution, but it worked well for me.

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

Thanks guys