Cleaning logos

JPS911

New member
Did a search...couldn't seem to come up with the right combo to find what I needed, so here goes...



How the heck do you clean around the car logos? "Carrera" is killing me with all those little closed loopies!



Thoughts? :nixweiss
 
Try a search for "emblems" or "lettering" maybe. I haven't had to deal with this sort of thing yet, but I imagine cotton swabs would be a start. It kind of depends on what kind of "cleaning" you're doing too. Polish or wax residue? Common dirt? Oxidation? :nixweiss
 
You can't really apply Zaino or any wax into the loops. Just try to get it as close as you can. Any leftover residue stuck in the emblem you can remove with a soft brush. Try to get a boar's hair paintbrush and cut the bristles down shorter. You can even get small brushes similar to toothbrushes that have boar's hair bristles.
 
Won't the boar's hair scratch? I'm using microfiber everything, and taking a boar's hair brush seems...like a bad idea?
 
jnstella said:
Won't the boar's hair scratch? I'm using microfiber everything, and taking a boar's hair brush seems...like a bad idea?



You are just going to use it to carefully get excess residue out of the emblem. You aren't using it to scrub the paint.



Also, a small toothbrush will also work.



You won't be able to wax in tight areas of the emblems without remove them, which I've know some corvette users who remove emblems to wax their cars.
 
Intel486 said:
You won't be able to wax in tight areas of the emblems without remove them, which I've know some corvette users who remove emblems to wax their cars.



Just so anyone knows, on Corvettes there are holes in the fiberglass that most emblems mount through. So they are screwed on and off. If you had adhesively mounted emblems, removal/reattachment for waxing would be pretty difficult.
 
jnstella,



Emblems can be a headache for sure. So the best cure for the problem is to treat the cause, which is sloppy application. Not that I am saying you are sloppy in your detail work it's just that lots of folks think they need to wax every nook and cranny or they load up their application sponge and when a raised edge is gone over large amounts transfer from the sponge to the raised edge. This does not show up right away but rather a day or two later.



I am in the process of detailing a 2001 blk on blk C2 Porsche that had been egged by a jealous idiot. They hit the rear deck lid area which damaged (literally bubbled the paint in 3 areas) a great deal of the area around the Carrera emblem. I removed the emblem and will begin a series of buffing adventures to try and restore as much of the finish as possible as re-painting is not an option for this guy. Now the Carrera emblem is no problem because it can be removed and also a new one attached via an adhesive strip. Now if I was just doing a regular detail job I would tape off ALL emblems, lights and trim with the blue painters masking tape. It sticks well but leaves no glue residue.



For emblems tear off a piece just a little longer than the emblem itself. Then from the top slide as much of the tape, adhesive side facing out, as you can down in between the paint and the emblem and then fold it over. If need be you can tear off another piece and do the same thing but this time from the bottom.



After my cleaning and polishing I then remove the tape for my final sealing steps. As I am waxing or sealing I always work my sponge just up to the emblems but never over them. Then when I buff the wax off I then take my buffing towel and go over the emblem. By doing it this way I am carrying a fine layer of wax, which is in my towel, over the emblem. The same technique can be done for side trim, for instance the side trim on a BMW 740 or 540. Wax a toe hair from the trim and then when you buff it off buff it right to the edge of the trim.



Now if I need to remove the leftovers from a previous wax job I try to do that in the wash stage. Some wax remover, foam Q-tips, toothpicks and an assortment of fine haired brushes do the trick.



Also I have discovered that my steam vapor cleaner does a bang up job on those areas as well.



Anthony
 
jnstella- I had your EXACT same problem when I was driving a C4 and a similar one with my Audis' rings. I was able to work within the loops using small wads of cotton balls/ tufts pulled out of q-tips and /or small pieces torn from a foam applicator. Carefully, I'd use a toothpick or sharpened swab stick to move them around inside the loops. The toothpick/sharpened stick also works well for removing any specks of excess polish/ wax. A light spritz with a QD followed by a light buffing with a plush MF should complete the job. Or, if really needed, a HEAVY spray of QD to dissolve/wash out the excess. It's sorta a slow process, but it always worked fine for me.



I've since debadged most of my cars :D (I like the old-school nosed-and-decked look anyhow, but that's just me).



I'm a BIG fan of boar's hair brushes, but used dry they CAN scratch your paint, especially if they are cut down, thus loosing the flagged tips. I finally gave up on them for that application.
 
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