Not even close.



Not even close!

 

Sting like a Bee!!
You did realize... One HHR Owner to Another... that was a sarcastic joke!

Ya, I'd totally agree with ya OldBlue... absolutely NO Similarities other than the Designer.
I totally hate it when someone says about my Panels... Oh what is that, a PT Cruiser?
When you say, no similarity... they come back with... it looks similar.

I've learned to turn the tables... gets them huffy.
If they're driving a Lexus SUV, Jeep Grand Cherokee, or any nice SUV.
They all have that "similar" look...right.
So I say (when they have a Lexus), kind of like someone getting your Ford Explorer confused with a Jeep...they look similar.
Oh they get a little "bent"... they growl and say, My car is a Lexus.
OH Sorry, they look similar.
Refreshing!!

 

Personally, I never thought the PT Cruiser was cute or good looking.

Admittedly, I was more attracted to the Panel before the standard HHR.
But the HHR, especially the Panel has a very cool look... stylish & retro.

 

Cause the sun will (1) warm the emblem, (& 2 ) make the paint more able to flow & self level. I have Hi temp paint from Eastwood® & that is their instructions for a job that looks perfect.

 

Seems counterintuitive and therefore... Interesting.

That's my big word for the day...

 

Earth humour, Ar Ar !!

 

Have ya ever been a pro paint booth, they don't use A/C. They have the heat turned up.

 

Troof!

 

Indeed, Thank You Sir.

 

If unknown to Others as to my discovery... the Factory "SS" Emblems are not inlay painted within the chrome, they are decals inlayed.
I ordered the wrong "large" emblems, and got 3 of the Rear "SS" emblem. I re-ordered the Door Large "SS" emblems.

Tested a few paints, decided to go on the "Sign Painters" 1-Shot in Bright Red.
It's smoother flowing, and in my opinion a better curing and durable paint.
The Rep stated it adhered to all finishings, including emblem chrome much better than most paints.
You can add a "Dryer" agent if needed to decrease cure time too.
Plus, the Red was a better red... a closer match to Chevy Red Accents.

I liked the liquid consistency of the 1-Shot paint when first using; that quickly became more thick and stable resist runs.
I tried brush with poor results on the chrome finish, and used syringes with "detail" needles of various diameters.
I was impressed with how the syringes worked, and have seen a few videos how Detailers use them for small chip touchups.
I may try that with the 30gauge needle... a very small hole that would would place a ultra small drop of paint in a chip.

The Emblems were pretty straight forward...
Heat gun to soften the decal to remove, de-glue the remaining adhesive.
Applied a small bead of paint around the recessed edge to ease the "back fill" flow.
Followed with a single coat of paint, applied heat from a heat gun to help smooth & flow the paint.
Set of off to cure... Attached pics are with wet soft paint... they have not cured.
After curing, I'll follow-up with a bit of polish on the chrome edges and emblem paint.

I used the smaller Rear Hatch "SS" as an experiment, to get the feel for the needle & diameters.
I'm NOT a painter, and I hate to clean up brushes and equipment. The syringes & needles are actually pretty nice.
Different diameter needles control the flow very nicely, and No Clean-up, just toss in trash!


The Photos actually look worse than reality... the reflections and the height of paint in recess.
These haven't fully smoothed out or began curing yet... paint still wet and liquid.
After cure, buffing them will even out the Chrome edges easily.