Painted Bowties?

[Blue Bowtie]

Hey guys, I've been a lurker for a long time, and I've been registered for a while also, but this is my first real post!  I've noticed that a couple of you guys, Tom and Jon, have painted bowties on your trucks.  What kinds of steps and prep work was involved in painting them?  How are they holding up after being on your truck for a while?  If you could give a list of steps to properly paint them so they last, it would be appreciated     This is a great site, I look forward to posting more!    By the way, I've got a 2000 S10, just a 2wd w/ the 4.3...all the options besides 4wd.  I bought it when I was a junior in college, so I can't afford a full size yet, I'm now in my first year out of college, and I teach middle school students music...middle school students =    Maybe I'll post some pics of my little rig someday    It's not slammed or anything, I prefer stock height, and the ability to use it as a truck once in a while!  Thanks for the help guys!  

 

Brandon

[chevy4x4trucks]

Painting the bowtie isn't that difficult, you just need to take your time and be very careful.

 

the supplies you'll need: Self Etching Primer, Paint in whatever color you'd like, clear coat, and some type of steel wool.

 

Run the steel wool over the bowtie and make sure it's nice and clean.

 

Spray a light coat of primer on it, wait for it to dry and smooth it out w/ the steel wool.

 

Spray a second coat of primer on, let it dry and hit it w/ the steel wool one last time.

 

Spray your first coat of paint on it, very lightly, let it set for about a half hour to an hour depending upon the conditions (hot/cold, dry/humid).  

 

Then spray a 2nd coat, and maybe a third coat depending on how thick you spray it.

 

After that sets for an hour spray on a coat or two of clear.  

 

Once it's dried you've got a painted bowtie.

 

I've got some painting instructions on my site w/ some info on painting the interior.  Pretty much the same, but just add a clear coat for the exterior.

 

My latest experiment in painting a few different colors on a bowtie

 

 

My red bowtie has held up great.  no dings, no scratches.  I've taken it off a few times and one of them dropped it on the concrete (whoops) and it didn't scratch at all.

[Blue Bowtie]

Very cool, thanks for the help Jon!  I'll be painting my bowtie Indigo Blue to match the truck, should look pretty good this way    This is a great site, I just wish there were some more owners of S10's on here!  But, I still get great info from you fullsize owners, so it's all cool!  

Thanks again

Brandon

[RyanbabZ71]

Hey brandon by chance after you paint it could you post a pic?

 

Thanks

[Blue Bowtie]

Sure thing Ryan!    By the way, you've got one nice looking truck...I of course like the color choice    This might be a spring time project for me, but it's never too early to start thinking about nice looking mods!  I actually saw a pic of an indigo blue S10 with an indigo blue bowtie in the latest stylinconcepts catalog...this is why I wanted to do it, it looked pretty darn nice!  It's actually on page 30 if you've got the catalog.  

 

Brandon

[chevy4x4trucks]

Very cool, thanks for the help Jon!  I'll be painting my bowtie Indigo Blue to match the truck, should look pretty good this way    This is a great site, I just wish there were some more owners of S10's on here!  But, I still get great info from you fullsize owners, so it's all cool!  

Thanks again

Brandon

No problem, if you need any help I could paint one up this weekend to give you a step by step shot of it.  Actually if you look on my site on how to swap out the pre-99 trucks bowtie it'll give you some insight on removing yours since the design of the front end is very similar.

 

And don't feel bad about owning a 2wd S10, I also owned one a few years back.  They're great trucks, but eventually my legs outgrew it and I just got too big for the truck.

[RyanbabZ71]

Thanks.  I havent got a stylin concepts magazine in awhile now.  Ill have to look on their site.  

 

I have some painting to do this spring/summer also.  Gonna do a little fix up work on my dads S-10 (1992) and repaint my drivers side mirror.

 

When i painted my mirror i used this stuff called plastickote.  They have a website and can find the part number to match perfectly.  Jon do you by chance have that part number?

[chevy4x4trucks]

Jon do you by chance have that part number?

Ryan, I've got the sheet at home some where.  I couldn't find any stores in the Milwaukee area that had plasti-kote paint.

[RyanbabZ71]

does their site have a dealer locator?

[chevy4x4trucks]

didn't look, but I'll check.  I found some duplicolor that was really close.  Held it up against my dad's work van and it was almost a perfect match.

[Blue Bowtie]

Yep, I've seen the plasti-kote spray paint that you can get to match the color of your vehicle, I'll just need to find out the number on the indigo blue.  Jon, I don't feel bad at all about owning a 2wd S10, I really like this truck, and it fits my needs well.  I'm not that tall, so it doesn't bother me    I already know how to remove the bowtie, I had my grille off last summer, getting the dead critters off of my radiator    It would be really great if you could post step-by-step shots of the prep/painting of the bowtie, I think some other guys on this forum would be interested also!  It's a nice looking mod to make your truck stand out a little bit  Thanks for the help guys, this place is great!

Brandon

[chevy4x4trucks]

Right now I've got some step by step install pics and info.  I hope to get more this summer.  It's kind of hard to work on the truck w/ all the snow on the ground any my garage isn't quite big enough.

 

Install Info