Is there a good way to remove the emblems from the Z without breaking the tabs, or would getting the car painted without removing the emblems be advisable to avoid breaking them? Thanks, Victor.

I'm not sure if this helps but can't you fairly easily get to the back side of most of the emblems? As I recall you have to pinch the fastener with a pair of pliers and it will pop right out.

Try levering them out with a wide bladed paint scrapper.

Gently does it.

And for those emblems that you can't get to the back of (the C-Pillars, Hood) you can use a real thin scraper. We used to use the spring steel bondo spreaders. Slide it in carefully and work your way around the emblem's pins, lifting ever so gently. If the pin is broken or the barrel clip is rusted tight, it might be a toss-up as to whether you can remove the emblem without breaking the pin.

2¢

When I bought my car, I found the the stupid PO fastened the nasty old emblems on the new paint with super strong 2-way tape. ARRUUGG! I tore the paint getting one of them off.

P.O.'s - Can't stand them - Can't kill them.

If a pin is broken while removing the emblem, I guess it's no problem because on the inaccessible ones you can't put a retainer back on anyway. The pins would serve only as alignment aids. What about not removing the emblems? Is the paint job compromised, or will masking do the job adequately? I know for continuity of the paint surface, removing the emblems would be the ideal choice. Thanks, Victor.

The biggest problems with masking anything before painting is that:

1) It is an incredible PITA to do properly, and an even bigger PITA as well as the rest of the body, if done improperly.

2) It is incredibly time consuming to do well, and even more time consuming to repair the problems with it having been done poorly.

3) It is incredibly hard to prep the area around the masked area for paint, without damaging the mask, which then must be re-masked.

4) No matter how good you mask, there will almost inevitably be some form of paint spray creep onto the item masked.

5) If you ever remove the item that was masked in lieu of removing it, you will show the old finish.

6) If you remove the item masked, there is an incredibly high incidence of chipping / lifting / cracking the paint around the masked area.

7) Removing the mask becomes a time critical element after painting. You must do it soon enough after painting that the paint is still pliable, but not so soon that you risk leaving fingerprints or other marks on the paint.

With all of these problems, and believe me they are problems, when I paint a car I remove just about ANYTHING I can without incurring additional costs or hazzles. On the Z, that means I will leave Windshields, Hatch Glass but remove EVERYTHING else. Door Handles, emblems, antenna, bumpers to name the most obvious.

Yes, it is a major pain to do so, but it is, in my opinion, even more of a pain to have to mask some of these items, as well as having to accept the consequences of not having removed them.

As a final note, have you considered how you're going to mask something such as the Side "DATSUN" or the Hatch Emblems? Those would drive you crazy trying to mask them.

FWIW

Enrique

Escanlon,

Thanks for the heads up on the pitfalls. I think I will take as much off as I can manage. I had just been worried about damaging the emblems. But with the double sided tape or adhesive to reinstall, there shoudn't be any major problem. Thanks again, Victor.

Victor,

I know all about "the budget". BUT, nothing and I mean no-thing sets off a new paint job like new emblems. And, conversly, nothing drags down new paint like old emblems. Your'e spending the money for a paint job on your "pride and joy". In my camp, Money spent on the Z is money well spent.

If you break an emblem while prepping the car, Replace it! If on of the emblems doesn't come up to snuff, replace it. Your reward? A gleaming Z car!

How's your door handles look? It's damm good practice to take those off for a paint job too and a complete waste of time putting pitted ones back on. Got silly side moulding? Great time to get rid of the #1 Previous Owner mistake.

Some good ideas. Haven't checked yet on the side moulding to see whether it is riveted or taped on. I'll use some of the recommendations on removal from previous posts. I hope it's taped so there aren't holes to fill. The emblems are in really good shape from the car being stored inside and not used for 20 years. I will need to touch up the black backgrounds. Thanks, Victor.