DIYs

Custom Blackout Audi Trunk Emblem – My Gunmetal Trunk Rings

My Custom Painted Gunmetal Trunk Rings
My Custom Painted Gunmetal Trunk Rings

In order to match my gunmetal wheels and S4 rear valence, I decided to custom paint my rear trunk emblem/rings to match. Below I’ll walk you through the step by step directions to do this, and you can choose to paint them whatever color you choose – many people do them in black, but I’ve seen everything from neon green to white, and its really easy to replace and do over again if you tire of it.

Step 1) Order a new Trunk Emblem. I got mine from ECS Tuning here for $31, and it comes with an adhesive backing so its easy to apply.

Step 2) Sand them down a little bit then apply primer. I applied three coats of primer, the first and second coats were pretty thin and the third coat a little more wet.

Painted Audi Trunk Emblem
Trunk Emblem in Primer

3) Lightly sand any imperfections, clean off with nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol, then on to the actual paint. I used a glossy gunmetal spray can from Autozone meant for automotive applications, but really any spray paint you choose should work fine here – I try to make sure the primer, paint, and clear coat are the same brand so everything bonds together though.

Like the primer, I put on three coats, the first two being light and the third one being a little thicker. It should now look like this:

Trunk Emblem Being Painted
Trunk Emblem Being Painted

4) Apply clear coat. Same process as other steps, although an extra coat of clear coat never hurt anyone, so 3-4 coats here.

5) Installation – start by taping off where the rings were, going right along the edge of the rings so you have a guide to affix the new rings back on, you can see what I mean here:

Trunk Emblem Taped Off
Trunk Emblem Taped Off

6) Remove the emblem by heating it with a hair dryer or heat gun then using fishing line or floss to get between the emblem and the trunk and move back in forth in a sawing motion.  Watch this video for a good overview of the process:

7) Once the rings are off, clean the surface and get the rest of the residue off using Goo Gone, Nail Polish Remover, or similar products. Now that the surface is clean and you have tape to tell you where to put the rings, its a simple as removing the backing from the newly painted trunk emblem and sticking in on!

Painted Trunk Rings - Installed!
Painted Trunk Rings – Installed!

This is a pretty straightforward mod and really the only tricky part is getting all the adhesive residue from the old rings off, especially if they’ve been on a long time. Now you’re all set. One more final shot for reference and to see how they tie in nicely with the rear valence:

IMG_2071

Nick Roshon

Nick has been an Audi owner and fanatic for the last 10 years, and started Nick's Car Blog in 2009 to share DIYs and pictures of his A4. Currently he drives a 2012 Audi TT-RS, and has previously owned a B7 S4, B7 A4, and an 82 Audi Coupe (GT) LeMons race car. In his day job, Nick is a digital marketer and lives in San Diego, CA, USA.

8 Comments

  1. That’s pretty sick dude. I’ve always wanted an Audi and now I want one even more.

  2. Thanks everyone! It’s a real easy DIY, still looks pretty clean & OEM, yet gives it a nice little touch. My favorite kind of mods.

  3. Hey love the mods!! I have same car in white! where did u find the quad exhaust tips?? I especially love the LED but I dont think I could do that myself.. are there shops that do the work? Thanks for the help!!

  4. Thanks!! Quad tips are part of a full exhaust system I got from Billy Boat (B&B) – you can order it directly from them or though any number of automotive retailers – you’ll also need an S4 rear valence to accommodate the tips.

    You could definitely get a shop to do the LEDs but its a lot of labor!

  5. Looks nice and clean. Can’t decide if i want to do a gunmetal like you did or if i should be a bit flashier with my silver B7. When you sanded the rings, what grain(s) did you use?

  6. I believe I used 400 grit or maybe 600, nothing too crazy though. In terms of color, I say keep it simple – don’t want the car to look like a Honda 😉

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