I have just removed the two "El Camino" badges off the rear fenders of my 1983 EC in preparation for painting.

The easy way is with a bare hack saw blade held in both hands, one below and the other above the badge.

But now I am looking into the re affixing of them. Is there a source for the sticky sponge tape that was originally used?

Since my new color is a very dark blue, almost black, I might not have to trim between the letters if 3M has a dark colored tape.

But I am more worried about loosing them because the adhesive was not made for the job. I think I would rather bed them in JB weld and then grind them off if I were to redo the paint rather than loose them.

Is the 3M tape up to the job?

Since my new color is a very dark blue, almost black, I might not have to trim between the letters if 3M has a dark colored tape.

But I am more worried about loosing them because the adhesive was not made for the job. I think I would rather bed them in JB weld and then grind them off if I were to redo the paint rather than loose them.

Is the 3M tape up to the job?

Hey Jim, I can attest to the 3M automotive double sided tape. Really good bond, used some to affix a Caddy emblem on the DD about 3 years ago. It's still on, rain, snow, salt etc. Only thing is, you have to trim out between the letters otherwise all kinds of dust and dirt would adhere between the letters, leaving you with a grey mess. I used an X-acto knife, it was no biggie..

What kind of double sided tape? Carpet edge, or something else? Where did you get it?

No Jim, That carpet tape wouldn't hold up to the weather. The stuff I used was 3M Industrial Automotive double sided tape. It's designed for reattaching emblems and trim strips etc. If I remember right, it came on a 2"Wx4'L roll, and is black. I got it at a local pro auto parts jobber, not one of the chain giants. Not sure they would carry the pro stuff. I lopped off a piece, pulled the release paper off one side, stuck the cleaned emblem to it, leaving the paper on the back side. Then plopped a 1"x6" on my lap and carefully trimmed out the letters on the wood. Then wiped that section of the Caddy with Eastwoods PRE cleaner, pulled off the back release paper, stuck that baby on there, and it's been there ever since. Just get it straight the first time, you don't get a second chance. Or, like Ernie said, nowadays you can get repro emblems that come all set to just peel and stick. Hope that helps ya. Later...

You may want to look at E-Bay I got both side emblems and the Bow Tie for the tail gate for less than $50.00. Both were NOS and looked like they came off the shelf at GM.

After asking at the GM dealer about double sided tape and being told it was $50 a roll I decided to look elsewhere. At Lowes hardware store I found a Scotch product that is made foe affixing signs (like street name and number) to the side of the house. It is designed for outdoor use and considering the weight of the plastic trim on my EC compared to a cast metal sign (like the demo shows) it should do just fine. Just $4.65 for a roll big enough to do TWO ECs. I took the advice of one of you that replied to this thread and stuck it across the back of the trim then used an Exacto knife to trim away the excess between the letters. Looks like it will do perfectly.