Lexcuse

Hello! Just thought I could give some tips as to how I went about blacking out the chrome on my Atomic silver IS 250 F Sport! I have installed Black Pearl emblems in the front and back (from “autoguy” on eBay) and I got the front grille chrome trim converted to black chrome by having a professional put smoked taillight film on it in one piece.

Here’s all the black pearl emblems I got from eBay (I didn’t use the f sport logos since they were the same color):
And here’s black pearl license plate frames to match:

Here’s what the front looked like before ( black chrome trim was already done at this point to the front grille surround):

And this is the back before install:


The front emblem was easy to remove (its clipped in but you’ll have to break two of the clips to remove it) The back is the hard part. I used goo gone, dental floss, microfiber towels, tape to mark and line up lettering and panel removal tool for leverage. First I had to open the trunk so that I could put goo gone all over the rear emblems and lettering and let it sit for a good 10 minutes without it dripping down. Then I used dental floss to remove the lettering like this:

The goo gone really helps with getting rid of the gooey residue so you can have a clean surface to put the black pearl lettering:

After wiping away the goo with a microfiber towel, I used pliers wrapped in paper towels to carefully place black pearl lettering:


Rear emblem was the hardest because it was really stuck on there. I had it sitting in a pool of goo gone before prying it up with a panel remover tool:


And here are the final results:

Wams200T

very nice work.i really want to do this to my IS

a1rh3adsz

Looks good. So you mean you have to physically break the tabs on the front emblem to remove the stock one? That would suck if you ever want to go back to stock.

Lexcuse

Unfortunately yes. There’s two pegs on the top that have some kind of tight washer on it that forces you to break the pegs. I don’t know if anyone has been able to remove it without breaking it. I guess you can put the stock emblem back again using sticky tape or something

Break2

Where did you get this from?

Tamy913

Nice work and write up! I like that you also matched the license plate frames. Which part of Texas do you live in? I'm in Houston.

M1AH3A7

Thanks for the write up. Looks sick. Well done!

Lexcuse

I got it on eBay from seller “autoguy” Set cost $300 though

Lexcuse

Thanks! I’m actually in San Antonio. I think Texas allows the most customization for their license plates in the US. I just wanted the black ones!

Lexcuse

Of course, thanks!

Array

This is amazing because I was planning on picking up the Black Pearl emblems this week (from Sewell Lexus though). Did the GooGone affect your paint in anyway? Also, keep us posted on how well the black pearl emblems hold up, I'm afraid it might scratch up from the small rocks/dirt hitting it up front?

Array

Funny, I was also thinking about picking up a custom black plate as well being as I'm from Texas. The annual fee really sucks though haha

Tamy913

I have pink plates coming in wife and daughter wanted pink so why not haha.

Lexcuse

I thought Sewell Lexus was out of business? Anyway this eBay sellers warehouse is near Dallas and it’s the same emblems. Goo gone did nothing to the paint. Very safe. I hope the front emblem doesn’t get ruined from bugs and rocks too. I was wondering if there was a way to seal it with film or something but it would be hard

Lexcuse

so for just a plate background without customizing letters it was $150 for three years. If you want it customized then it’s almost $500 for 5 Years. Kinda pricey