How do I paint the letters?

[Old buicks 2]

I'm working on a 28 Chevy for a friend and we need to paint the letters on the ignition switch.   They are so small that even a fine brush or a tooth pick only make a glob. So how did they do it in the factory?      Letters need to be white

[Coley]

Spray the whole face white and then after it is dry, rub lightly with a fine rubbing compound and a firm cloth pad.

[Rusty_OToole]

Thin out some white paint. Brush it over the letters. When it starts to dry, wipe off the excess using a soft cloth dampened with paint thinners pulled tight over a fingertip. Leaving the paint in the letters.

[Jim Bollman]

Indented letters should be relatively easy. I did a similar color fill with a fine paint pen and then wiped it off with a tissue as soon as I was done with an area before the paint could dry. I folded thee tissue so I was wiping with a flat piece. It looked over filled at first but dried looking good.

 

I have problems with raised letters, I usually bribe a friend with a steadier hand when I need that done.

[nickelroadster]

Usually best to use lacquer on something like this.  Easy to remove where you don't want it.

[MCHinson]

The way I have done this job is to take a small brush and brush on enamel paint to cover the letters. Wait a short time (probably only a minute or so) for the paint to start to dry, and then gently wipe the excess paint off of the raised area around the recessed letters with a Goo Gone paint clean up wipe. The trick is using very light pressure so that you don't pull any of the paint out of the recessed area. If you don't like the way they turn out, you can redo it and vary the time you let the paint dry to achieve the look you want. With a little bit of practice and experimentation, you will find it easy to do. The wipes are supposed to be for latex paint, but they work equally well on enamel in this type of application. While latex paint would probably work OK, I trust enamel to be more durable for such use.

 

The wipes are available from many sources. Here is one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Goo-Gone-Latex-Paint-Clean-Up-Wipes-50-Wipes-Pkg/45821590?wmlspartner=wmtlabs&adid=22222222222033253857&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=s&wl2=c&wl3=10357403376&wl4=pla-4577954129348122&wl5=&wl6=&wl7=& wl10=Walmart&wl12=45821590_10000002949&wl14=goo gone latex paint wipes&veh=sem&msclkid=3462118967281fc1b5304e6026acf2ad

[George Rohrbach]

Hypodermic syringe. The needles come in various diameters., pick one smaller than the width of the letters. Paint will flow and fill the depression to the top. It does take a little practice.

1 Shot Lettering enamel.

[Walt G]

I totally agree with the 1 Shot Lettering enamel - it isn't cheap, but this is what the sign painters and pin stripers use on the cars as well and it is very very durable! It does take some time to dry , so if you use it let it set up over night at least.

[PFitz]

1 hour ago, Walt G said:

I totally agree with the 1 Shot Lettering enamel - it isn't cheap, but this is what the sign painters and pin stripers use on the cars as well and it is very very durable! It does take some time to dry , so if you use it let it set up over night at least.

Another vote for 1-Shot sign enamel paints. They have long been the gold standard of quality paint. They are formulated for use with a natural hair brush, and for air drying. Developed to hold up to weather for hand painted outdoor signs and names on boat transoms. 

 

Paul

[jrbartlett]

Best method I've seen is to use a lacquer stick. Do a search and you'll find a number of vendors. Back when I was a kid working in the family business machine company repairing adding machines and typewriters, a lot of the plastic keys had lost the color from their engraved letters and numbers. We used lacquer sticks to quickly and easily fill them in. It was quite thick, so you could just rub it on the key and then wipe it, and the lacquer would naturally stay in the indentations. Then just let it dry for a while. 

[Bhigdog]

How did the factory do it? they surely didn't use a fine brush. They used a paint crayon (see above post). Rub the softish crayon into the lettering, wipe surface, let dry for 24 hours. A piece of scrap leather works well for the wipe off. Cleans the surface without digging the paint out of the letters. See McMaster-Carr...........Paint Crayons for Recessed Characters................Bob

[Old buicks 2]

Thank you to all the responded.   I will let you know how the project turns out.