black pearl vvti emblems

[CharmCityES]

hey all
ive seen the typical silver VVTI badges surface everywhere, but ive seen a few members around here sporting black pearl ones....id perfer having these because my car has the black pearl emblems stock, and they would match well....im not sure if the black pearl VVTI badges were homemade or bought, but id really like to know
so the question is...
does anyone know of where i can find a black pearl VVTI badge, or know of what type of paint i can use to black pearl my own VVTI badge?

thanks for all your help!
-Corey

[white07cam]

ebumdude might know, wasnt he trying to start a little emblem painting business for us on TN?

[netrickyaz]

i just used regular black paint on mine i did all my emblems with the same paint, i think there might be some on ebay though.

[JustAnotherAsian]

i've seen some pop up on ebay once in a while. true black pearl, regardless of emblem ("camry", "vvt-i", "TRD") is quite rare.

on the other hand, one paint that i've seen that mimics the black-pearl effect is vht nightshade paint + clearcoat. i've seen results somewhere in the 4-runner or tacoma forums (not necessarily TN, but i can't remember), and it looks nice for a paint job. the reflection/shine comes from the chrome underneath "through" the transparent paint, rather than having the reflection/shine come from the gloss of the paint itself (if that makes any sense). if you can't find a true vvt-i black pearl, i'd jump into the cheapest regular chrome "vvt-i" emblem and give the vht+clear a try.

[bandit]

ebumdude was doing flat black. Pearl emblems have that black chrome to it.

I was at the Toyota dealer and I saw pearl emblems on a Camry. When I go pick up my car, I'll ask the finance guy how much. They said that they have an outside party do it since Toyota no longer sells them. Its probably $150-200 I think.