Cheapest fix for my 87 silverado tailgate badge?

[Dr.Scientist]

Hi all. I have a 1987 Chevy Silverado, and the badge on the tailgate has come off. Pics below. The badge is plastic, and the pins that held it on are broken. That means I need to use that double sided automotive exterior tape to reattach it. Just one problem - The back of the badge is concave. So there's very little surface area for me to stick the tape to.

Here's my question: Can I just fill in the concave area with liquid nails? Or some other good outdoor silicone/adhesive? If I could do that, I could glue a tough plastic gasket to the back of the badge at the same time. Then I'd have me a nice flat surface on which to use the double sided automotive tape. And all would be well.

I realize there are automotive grade, proper adhesives that are made specifically for automotive exteriors. They are expensive. Liquid nails is not. So would my idea work? Any help here would be greatly appreciated!

https://i.imgur.com/ZDdO40t.jpg

EDIT: If it's not obvious I'm not a professional like you guys. Sorry about the newb sounding post. I would buy one off ebay, but 1. Liquid nails route may end up being cheaper 2. I'd just be buying an old badge that will likely have the same issue at some point. It's just old plastic. Those pins eventually break, same thing happened to my buddy's truck.

[Len]

If I wanted to do a "quick and cheap" on it I'd probably use some 3M molding tape and cut a paint stirrer stick and stick it to the back of the badge then put some of the tape on the stick and nail it to the tailgate. If I wanted to do a "better job" I'd fo;; the low area with some two part self-leveling seam sealer then use the 3M tape to hold it to the gate.

[Dr.Scientist]

Thank you for the reply. I'll look into some of the 3M stuff. I guess I'm not sure what you mean by the paint stick part though. The badge is concave, and there is only a thin lip around the edge. This means that the emblem would easily come off. You'd have very little contact from the paint stick, to the badge. It looks like you'll still need to fill in the badge with something.

[Len]

Thank you for the reply. I'll look into some of the 3M stuff. I guess I'm not sure what you mean by the paint stick part though. The badge is concave, and there is only a thin lip around the edge. This means that the emblem would easily come off. You'd have very little contact from the paint stick, to the badge. It looks like you'll still need to fill in the badge with something.

It would be a thin piece of plastic or wood that is used to stir you paint. You can cut it to the length you need then stick it to the back of the emblem using the molding tape. If one piece of the stick isn't thick enough you can stack them using the tape to hold them together and hold them to the emblem and the the vehicle. That double face tape works well and could even be doubled or tripled to skip the use of the paint stirrer.

[fj5gtx]

What about the liquid adhesive? Walmart is advertising it online for under $5.

[Len]

What about the liquid adhesive? Walmart is advertising it online for under $5.

I guess you could try it but I haven't had much luck with one part adhesives for this type of work. Two part products can work well and the molding tape sells for about $7 and works well. It all depends on how long you want it to last.

[bmarler]

the biggest problem is that the emblem is hollow so there's not much surface area to use for adhesive. i might think about filling the voids on a few of the letters, (first. middle and last) so that i could use some of the 3m double sided tape with confidence.
i would use epoxy with some lightweight filler (like micro balloons) blended in. bring it up flush so you get a lot of area to apply the tape.
https://www.christinedemerchant.com/...-balloons.html

this is only cheap if you already have the stuff laying around though. (which i usually do) other lightweight fillers would be ok too, like polyfoam. then seal the foam with epoxy and then trim tape.
the goal would be to keep it light so the tape holds well.

[JCCLARK]

If you use any body filler type products to fill it you would then
need to seal it against the weather. Fillers will fail if they get wet.

[Len]

If you use any body filler type products to fill it you would then
need to seal it against the weather. Fillers will fail if they get wet.

Yep, if I were doing it and wanted it to last I'd probably use a two part, self-leveling seam sealer to fill the low area, allow it to harden then use the double face tape to attach it to the vehicle.

[bmarler]

Yep, if I were doing it and wanted it to last I'd probably use a two part, self-leveling seam sealer to fill the low area, allow it to harden then use the double face tape to attach it to the vehicle.

that's a great solution. i usually have the fusor on hand, that stuff is amazing. i've been using it to seal small cracks and defects on the boat and it outperforms any of the "marine" products out there.