Hey all,

Jim posted another unrelated post earlier today that had pics of a '67 convertible with unpainted fender emblems (link below). I have the same thing on my fenders and gas door. Did they come like this or has the paint been completely worn away? Mine look really clean with no remnants of paint. So, they're either legit or the paint has come away through stripping or time.

Which is it?


http://firstgenfirebird.org/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=63930&page=1#Post63930

They are worn away...They are painted and plastic coated from the factory.

Firebird script, Pontiac letters, 326/350/400 emblems are all painted inside, and the bird emblems have a translucent paint over the chrome, and then are filled with a clear polymer type material (you can get a two part clear polymer that is very close at most hardware stores, but it will yellow after a few years)

The painted areas will look very clean under the paint when removed so it makes it hard to tell...

Brett - 67 Drop Top 455!

Thanks guys. So what would you do...repaint or replace?

Not that it makes a lot of difference but the plastic was actually colored in the originals. I caught this piece before it fell out of one of my factory originals some 25+ years ago.

Wow...didn't know that!

That changes everything. To do it right, I should replace.

Thanks Jim!

If you are using your car for a non judged point car, you might want to take them off, paint them, and use a product called liquid glass that can be found at most craft stores. I have done this in the past and they look great. It sure beats the cost of replacing them.

Yep, she's not for judging. I'll look for it and try it out..thanks.

Mark, Remember, I said, "Not that it makes a lot of difference". That's because the inner side of plastic was colored but from the outside you could see a thick clear layer first. On the completed emblem, the appearance of the process the other guys discuss would yield the same result. It was simply discussion from me, not a recommendation. I hope to restore a couple of my old emblems using their method to use for other purposes.

As I mentioned in another post, fingernail polish will also work & looks good.

Very kool Jim, I had not seen one come apart like that, I've only seen before and after. Nice to know and see how it was originally.
Yes, the same method will work with correct results, but replacement is easy and a good reproduction will last a long time.

Brett!

Thanks all for the feedback.

Based on the info, I'm back to my original thought. I'm going to try to paint and seal them first. Worst case, I pooch the entire process and will end up having to replace them with repros.

I've been thinking of doing that repro process on one of my originals and put the emblem on my GMC van just to see if it ever draws a comment. It probably would never be noticed.