Hi All, looking for some advice on restoring badges / emblems. I have two on my car that have a clear plastic / resin type material over them. How do I remove and replace this clear fill?
Heck, on this site we take those damn things off and throw them in the trash! Unnecessary clutter. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I'd say by the time you pay up to replace them it may not be worth it. I would maybe a custom graphic and have it cut in plexi and glue it in. Then keep and eye out on eBay for that emblem to show up. If it's a forward look desoto. Try Big M auto in Williams Ca. He may have one to sell yu.
There was a product I saw at a model train store. It was clear plastic beads that you put in boiling water to make a soup, to make fake ponds or water on a train layout. The stuff stays shiny when you form it and cools off. You need to get creative for making a mold for the underside with those rippled designs. If you can get the old piece out without breaking it, you can make a mold of the ripples with silicone sealer from the Dollar store; $3 for a big tube. Oil the old part so the sealer does not stick to it, and push the old part into a blob of sealer.
Is there anything under the plastic? If it's just chrome, with what looks like probably ridges, maybe you could carefully sand the plastic down to the tops of the ridges. Leave what's in the valleys so as not to disturb the chrome plate, then re-fill with new resin over the top. Look at Smooth On for resins. You want something that is UV stable, so it won't yellow, and tough enough to stand up to road grime, washing, etc. You might be able to use a dental pick to get the old resin out of the valleys. Or you could have the whole thing stripped and rechromed. Then fill with resin. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I hate to bust your bubble but restoration on obsolete emblems,like a Desoto are going to be expensive,especially when your dealing with a Canadian version. Keep watching e-bay. HRP
The body of the badge is metal and chromed. I think I might be pulling out a magnifying glass and some dental tools...
If you are sure that all the details are in the chromed part, I have a project going right now that might fix it. I need to make a red lens. I remembered from antique restorers years ago, that they said you can re-melt lens plastics with acetone. I broke up a 1968 VW red tail light lens, and have the pieces soaking in lacquer thinner since around 10 AM today. By 5 PM it is 2/3rds dissolved. After it dissolves completely, I assume the thinner will evaporate fairly quickly in sun, during a day. So, I will make a mold and keep filling it as it evaporates off, until I get the thickness I need. Will it work? Not sure, but I hope it might stay shiny, if not I will buff it. In the jar in pic below:
The Jalopy Journal
