35 Terraplane front emblem

farmermike

Gentlemen,

I have noticed that some terraplanes have the background on the front emblem painted white while others look like the one on my car. How were they when new? Was there a difference between models? My 35 is a special.

Thanks,

Mike

35 Terraplane

Mike, the one that is on my car has a white background but it's somewhat faded. I bought another one online that has no background like yours. Not sure if the one on my car got painted at some point in the cars life. Tom

farmermike

Tom,

Thanks for the info. I know this is kind of a small issue compared to some of the other issues my car has had but if it came from the factory painted I would like to keep it as factory as possible. 

That said, I did put turn signals on the car as well as headlight relays so I could drive it at night. The idiots around here have no idea what hand signals are so I thought I had better molest ( drilled two holes)  the car to be safer on the highway.

Mike

35 Terraplane

Mike, I know what you mean about hand signals. I think people think your waving to them. I thought about signals but haven't taken the plung yet. Maybe some day.

StillOutThere

'35 Terraplane grille emblems were white enamel.  All of them.  Regardless of model.

farmermike

StillOutThere,

Thank you for the information. Not sure how to paint the emblem and keep the lettering unpainted but at least I now know what it is supposed to look like.

Mike

ken1962

Don't paint it just google car badge re-enamel business - saw a few based in the USA. Not cheap to do. Don't you Ithink that after the initial first look over a car gets by people when it's out and parked about, the badge is the 1st thing every young kid looks at to work out what the car is called? I've noticed how many people walk around my car and always ends up looking attentive at the badge on the radiator. Make the car proud and give it a smile worth it's name cheers ken

farmermike

Ken,

I see what you mean, they can really make  badges look great.  $300.00-$400.00 is not in my budget right now.

I was looking at the car yesterday and realized that I had forgot to ask folks what color the raised lettering is supposed to be. Was it a standard color like the white back ground or was it painted to match whatever color the car was?

Thanks,

Mike

ken1962

Hi mike hopefully a nice one will fall your way - will keep a lookout on eBay etc cheers ken

StillOutThere

Do the job yourself, keep the money in your pocket.  This isn't rocket science.  This is the old car hobby.  It is not difficult.  Develop your skills while other people write checks.

farmermike

I don't mind doing my own work if I think I can pull it off. That is what is so much fun finally having a 35 Terraplane after waiting 50 years. My problem with detail work is I have the shakes so bad that it is hard to get the results I want. 

If I have a pin-stripper or better yet, my wife do the raised lettering what color should it be? Was there a standard color if the back ground was always white?

Thanks,

Mike

Nerve_Center

Mike,

Pretty sure the raised letters were always the chrome of the base emblem. Filling the background with white enamel with just about any small soft brush and letting it "flow" and mostly dry, followed by careful use of a cloth dampened with thinners to wipe any paint off the raised letters etc should do the trick. The good thing is, if you muck it up you can always clean the enamel out with thinners and have as many goes as you want.

Best done off the car though with what you are painting horizontal so it flows. 

My hands shake too but on the basis that you can clean up mistakes with thinners even I could get somewhat passable results.

farmermike

Your project looks very nice. I will have to give my emblem a try. My lettering is worn down to the copper but I want to at least give it a go. I will send photos if it turns out OK. Maybe even if it doesn't------------

Mike.

ken1962

Have you guys ever considered using enamel powder? Really easy to use, Just wipe the surface with a cleaning prep solution, apply the liquid tacky agent, sprinkle the powder, and then use a hand gas cooking jet or oven to liquefy the enamel.  Afterwards you apply a wax agent to seal the enamel . Its the same enamel used to apply to silver jewelry or copper. Google the suppliers for the prices of the items and youtube on the technique. Guaranteed you'll be wondering around the house looking for all those chipped and damaged enameled items crying out to be fixed.  Loved using the stuff when I did metal work back at school when I was a kid. Gives you almost the same look as the badge originally started off as cheers Ken

Nerve_Center

Great option Ken. I need to get out more! Thanks.

farmermike

Ken,

I had never heard of enamel powder. Took your advice and watched some youtube videos of the process.  This time of year is my busy time so I was looking for something I could do without taking it off of the car for the short term.

That said, I took nerve-centers advice and tried masking the emblem after making sure I had cleaned it well and sprayed it with enamel and let it dry overnight and then used the handle end of a small brush covered with a soft cloth soaked in thinner to rub the paint off of the raised lettering. Took several tries as I kept mucking it up but I finely have it looking kinda,sorta OK for now. Not sure how long the white will last before it starts to yellow but I will just strip it off and repaint or try some of the other ideas folks have suggested.

I am sending two photos I took of the emblem today as well as the before photo I posted earlier.

Thanks,

Mike

Nerve_Center

Good on you Mike. It's all part of the fun to give it a try and your results look good. It sets the front of the car off really well.

ken1962

Have to agree, really does look good - sitting on the front of the car against the red hood cheers ken

farmermike

Thanks guys, I am anxious to see how the paint holds up.

 I took the grandkids to get ice cream at our local store and it was interesting to see how folks would go to the front of the car and look at the emblem to see what it was. Ken was right, it is the first thing people look at.

 The owners of the store even put a photo of the car on their facebook page. If interested you can see it here:

https://www.facebook.com/ValleyMartMedimont/photos/a.655824707871788.1073741829.655803851207207/655824754538450/?type=3&theater