Hood ornament re-coloring service NO LONGER AVAILABLE

[sjfd04]

About 6 years ago a guy on ebay had both sides, I bought them and they still look good.  Would be great if we could find out who makes them and see if they can make the other side

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick caretakers of a car's "crown jewels,"

The hood ornament that I would like to have painted has arrived at Custom Metal Finishing Indiana.  However, Jimmy reports a potential problem:

The ornament topper has aluminum inserts on both sides that will need to be removed.  Unfortunately we can't guarantee that they will be usable after removal.  Many times they are thin and during the heating process to get them out they can warp and sometimes break.  We will do our best to salvage them for you.

I decided to let them give it their best shot.  It appears that while they don't always succeed, they have a procedure that is reliable.  If there is any outfit that can successfully rechrome a hood ornament, these guys should be able to do it.   They are charging $70 for this job, so the total cost to restore a hood ornament would be less than $200.  If it works out, that isn't outrageous and sure beats trying to hunt down a really nice used one - never mind an NOS one if there are any left.

Stay tuned!

Cheers, Edouard 

[schlepcar]

Keep the post updated Edourd,I think there are more than a few of us needing this piece. I thought about boiling it to see if it would fall apart,but I was scared. I have a decent original,but I want to restore it. Let us know how it goes,Dan

[GS66]

Should have bought that one of V8 Buick site for $40 and used it as a test.

[elagache]

Dear Dan, Jim, and mid-60s Buick keeper of a car's crown jewels,

Keep the post updated Edourd,I think there are more than a few of us needing this piece.

I promise will do!

Should have bought that one of V8 Buick site for $40 and used it as a test.

The concept is reasonable but in this case I think it would be a mistake.  It is clearly a risky process.  The more degraded the hood ornament, the more likely the procedure will fail.  The best hope is for a hood ornament in relatively good condition.  So there was no "dry run" for this procedure.  You need to get a hood ornament in as good condition as you can and . . . . . hope da' patient survives the surgery!

Cheers, Edouard

[WkillGS]

There was a post here saying the tri-shield insert is very similar to the foil inserts on seat belt buckles, which are avail as a repo.

I have no idea how the inserts are attached to the ornament.... I'd guess they are glued in. If so, a bath in an ultrasonic cleaner filled with solvent may be able to dissolve the glue. But ultrasonic action may also pit the aluminum.
Maybe heating it would work. Try putting it in a toaster oven.

I'm going to need one someday, but my 65 project needs a LOT more before it gets to those detail items.

[elagache]

Dear Loren and mid-60s caretakers of our Buicks "crown jewels,"

As reported earlier, I sent my decent but weary OEM hood ornament to Custom Metal Finishing Indiana.  They arrived on Saturday, but I didn't have time to take a careful look until today - WOW!  Here is the before view of the front of the ornament as posted earlier:



Here is what the front of the ornament looks like now:



Sorry the photo is a little bit out of focus but the restored luster is obvious.

Here is the corresponding before view of the back:



Here is what the back looks like now!



Now the observant will immediately surmise that something rather important is missing - the Tri-Shield inserts that supposedly are impossible to remove.  Well look here:



I don't know how the crew at Custom Metal Finishing Indiana managed to do it, but there are the inserts cleanly removed from the ornament undamaged!

So phase-II of this project is having the Tri-Shields painted.  Loren, should I do anything to inserts before sending them to you?  Does your airbrush artist needs them mounted back in the ornament to paint them or would it be easier to paint them before reassembly?

As my friend pointed out, the hood ornament is like the crown jewels of your car.  Until now, it sure looked difficult to have a like new hood ornament.  Well, that might have just changed!

I'm definitely extremely pleased!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Loren At 65GS]

Edouard,

  I will ask him about doing them prior to mounting.

 I'm surprised and relieved that they were able to remove the inserts without damage.  Wonder what was used?

Looks like they did a great job on the plating.

 Loren

[elagache]

Dear Loren and mid-60s Buick detail preservers,

I will ask him about doing them prior to mounting.

Thanks, if you have any ideas what I might do to polish away some of the tarnish I'd be glad to try it.  There are all kinds of non-abrasive polishes out there, but I have a feeling they leave behind substances that would interfere with the paint.

I'm surprised and relieved that they were able to remove the inserts without damage.  Wonder what was used?

No kidding!  I was worried when Jimmy at Custom Metal Finishing warned me that they might not survive.  I suppose they are pros at this sort of thing and whatever they use isn't legal for us amateurs.  There is a toxic disposal fee included with their work.

Looks like they did a great job on the plating.

Definitely I agree.  Wheelz was singing their praises, but it was no hype!

Cheers, Edouard 

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick detail-oriented types,

I was about to send the hood ornament inserts over to Loren so that they could be painted, but they looked a little dingy.  So I stopped by a local jeweler and asked them to see what they could do to polish the inserts a little.  Here is what they looked like before:



Here is what they look like now after a little time on a polishing wheel:



The picture isn't perfect but you can see that the stag and cross are now nice and shiny aluminum.  There is still some tarnish, but it is in the areas that will be painted.

I managed to have found some photos of NOS hood ornaments and as far as I can see, these inserts are shiny aluminum and look quite different from the surrounding chrome.  So to my eyes, this looks correct.  Any dissenting opinions?  Anything else I should consider doing to these inserts before packing them up and sending them to Loren for painting?

Cheers, Edouard 

[Loren At 65GS]

Edouard,

  I think that will do the trick.  When the final coat of clear is applied, it will make a big difference.

 Loren

[elagache]

Dear Loren and mid-60s detailed oriented types,

I think that will do the trick.  When the final coat of clear is applied, it will make a big difference.

 

I can't be sure, but comparing to the NOS photos I have it looks very close.  It was kind of a shock.  I didn't realize how far off the Poston reproduction really is!

Tomorrow is looking busy but I'll try to ship it out to you!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Loren At 65GS]

 

I can't be sure, but comparing to the NOS photos I have it looks very close.  It was kind of a shock.  I didn't realize how far off the Poston reproduction really is!

Tomorrow is looking busy but I'll try to ship it out to you!

Cheers, Edouard 
[/quote]

One of our members sent me a hood ornament to have redone. It was a Poston reproduction.  The shield inserts were partially coming off. The insert was so thin, lacked definition of the details and the shape had become somewhat distorted. Sadly, there was nothing that could be done to it.

 Loren

[elagache]

Dear Loren and mid-60s Buick caretakers of the automobile "crown jewels,"

I just dropped off the hood ornament inserts at the UPS store, so you should be receiving them early next week!

I can't be sure, but comparing to the NOS photos I have it looks very close.  It was kind of a shock.  I didn't realize how far off the Poston reproduction really is!

One of our members sent me a hood ornament to have redone. It was a Poston reproduction.  The shield inserts were partially coming off. The insert was so thin, lacked definition of the details and the shape had become somewhat distorted. Sadly, there was nothing that could be done to it.

That is my principle reason for trying to come up with a quality restoration of the Buick factory hood ornaments.  Right now my wagon looks great with her Poston reproduction, but I know it won't last very long.  Since you had come up with a scheme to repaint the original ornaments, it was up to me to see if there was a way to rechrome them.  So we are into phase-II to see if indeed you really can restore these old ornaments to the point we can all be proud of them!

Thanks for providing this service Loren!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Loren At 65GS]

 You are welcome !

I'll get those to him as soon as they make it here.  He did a set of the Gran Sport emblems for one of the other guys. I think they turned out very well.

 Loren