Dave,
It seems like most of the '65 hood ornaments that I've seen are always faded on the backside more than the frontside. Maybe it's from the sun reflecting off the hood. The colors are foil and not paint. Your options are to buy a reproduction hood ornament from CARS, INC. (which are painted, not foil) or find another that's not as faded. At one time, CARS was selling foil appliques to stick on your old hood ornament. However, they don't have them listed any longer.
John Egel