65GS.com - Buick Gran Sport Enthusiasts!
Paint, Trim & Chrome => Trim & Chrome => Topic started by: elagache on April 24, 2015, 05:10:44 PM
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Dear fans of 1965 Buick A-bodies,
There was another desperate seeker of a hood ornament on V-8 Buick recently and clearly this is one item that is desperately in short supply. Last year a used hood ornament went for over $400 on eBay. I have a contact at OPGI and I tried to nudge them to consider coming out with a reproduction, but my nudge clearly wasn't enough.
I did some searching of this forum and the question seems to come up around once a year and the news seems to get worse with the passing of time. I did locate this thread were someone had managed to get their hood ornament rechromed and I assume then painted it:
http://65gs.com/board/index.php?topic=1242.msg7106#msg7106 (http://65gs.com/board/index.php?topic=1242.msg7106#msg7106)
Is that what most guys are trying to do these days, get hold of a decent used one and repair it?
On that other thread I mentioned that Poston was marketing a reproduction and my nudge to OPGI was to attempt to get their hands on the molds Poston used. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of those reproductions that nobody had put into service, so I have some pictures with an original Buick ornament for comparison. Here is the front:
(http://canebas.smugmug.com/Biquette/Drive-Train-makeover/Poston-hood-ornament/i-LbR265b/0/L/Reproduction%20hood%20ornament%20-%20front%20-L.jpg) (http://canebas.smugmug.com/Biquette/Drive-Train-makeover/Poston-hood-ornament/i-LbR265b/A)
here is the back:
(http://canebas.smugmug.com/Biquette/Drive-Train-makeover/Poston-hood-ornament/i-ds7MMB4/0/L/Reproduction%20hood%20ornament%20-%20back-L.jpg) (http://canebas.smugmug.com/Biquette/Drive-Train-makeover/Poston-hood-ornament/i-ds7MMB4/A)
As you can see it is a little bit smaller than the original and isn't as ornate as the original Buick ornaments. I don't know if it would pass at say a Buick Club of America show for originality.
So my question to you all is: If anybody could find this mold and reproduce it, would guys on this forum buy them or not?
Curious minds would like to know!
Cheers, Edouard
P.S. As it turns out I had to partially repaint my Poston reproduction because of a silly accident that occurred when I tried to have it ornament opti-coated. If you've never heard of this product here is the website:
http://www.opti-coat.com/ (http://www.opti-coat.com/)
Opti-coat is a kind of clear ceramic coating that is more like glass than paint. As such, it provides better protection from things like abrasive dust. It is intended to be applied to the exterior of cars, but it can be applied to individual parts like a hood ornament. Sadly the stuff is outrageously expensive and I believe you have to go to a authorized detail shop to have it applied. Still for a small thing like a hood ornament the cost is modest. I thought I would mention this especially if you end up having a hood ornament rechromed and paint it by hand. After all that painstaking work, you want that ornament to last as - L O N G - as possible!!
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Edouard ,
As you noted, there is a bit of difference. Much of the detail has been lost.
Personally, that is why I didn't buy one when they were available many years ago.
It is hard to say as to weather it would slip by at a judged show. If a judge is paying attention, it should be caught and deducted for.
Loren
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I know Tony took an original and restored it. I hope he chimes in with details and some pics.
I have one of those old Poston repros on my car.
Mitch Romanowski was going repro those about 15-20 years ago, but never did. Tony contacted him again last year about revisiting that project, and he wasn't interested. Maybe if the demand gets there he could make it feasible...?
Mark
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Is it possible to remove the 'foil' from the hood ornament ? If so, just reproducing the foil would be a lot less effort than doing the whole thing.
Dan
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Did all 65 GS cars have hood ornaments ?
If so i suppose the hood on my car is off a skylark as there is no hole for an ornament . :BangHead:
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John,
All the Skylarks had hood ornaments. If yours doesn't have the holes, it either was filled or it's
a hood from a Special. Specials didn't have the ornament.
Mark
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Dear Loren, Mark, Dan, John, and fans of 1965 Buick A-bodies,
As you noted, there is a bit of difference. Much of the detail has been lost.
Personally, that is why I didn't buy one when they were available many years ago.
Point well taken. One of my main reasons for starting this thread was to see if there was a alternative scheme to get this part. Before buying the Poston reproduction, I bought as good a used ornament as I could find with the intentions of restoring the chrome as best I could and then painting. I tried using this hobby-grade chrome electro-plating tool:
http://www.micromark.com/plug-n-plate-copy-chrome-plating-kit,8327.html (http://www.micromark.com/plug-n-plate-copy-chrome-plating-kit,8327.html)
I had some success with this tool on other dashboard chrome, but I couldn't get the hood ornament to come back. I wasn't sure how you could send out this piece to be rechromed without having the regions that need to be painted not getting chrome. So this whole project looked impossible to me.
Is there a better way to restore a original hood ornament?
Mitch Romanowski was going repro those about 15-20 years ago, but never did. Tony contacted him again last year about revisiting that project, and he wasn't interested. Maybe if the demand gets there he could make it feasible...?
Is there any chance someone could find out what sort of a minimum order would be needed to make manufacturing a batch worthwhile?
All the Skylarks had hood ornaments. If yours doesn't have the holes, it either was filled or it's
a hood from a Special. Specials didn't have the ornament.
That's not true. The Specials had a hood ornament just like the Skylark. Here is a picture of our 1965 Special wagon taken in 1979 just after her first engine rebuild:
(http://www.canebas.org/Biquette/Images/Anne,%20Dad%20and%20Biquette%20Feb-79.jpg)
You can make out the hood ornament.
Cheers, Edouard
P.S. There is another hood ornament on FleaBay right now:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Buick-Skylark-Gran-Sport-Wagon-Tri-Shield-Hood-Ornament-65-GS-/131493994386?hash=item1e9da71f92&vxp=mtr (http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Buick-Skylark-Gran-Sport-Wagon-Tri-Shield-Hood-Ornament-65-GS-/131493994386?hash=item1e9da71f92&vxp=mtr)
It sure looks like the Poston reproduction to me. If this seller succeeds in getting over $300 for it, I think we'll have a good idea of how desperate folks are to get their hands on an ornament.
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That's because your Special was most likely ordered with the Deluxe trim option for the Special model.
Notice the full Skylark side trim. Options do make for exceptions to the norm.
A Special in it's normal trim package would not have had a hood ornament.
Loren
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Dear Loren and mid-60s Buick fans,
A Special in it's normal trim package would not have had a hood ornament.
Well, there is a collection of images of a 1965 Buick sales brochure online:
http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Buick/1965_Buick/1965-Buick-Full-Line-Prestige-Brochure (http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Buick/1965_Buick/1965-Buick-Full-Line-Prestige-Brochure)
The page describing the base model Special has a picture:
http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Buick/1965_Buick/1965-Buick-Full-Line-Prestige-Brochure/1965-Buick-Full-Line-Prestige-36-37 (http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Buick/1965_Buick/1965-Buick-Full-Line-Prestige-Brochure/1965-Buick-Full-Line-Prestige-36-37)
That picture clearly shows that even the base model Specials had a hood ornament.
Honestly, that is what we should have expected. Buick would not have manufactured any car that didn't have the corporate logo displayed somewhere on the exterior.
Edouard
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Edouard
The ad with the golf club on the seat, shows three car on the right, the yellow one has no hood emblem or side body trim. Can't see the other two's hoods :cheers2:
Harle
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I have an 100% original, unmolested (until I got it) 65 Special Deluxe, it has never had a hood ornament. I have heard that manufactures would often embellish vehicles in their brochures and TV advertising. I am not a very experienced Buick guy but I have never seen a 65 Special with the hood ornament.
Having said that, it is well known that some strange things took place on assembly lines in the 60s and 70s.
However, I am looking for a nice hood ornament for my GS
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Rollaround,
:thumbsup:Nice looking Special. I see it has the Deluxe side trim option.
Any interior pictures?
Best of luck on the hood ornament hunt. The one on ebay looks to be a very nice piece. I'm surprised it has no bids.
Loren
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Looking into this now. Have some contacts as to mfg. + chroming. will keep all advised.
Al :cheers2:
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Rollaround,
:thumbsup:Nice looking Special. I see it has the Deluxe side trim option.
Any interior pictures?
Loren
Thanks Loren, I'll find some and post them in the other Buick section. Thanks for looking Al!
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:headbang:
It's always good to see a sweet Buick, no matter the model.
Loren
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64's are the same hood with no hood ornament. The Center grille emblem had the front tri-shield in 64. Maybe it's an early 65 car?
I have one of those Poston repro's and it was so poor of a repro that I never put it on a car. None of mine are perfect. I think the trick in a repro would be the foil repro and coloration. It appeared to be anodized aluminum in three colors. If that part were repro'd properly, we could rechrome all the pitted ones we have laying around and stick the foil piece on.
Pat
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64's are the same hood with no hood ornament. The Center grille emblem had the front tri-shield in 64. Maybe it's an early 65 car?
I have one of those Poston repro's and it was so poor of a repro that I never put it on a car. None of mine are perfect. I think the trick in a repro would be the foil repro and coloration. It appeared to be anodized aluminum in three colors. If that part were repro'd properly, we could rechrome all the pitted ones we have laying around and stick the foil piece on.
Pat
That's a topic that I have been bending some ones ear with.
So... what would a good pair of inserts be worth ?
Good to see you on the board Pat.
Loren
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Dear fans of the 1965 Buick A-bodies,
Just to "finish up the story" associated with this thread. The hood ornament on eBay mentioned on this thread ended up being sold to a single bidder for $300. The fellow on V-8 Buick who was desperately searching for one didn't buy it. Here are his own word as you'll find on the V-8 Buick thread:
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?295920-WTD-1965-Sportwagoon-hood-ornament&p=2452768#post2452768 (http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?295920-WTD-1965-Sportwagoon-hood-ornament&p=2452768#post2452768)
Oh no, I was gonna bid on that ebay emblem but I just repainted the one on my car and couldn't justify spending $300+. Now I'm having second thoughts. Someone tell me I did the right thing by not bidding on it. Maybe another will come along before I die.......
. . . . . .
You should have bid on it. Good luck finding another at that price. What did you use to repaint yours? I have a nice one that needs paint.
. . . . . .
I know I know, but mine didn't come out so bad. Walmart had these small plastic tubs of paint in their craft section. I got some detail brushes and put on 2 coats and then sprayed some clear over it. Looks great from 5 feet. The paint is a little off but unless an original one is right next to it, you wouldn't know. It sure looks better with paint on it, makes all the difference.
I put in a lot of effort trying to identify the best colors available from the model paint resources available to a model railroader. Even with a lot of experience and the appropriate tools from my model railroading workshop, I had a very difficult time repainting my damaged hood ornament. I fear that this creation probably doesn't look good even at 5 feet away and that's not going to reflect well on the whole 1965 Buick community.
So if someone could come up with a really smart way to reproduce at least the painted Tri-Shield portion of the hood ornament, I'm sure the buyers are out there.
Cheers, Edouard
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Was this the NOS one mentioned in the V8 thread? Wish I had known about that one.
Rob
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Hi Guys,
As Mark mentioned, I restored mine. It was a pita and would definitely spring for a repro. The process involved very carefully and meticulously removing the embossed trishield from the base. Whatever they used for adhesive back then worked. No matter what you do or try, this thin metal of the trishield will get bent, blemished, etc. Mine eventually came off with a series of permatex adhesive remover applications, heat and gentle maneuvering with plastic pry tools.
I then straightened it, meticulously masked it in a series and sprayed a pearl "base coat" over the colored areas. I hit the white shield twice more. Then took a candy blue and candy red for the other shields I bought from a hobby store that matched very close in two coats. Then I shot the whole painted area with clear a couple times.
I was happy with the result. Hind sight I would have hand painted as it would have given the same result in much much less time.
I then tacked the base and the back of the painted shield with RTV and carefully clamped the whole thing together to set. Those shield aren't going anywhere.
I will do yours for $1M :laughing7:
This is work for a Jeweler!
Tony
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Dear Tony and mid-60s Buick "jewelers," . . . . .
As Mark mentioned, I restored mine. It was a pita and would definitely spring for a repro.
. . . .
This is work for a Jeweler!
Point well taken. Being a model railroader I have the experience creating things with very small details, but even so, painting the hood ornament is really at the limit of what you can do by hand. More importantly, I think we both made a mistake in using hobby paints. This sort of paint isn't intended to be exposed to the ultraviolet of sunshine, so I doubt the colors will last very long.
So we all definitely need another run of reproduction hood ornaments. The only question is whether or not we should try to nudge a restoration parts company to make that batch or if we should as a community create this part for ourselves.
Cheers, Edouard
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Has anyone tried to contact Trim Parts about this??? It seems to me anyway that what they produce is a quality, sopt on product from my experience.
Tom T.
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Dear Tom and fans of mid-60s Buicks,
Has anyone tried to contact Trim Parts about this??? It seems to me anyway that what they produce is a quality, sopt on product from my experience.
I haven't because I don't much about the company. The only reason I tried to nudge OPGI is that I knew a guy there so I knew of a way to give them a nudge! What I've seen of Trim Parts is that they seem focused on the parts that can be produced in great volume (i.e. mostly Chevy.) I don't know if they would be interested in a niche market like Buick.
However, if somebody has a contact at Trim Parts, . . . by all means try!
Cheers, Edouard
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Trim parts reproduces the coupe arm rest pads...pretty niche as those are one model, one year only..
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Trim parts reproduces the coupe arm rest pads...pretty niche as those are one model, one year only..
Did not find them at their site. Do you have a part number or link ? Thanks,
Dan