Question for you 260z/280z owners........

[9teen7t240z]

I recently acquired an inventory of used emblems from various 260z and 280z model cars. I noticed that some of these emblems, such as the fender emblems, seem to have some form of resin or composite material that surrounds the "Z" portion of the emblem. Can anyone tell me whether there is some form of composite material and , or, a "sticker" that is used for those emblems?

I acquired these with the intent of re-chroming and restoring them to original OEM spec, as it appears that these emblems are not available in new or restored condition anywhere. My concern is that, when the old plating is stripped....this resin or composite "stuff" that surrounds the "Z" might come off as well. In which case, I'd end up with some nice shiny emblems that are no longer completely original.

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on how I might make these emblems appear to be "new" again.

Mike

[LeonV]

Cool Mike! I'll try to take a look at some of my emblems tonight.

[mgood]

Mike,

Here mine all original from a 11/75 - 1976 280Z.

The hood and the air vent are some kind of pot metal with chrome over them.

The side 280Z is plastic with chrome over it.

Hope this helps.

[9teen7t240z]

Leon and Michael,

Thank you for your replies and the pics. I'm still stumped as to how to replicate the resin that was used to "fill in" the area around the Z on the emblem. I'm hoping that some of the members may have encountered this before and found a product or solution that serves the same purpose, while providing the look and texture of the OEM part.

Any "plastics engineers" out there that want to chime in?

Mike

[LeonV]

Mike, here are some pics. One is an old, worn emblem and the other is new. I should probably clean them...

Looks like it's injected into the part after the emblem itself has been made. I don't have any experience in making something like this though.

[Captain Obvious]

Neat. Never noticed that. My PO "shaved" all the emblems off my car so I don't see them frequently.

Looks like they potted the recessed area around the "Z" with a self leveling thermoplastic of some sort. You should be able to recreate that pretty easy using clear epoxy that has been tinted to the proper shade. Use a slow curing epoxy that has time to level, and tinting compounds are readily available.

The biggest issue would be that the air entrained during the mixing action will cloud the compound and you would have to get the air out. Use a bell jar and a vacuum pump to pull the air out of the mix. It'll froth as the air is pulled out, and after the frothing subsides, you'll be left with an optically clear fill material that you can pour into the recess.

"Proof, of course, is left to the student."

PS - I'm not a plastics engineer... :classic:

[EuroDat]

Its most probably an acrylate polymer or a polycarbonate resin, a common brand name these days is lexan or plexiglass. Its melting point is around 300 degF and its has eccellent UV stability.

If its one of those two, its not easy to make without specialized equipment. The chemical reaction generates a lot of heat and you need to pressurize the process to prevent champagne bubble effects.

I dont think its a poly urethene because it doesnt stand up to uv for such long periods ie 40 years.

You could duplicate it with PU resin. That is a lot easier to work with and you can achieve good results a little costs. You will need a pressure chamber to cure the resin. A good UV resistant PU resin will last 15 years without yellowing to much.

Note: ALL PU resin will yellow no matter what the rep says.

I have a blog on inspection light lenses with a home made kit to give you an idea.

Chas

[clayton 260z]

LOOK UP EPOXY RESINS, SOME JEWELERS USE AS A SHORT CUT TO GLASS ENAMELS. NO HEAT IS USED FOR CURING. WILL BE WHAT YOU WANT TO USE. MANY COLORS TO CHOOSE FROM.

INFO AT Rio Grande jewelry making supplies, jewelry tools and jewellery supply

[9teen7t240z]

Thank you, Leon, Chas,, Captain, and Clayton,

I'm beginning to understand WHY nobody is restoring these emblems or reproducing them. It appears as though, in order to do this correctly, one would have to invest considerable money and alot of time testing different resins and processes, with little assurance of ever finding a viable process. I had hoped that someone would tell me they've have great success with a little Elmer's Glue and Play-Doh:)

Seriously, though, it looks like it may be more time efficient and cost efficient to simply have a plastic manufacturing firm reproduce the entire part. Unless someone else offers a solution that they've actually had success with, I think I'll stick to refurbishing those emblems that just require a new plate of chrome and some paint.

Much thanks to all of you who shared their thoughts....I'm still open to any other suggestions.

Mike

[Captain Obvious]

Haha! I've got everything I need to test the epoxy method except for the tint. Send me an empty emblem along with a small tube of red tint and another tube of yellow, and I bet I could make a pretty good imitation!

About the chrome plating... The chrome plating runs under the filled area, doesn't it? Is it going to work to replate with the original fill in place?

[9teen7t240z]

Captain,

No, there is no way to replate the emblem with the original fill still intact. When the old plating is stripped, the fill will be removed as well. Therein lies the challenge. It is easy to strip all of the existing paint and chrome from the emblem, as it is to replate the entire piece and paint any originally painted parts with the OEM colors. The difficulty arises in finding a suitable fill-in resin and color (tint) to adequately recreate the appearance and texture of that area that surronds the "Z".

from a personal taste standpoint, I think that the emblem would be much more attractive if the fill weren't included in the first place. Then, the Z would be more prominent and the area surrounding it could be painted black or even body color. But, for the purists, that "dog wouldn't hunt" as that is not as originally produced by the manufacturer.

As a case in point, I recently replated an extra set of "Datsun" fender emblems for my 240z. I think that these pieces look awesome in chrome, yet the OEM specs called for the entire piece to be chrome plated, then all surface areas are painted. Seems like an awful waste of chrome to me. I am going to keep the emblems free from paint, except for the areas between the letters (which are going to be painted the same color as my car). The result should give the appearance of actually having multiple emblems, as the letters of the word Datsun will appear to be separate. In the end, I think that the emblem should really pop when put on my car.

Anyway, it's a personal preference thing. If you would like to send me a PM with your contact info, I may want to take you up on your offer to experiment with recreating that fill. Thanks again, Captain.

Mike

[Captain Obvious]

Sorry. I get it now... Up above you said that you'll stick to refurbishing those emblems that just require a new plate of chrome and some paint. I read that and thought you meant you would do side emblems that were in good enough condition that you could get away without replacing the fill. But in fact, you meant that you wouldn't mess at all with the side emblems because they had that fill... You would only mess with emblems that had plate and paint, with no fill.

I'm with you now. :stupid: