faded emblem

[uncledan]

We have a 66 Caravel that has a badly faded emblem.
Any ideas how we can get the blue back in our Airstream?
Thanks

[Beaker63]

Uncledan,
I masked the silver letters with green tape and an exacto knife. Sprayed the background with (sand lightly first) auto primer and Rust oleum -Royal Blue. They turned out really nice.
Tim

[Myrtle lynn]

Vintage trailer supply .com sells them cheap!

[bwaysteve]

Originally Posted by uncledan

We have a 66 Caravel that has a badly faded emblem.
Any ideas how we can get the blue back in our Airstream?
Thanks

Bought mine at Vintage Trailer Supply.By the time I had bought the primer the paint not to mention the time involved I went for the reproductions(which are exact).I did my flags and my International tags however.The flags took forever, but look great.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by uncledan

We have a 66 Caravel that has a badly faded emblem.
Any ideas how we can get the blue back in our Airstream?
Thanks

That Airstream name plate is still available from some Airstream dealers.

Andy

[Beaker63]

It was very time consuming, all that cutting and taping. Then there is the issue of blue paint on the kitchen table. Yikes!
I did find that under the rear emblem Pablo had signed his name in really tiny letters. What do ya think he's doing these days?
Tim

[NicheVintage]

Try clear contact paper and an exacto knife. Works like a charm and will stick well to the raised letters.

[Beaker63]

Better idea.
Tim

[NicheVintage]

Here are some pics from when we did ours.

Total cost for this project just under $10

[nm1oqrz]

I removed mine from trailer. cleaned them and sprayed them with royal blue rustoliom.
when dry I took a small orbital sander and went over the raised letters to sand the blue paint off (easy). then I gave the whole thing a coat of clear. except for drying time it took about 50 ninutes for all 4 emblems. regards nm1oqrz

[Safari64]

So, where can I find 2 frames for my '64 emblems like the one Niche Vintage shows on '65?

Nicely done.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Safari64

So, where can I find 2 frames for my '64 emblems like the one Niche Vintage shows on '65?

Nicely done.

That framing is no longer available, from Airstream.

Andy

[PINKBIKE]

Are the emblems bucked or pop rivets?

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Originally Posted by Safari64

So, where can I find 2 frames for my '64 emblems like the one Niche Vintage shows on '65?

Nicely done.

You make it... Vintage Trailer supply sells the "j" edging. Just cut the corners with snips on a 45 and rivet it in place.

[Skamper1]

I am beginning to work on my International emblems. Someone suggested putting a light coat of vasoline on the top of the raised letters. This seems like a good idea. Once I have sprayed the red, white and blue areas then exposing of the letters should be an easier task. Question: once you have sanded all areas, what primer color do you suggest? Also color choices? Blue= Royal Blue; White= White; Red= what color? Also should one use gloss, semi-gloss or matte finish? Thanks. Jack

[funkill]

Originally Posted by Skamper1

I am beginning to work on my International emblems. Someone suggested putting a light coat of vasoline on the top of the raised letters. This seems like a good idea. Once I have sprayed the red, white and blue areas then exposing of the letters should be an easier task. Question: once you have sanded all areas, what primer color do you suggest? Also color choices? Blue= Royal Blue; White= White; Red= what color? Also should one use gloss, semi-gloss or matte finish? Thanks. Jack

I didn't have an Vaseline but used Vicsk's VaporRub - worked fine. Tried using chapstick directly from the tube but it got clogged in the lettering - probably could have put it on my finger and transferred it easily. Remember, light coating --- just put some on your fingertip and tap most of it off before tapping it onto the metal.

Laura

[ventport]

I would think sanding the paint off would work better then greasing the letters. It shines up the aluminum and doesn't risk the paint coming off where you don't want it to because of misplaced grease. The break between the aluminum and background color would be crisper also. Then the clear coat over everything protects the color and the aluminum from tarnishing. Just my 2 cents worth after painting cars for 40 years.

[LI Pets]

I used a razor blade to removed the paint on the raised letters

[jerbear315]

Originally Posted by NicheVintage

Try clear contact paper and an exacto knife. Works like a charm and will stick well to the raised letters.

Oops bought white contact paper. Will go get the clear.
So, how close is the royal blue to the original color?

Buying the reproduction means having to learn riveting- yikes. It has to be done at some point...

Jerri
(uncledan's wife.)

[68 TWind]

Did the front "AIRSTREAM" on the Trade Wind this afternoon using the clear contact paper technique. Worked like a charm. First I gave the whole thing a good scrubbing with a green scotchbrite pad. Then I polished the aluminum that was not to get paint with a dremel and felt bob with Flitz. Cleaned everything with acetone and covered the whole area with clear contact paper ( Wally World for about $6). I was down to my last exacto blade and having a new sharp one would have really made cutting out the letters a lot easier. Rustoleum Royal Blue was sprayed shazaammm. Didn't make a pic, but it looks great and total cost was less than $10. Got to do the rear emblem tomorrow.