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Cleaning up an Emerson badge


Jay Buchholz

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Hey all, 

First post on the new site. 🙂

I'm restoring an Emerson 27666. Been polishing this badge and I inadvertently took a lot of the black paint(?) off. What's the best way to restore that?

Thank you!

 

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Edited by Jay Buchholz
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Tape off the parts (to the extent you can easily do so) that you don't want to paint first. I like using automotive black primer which sprays on very very lightly so you use many coats. Wait a good while (couple of hours) until it is thoroughly dry, then using 600 grit sandpaper, very lightly remove the paint from the higher brass areas. Then take some 4 grit steel wool and gently wipe down the higher brass relief so as to remove the fine scratches from the 600 grit sandpaper. Once you are satisfied that the black is everywhere you want it to be, you can put a clear coat of lacquer over it without fear that the black will wrinkle (orange peel). The lacquer will make the black even blacker. Others may have had better luck using another method but you won't go far wrong with this. Be patient as this primer goes on in a very fine mist which is totally different than the Rustoleum primer which goes on very heavy.

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Edited by David Kilnapp
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I have had luck with this exact concept but instead of paint for the dark portions of tag/badge I age the whole brass with a brass ager or ammonia. This darkens it up to a very flat black and isn't thick like the paint is making it much easier to polish the high spots. Some tags have been so heavily polished and the difference between a high and low is very little making either method difficult but at least the aging isn't adding thickness to the low spots like the paint.

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I thin a water based paint, Createx with their reducer. If you wipe denatured alcohol on the raised parts and then immediately drizzle really thin paint on it the solvent will help keep the paint from sticking and it will pool in the lowest parts. It will take longer to dry because some of the solvent will have to evaporate out of the paint but I speed it up with a mild blast from the heat gun. Then I take a hobby knife and shave off any paint from the raised areas and then lightly sand it all. Then I clear coat it. That's the process I used on these two badges. 20211019_162454.thumb.jpg.6bcb4e2e69aab585b6c0df259a34b325.jpg20211011_204008.thumb.jpg.ffdd4a8f18a9ec6604ac7b5222aa1f80.jpg

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I would like to know more about the brass darkening process, I have a hard time with the paint on some badges.

Edited by Bobby Gaines
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1 hour ago, Chris Campbell said:

Biggest issue is clear overcoat reacting and blistering.

 

I've found that the way to get around this (at least for Rust-Oleum) is to either do the clear coat about 10 minutes after the base color, (which is usually not possible on badges and info plates because you have to polish them) or wait about two weeks after applying the base color, and then the clear coat should go on no problem. I've had multiple badges/info plates wrinkle by not waiting long enough. If you're patient, it should work fine.

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On 10/22/2021 at 5:14 PM, Ben Guegain said:

I have had luck with this exact concept but instead of paint for the dark portions of tag/badge I age the whole brass with a brass ager or ammonia. This darkens it up to a very flat black and isn't thick like the paint is making it much easier to polish the high spots. Some tags have been so heavily polished and the difference between a high and low is very little making either method difficult but at least the aging isn't adding thickness to the low spots like the paint.

Ben, have any pics of the badges you've done with this method? 

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