Restoring the hood emblem?

[star63]

How was the hood emblem originally fabricated -  is the gray color just paint or resulting from some sort of electro plating?
Has anybody succesfully re-colored a worn out emblem?

A new one is quite expensive...

[49er]

 Not sure of the process but I don't believe the silver is paint but some sort of plating. The white star and blue surround are a glaze. Here is photo of a new one that was given to me when my 1st 250SL was in the body shop for a new front end. I never put it on and just used the old, slightly scratched, one.

John

[mdsalemi]

New ones run about $65 or so...

I know that if I found the right enamel paint(s), and did the requisite prep work, got one of those large magnifying glass/lights, and started repainting the emblem--after about 2 hours and bloodshot eyes, I'd be ordering one...

Look around, maybe someone will have a good used one for sale.

[Benz Dr.]

That's the problem with parts like this. It's more bother and exspense to try and restore it than it's worth. A used one is, well..... used, and shouldn`t be expected to be in any better shape than the one that came off the car. It has a Mercedes Benz logo which means you can't reproduce it ( legaly ) - be happy it isn't a lot more than 65 bucks..........


  I had a call for 126 Euro style head a while back. A new one is about $1,000.00 from the local deaer. I found one for him and the supplier was only a couple of miles away from this customer while I was close to 300. So I let the other guy take care of it and maybe he could reurn ther favour some day. The other guy told me the head light glass was beat up a bit but the whole unit was OK and it worked fine.
He took the head light over to this guy who wanted me to deliver it in person ( not a chance in hell that was ever going to happen ) and the next day the parts guy gave me a call.

'' Dan?  Yeah, I delivered the head light to that guy. ''

 '' Yeah....... OK? ''

'' So, he called me the next day and I had to give his money back......''

'' Oh? How's that? ''

'' Well...... he said the glass was pitted even though I told him it wasn`t perfect before I gave it to him. I mean Geeez, its a used part...... holy %$/&%$ what a  /$%"$%?$ waste of time!''

'' Uh, OK? So how much did you ask for the head light? '

'' 100 bucks...... ''

'' ....... yeah, right. OK. ''

[Jack Jones]

The hood emblem was $65.00 once upon a time but it currently lists for $318.00 at Mercedes.

[49er]

The hood emblem was $65.00 once upon a time but it currently lists for $318.00 at Mercedes.

Guess that is something else for me to lock up along with my key fob, radio plate, etc. Yikes!

John

[ja17]

I remember buying three of these nice porceline hood badges for my 190SL back in 1970. Back then from the dealer they were $7.00 each!

The same  porceline  hood badge was used on the 190SL, and the early W107 SLs. These high quality porceline badges were also seen on sedan grilles in other sizes and with the angle bend to the shape of the grille.

At some point in time Mercedes changed to a chromed plastic badge with enamel paint for the new model cars. They did not hold up. The paint faded or flaked off. But they were inexpensive to replace. About five bucks would get you a bright new one. Eventually they went back to the porceline versions.

I suspect that Mercedes supplies parts and keeps the prices fairly constant until existing supplies run out.  Then they contract for a new supply from their vendor. The volume ordered is smaller this timer, the manufacturing costs have increased consequently the price triples ! This cycle repeats itself. When a part becomes N/A, it often becomes available again at some point, with a new robust price tag.

[star63]

New ones run about $65 or so...

I should have bought one for that price a couple of years ago. Now the least expensive I've seen was 165 euros.
Maybe, I could consider using those two hours to fix mine. After all, this is a hobby, right...?

Thanks,
- Petri

[mdsalemi]

At some point in time Mercedes changed to a chromed plastic badge with enamel paint for the new model cars. They did not hold up. The paint faded or flaked off. But they were inexpensive to replace. About five bucks would get you a bright new one. Eventually they went back to the porceline versions.

I remember the hood badge on my 1979 BMW 320i was cast aluminum, and painted.  It did NOT hold up at all, though the rest of the car did.  They changed to a "fully encased in clear plastic" model that held up very well.

The $65 price is from the current K&K catalog, online yesterday http://www.kkmfg.com/catalog_loader.php?page=113/113BodyChrome.js . However, after speaking with them (I guess they can't even keep the parts list current!) they said it is NLA and "Don't lose the one you have!" Maybe another version (107 or later and cheaper?) or eBay would be better than new.  There was discussion after PUB 2009 of just how many of the Pagodas did not have this very emblem on the hood!

It is becoming frightfully obvious that the car might be on a trajectory where I won't be able to afford it any longer.  Jeez, even the insurance skyrocketed this year...(Michigan's newer Catastrophic Claims Assessment)

So, grab some paint, and that magnifying glass!

[Benz Dr.]

Why is it that everyone lets MB off the hook when it comes to pricing? Some price increases should be expected but some of the stuf they have is priced so high that it's almost insane. And this isn't for cars that everyone wants like 300SL's.

  They just had a price update yesterday. I'm afraid to look........

[mdsalemi]

Why is it that everyone lets MB off the hook when it comes to pricing?

What would you expect anybody to do?  Complain?  To whom?  How?  Would it make any sense?  I think they'll sell a lot more hood badges at $65 then at $300+; ditto for grill stars and stuff.  The things with their logos on them are things that will remain high.

[WRe]

Hello,
the official price at MB in Germany is 195€. Maybe one should try the hood emblem of a R107. It's only 26€.
...WRe

[Cees Klumper]

Look at this as an opportunity: buy ten now at the low low price of only $300, then double your money in just a few short years when MB decides it's time again to move up its 'value billing'  ladder.

[Benz Dr.]

Look at this as an opportunity: buy ten now at the low low price of only $300, then double your money in just a few short years when MB decides it's time again to move up its 'value billing'  ladder.

I've seen cases where some did that and then a year later when some new stock became availble again they were stuck witha lot of exspensive parts.

[Benz Dr.]

What would you expect anybody to do?  Complain?  To whom?  How?  Would it make any sense?  I think they'll sell a lot more hood badges at $65 then at $300+; ditto for grill stars and stuff.  The things with their logos on them are things that will remain high.

Yeah, I actually expect people to complain. It's not a new idea and it's been around for a while.

I'm new at parts sales and only started in 1988 so I have much to learn. Before the CC came along, we didn't see these wild spikes in pricing because local vendors more or less handled a lot of the old car parts. For the most part, MB wasn't interested in old cars - they wanted you to buy a new one and still do.

They now see vintage cars as a way of promoting the brand ( doesn't everyone these days ?) and a way to make lots of money. From what I've been  hearing, MB CC division was the most profitable of all their lines last year. I'm not saying they shouldn't make money but some of their prices make little to no sense.

( don't get me started, I was having an almost normal day )

[mdsalemi]

Back to the issue at hand: medallion restoration.

http://www.emblemagic.com/index.html
http://www.maxwellenamels.com/FAQs.html
http://www.hiberniaautorestorers.com/cloisonne-medallions.html
http://stores.ebay.com/Conway-Collectibles?_trksid=p2047675.l2563  Yes, he claims to do restoration
http://www.classicautoservice.com/emblems.htm


That's five places to try aside from the old magnifying glass and jar of model paint...
The true classic restoration houses, from cars long gone, typically have to do all kinds of things like this.  Nothing is difficult or hard to find.  It just takes money...

[Benz Dr.]

Back to the issue at hand: medallion restoration.

http://www.emblemagic.com/index.html
http://www.maxwellenamels.com/FAQs.html
http://www.hiberniaautorestorers.com/cloisonne-medallions.html
http://stores.ebay.com/Conway-Collectibles?_trksid=p2047675.l2563  Yes, he claims to do restoration
http://www.classicautoservice.com/emblems.htm


That's five places to try aside from the old magnifying glass and jar of model paint...
The true classic restoration houses, from cars long gone, typically have to do all kinds of things like this.  Nothing is difficult or hard to find.  It just takes money...

But this is the issue at hand - the price of the new hood badge.

[mdsalemi]

Our friend from Finland, Star63 was looking for information on restoration of a hood badge or some experience from people who have done it.  I found 5 places that do this, and certainly there are more.

By the way, just as point of reference--Ford does not get into the manufacture or distribution of old parts for old cars.  However, there is a huge business in doing so.  Ford licenses the products with the logo on them.  Products have to pass muster for quality and performance, and a license will be issued--probably at a reasonable price.  Then, the manufacturer must make the product, sell and distribute the product too, and some license fee goes back to Ford. Ford has no investment in the project; they just collect money.

And with that, we have commonly available enamel badges for a early Fords (there appears to be hundreds of styles) running around $35-$55.  Made and sold my and independent under license. Data plates, all manner of logo emblazoned trim, badges, etc. all in the same price range.  I'm sure the same business plan is in place at GM. So, with those prices and the non-trivial cost of manufacture, I'd imagine the license fee is pretty reasonable.  Just a guess...

[star63]

I ended up buying a R107 badge which is about the same size but made of plastic. I will restore my original emblem some time later.

Thanks for your help!

- Petri