TOPIC: Plastic Crestliner Emblem 60's era

Hey folks. I have been searching for a replacement for the emblem on the port side of my 66' Crestliner Del RIo. Well, today my search finally ended. I made the damn thing myself! I just had to show it off.

One of the guys on the retro crestliner forums gave the suggestion, and it seemed like a good idea. So I made a mold of the one good one I had, and now I can cast as many new ones as I like. I figured if I was looking for one someone else may be as well, So if you would like a set of these replicas just send me a pm.

Cool, good job!

Thats cool i have the same issue i have yet to face and you solved it for me i will have to give this a try (or several). Sounds like a great winter shop time experiment.

I have had a couple guy email me, so I thought I would try to get this back up to the top. Unfortunately this is the only progress I have made on my restoration...

GeekDriver - very very cool! Yes, of course I want one! let me know how you can send and how I can contribute - very nice job indeed,

Matthew

I have a small batch of these emblems all ready to go. If you're looking for a gift for the crestliner owner in your life. This is it! PM me.

Not sure if you are still active on this forum or if you still have a supply of the Crestiner emblems you made, but I need two of them if you still have any. Let me know via this forum and we'll go from there

greekdriver,

WELCOME ABOARD.

yours, satx

62ALLSTAR,

WELCOME ABOARD.

yours, satx

Big Tim,

WELCOME ABOARD.

yours, satx

I am in for 5 sets. I have a lot of crestliners lol. I have been working on a paint formula for the gold for the top of the molding too. I will pm ya with my email. The guys on the crestilner resto forum will go gaga over this too.
Bob

Hey Bob, you say you are developing a paint formula for the gold. Was the original version of the emblem gold or silver? The paint on my original has long flaked off so the emblem I have is just black plastic. Also, was the painting on the raised portions of the emblem or in the lower portions? Given the original date of this thread, I will likely end up doing the moulding and recreation project myself. I also have to recreat a Chrysler plastic emblem for the 65 Chrysler 45 hp I am refurbishing.

Here is a couple of pics of the Crestliner emblems. It is missing the one piece on it. This is the factory paint job on it. Hope it helps you. As I remember they were kinda pricey at the time when the person was offering them.

That's fantastic Skip! A great help. Thanks a lot!

Here's one with the missing piece on it. Paints not as good as Skips though.

They are hard to find with the end piece on them. Skip.

The gold bird? on the end always looked like it was almost broke in half to me, but the other side is identical. jim

Jim L, yours is a complete one. I think this is the 2nd or 3rd generation script that they used. Most people liked it better without the bird on it. When I make my new ones I am going to leave the bird off of it. Skip.

Looks as though I will be recreating the Crestliner logo in exactly the same manner as the earlier contributor to this thread. I have been able to make one good logo (complete with both of the birds)from the two broken ones I have. I'll use this to create my mould and we'll see what happens. Will post a pic when complete!

Does anyone know if the raised portions of the emblem were always painted gold or were they also painted silver?

I have just poured the moulding compound into the two forms I made(I am also recreating the plastic emblem for a 65 Chrysler 45). We'll see what happens!

Moulding compound worked ridiculously well. Looking forward to casting the new logos as soon as I have time!

The raised part of the script and the upper bird were allways painted gold. I have seen them painted to match the deck colors of boats also. Really looks good on a white hull. The fine raised edge around the lower bird was also painted gold. Skip.

That's great. I just poured into the mould with the onyx liquid plastic so I'll soon see what the outcome is! Thanks for your input Skip. The emblems are going on a navy blue Crestliner Mustang with a white front deck. The boat is in almost showroom condition and with these new emblems on it it should be even closer to mint.

Here is a shot of the original mold boxes I built using the original Chrysler emblem and the original Crstliner emblem (which was in two pieces)

Here's the shot of the two molds I created to enable the reproduction of the original emblems.

And finally (TAH DAAAAA!) Mission accomplished! Here are the emblem recreations molded beautifully in rigid black plastic. Next step is to try and apply a uniform coat of gold paint per the earlier photographs posted on this thread. Will post again when complete.

Looks good. Like to see them finished. How thick is the rubber? Skip.

They range between 3.6 and 4 mm in thickness...which is exactly the same as the original. I am however going to sand the backs to make them flatter. They are pretty good now but I feel they will sit on the boat flatter if I shave a bit off the back with some sandpaper. I tried a little spot and it sands fine. Because I had to piece the original together, there is a minor imperfection halfway up the "l" and at the base of the "i" where I spliced the two pieces of the original together with epoxy. If you look really closely at the photos of the replicas that I posted you may be able to see the slight imperfection. That part of the logo will be covered with gold paint anyhow but I will be able to sand it smoother I'm sure. Finding an acceptable, flat shade of gold paint will be a challenge and the application to only all of the high points on the emblem should also prove challenging. There is still plenty of opportunity for me to screw these emblems up but so far, the replicas look amazing! Any helpful input/advice/ideas regarding the uniform application of paint to the Crestliner emblems would be appreciated.

Perhaps the 'right' gold paint (sorry, can't help w/ that) applied in several light coats via a thin foam paint roller. W/ just enough paint in the roller, it shouldn't drip or run down the sides of the emblem's high spots.

That said, I'd love more info on the original emblem prep to be molded, the mold media & details of making the mold. Plus any info on the media used to create the new emblems, mold prep, and info about the process of pouring it into the mold. Set/Cure times &/or details of getting the new emblems out of the molds.

I'd like to make emblems for more then 1 of my project rigs, and remade plastic ones sound like a great way to do it.

Hi There,

Only a suggestion, but I am assuming you do not wish the paint to dribble down the sides to the recessed portion when painted ?
May I suggest dry painting a piece of paper lying on a table, then flip your piece upside down and place you piece on top of the paper. The paint will only hit the high spots. then hang and keep the part upside down till dry. Gravity doesn't like to go up...

It should work kind of like an ink stamp, but in reverse.

Good thoughts Chuck and thank-you for your input. I was considering that method of application. I sanded the back of one of the Chrysler emblems yesterday and the material I cast it from sands nicely so I was thinking even if I slopped any down the sides, I could just sand it off or wipe it off with mineral spirits.

Thanks for your input JB. We'll see what happens as I'll likely get into the painting this weekend. I'll post pics of how badly I mess them up!!

To address your question regarding the materials I used for this project, first of all and to be totally clear here, I am a complete utter and total rookie at this. My original plan was to go to the building store and buy tubes of white silicone, squirt them into the mold and go from there. Cheap and cheerful but unsure of how it would actually work. Bottom line is I am restoring this boat and I want these emblems to be as close to perfect and as original as possible. Following construction of the mold boxes from scrap wood, I contacted a place in Toronto who specializes in retailing mold supply products. The person I was fortunate enough to speak with pointed me in the right direction in every regard; the right product, the correct quantity for my job, and expertice on how to properly execute.

Just so you know going in, it's not cheap doing this the way I did it but the results are perfect as far as I'm concerned.

To make the molds I used a product from "Smooth On" called Mold Star 30. It comes in a kit consisting of two one pint containers which you mix in a ratio of 1 : 1. Based on the advice/instruction I received, I applied paste wax to the inside and side walls of the wooden mold in order to facilitate ease of release. The product set up relatively quickly inside the mold. I left it overnight to cure in my warm basement and that was more than enough time. The molds hardened to a firm rubber consitency and released from the frame with a bit of tugging but the cured material is pretty tough. I just ran a small kitchen knife around the side walls of the frame first, then just worked at lifting it out. It released beautifully and the impression was flawless.

The product I used to cast the reproductions was also from Smooth On. It's called "Smooth Cast Onyx Slow". It's also a two part product which comes in a kit exactly the same as the mold making compound which is also mixed in a 1:1 ratio. The product flows like water through the mold and cures quickly (working time about 5 minutes). It releases beautifully from the mold without employing any mold release product. The product hardens to a solid black plastic which is exactly what I needed for this project.

To learn more about their products and pricing, go to www.smooth-on.com . The website is thorough and there are You Tube instructions as well. It's very easy to navigate around.

As previously stated, I feel the products I used were exactly what I needed in order to generate perfect replicas of the emblems I required. That being said, don't fall out of your chair when you learn the prices! You may question my sanity though!!

Thanks, I have been poking around for a few months to attempt something similar w/ my logos. And there's LOTS of mold making, and casting media info online, but no DIY hands on details.

Rookie effort turned out great, IMO. Well done. Thanks for the details.

So...went to a couple of stores today to try and find an appropriate gold colour to paint the Crestliner emblems I made. I ended up finding a gold colour "Sharpee" brand paint marker pen in a craft store. I also bought a small spray can of "Krylon" gold paint in case the paint marker didn't work. Turns out the marker worked perfectly. The firmness of the marker nib was perfect for applying the paint to the high points of the emblem and not slopping it onto the sides.

I ad lib'd on the Chrysler logo a bit but I held it up to the cowling which I have refinished and it looks great.

Tomorrow, I am going to try clear coating everything to help protect it from the sun.

Here they are. Two coats of clearcoat on them and as far as I am concerned they are complete. Next stop, on the boat for two of them and onto another Crestliner redo for the other two.

Looks great

They look top notch,Tim.

Outstanding!!!!!!!

Bob

Thanks Jim, JB and Bob! I can't wait to attach them to the boat...but I'll have to given the ton of snow we have here.

I brought the engine cowl for the Chrysler home with me last fall and refinished it. The Chrysler logos were the finishing touch and I attached them yesterday. Here's the pic:

Excellent, came out GREAT!!

Bob