Possible to Disassemble and Repaint an Original Horn Button?

[Greg Carter]

I’ve got an original C horn button and the paint is flaking off the inside due to it separating from the original base (appears it was originally glued on?). It looks like somebody tried to touch up the paint at some point but even the new paint is starting to flake.

Is there a way anybody has found to strip the old black / gold paint without damaging the internal crest or the plastic itself? I’d thought about lacquer thinner but that is normally very caustic on plastic and will normally cloud or craze it. I was also considering Goo Gone or something similar but wanted to see if anybody had actually tried this with success before proceeding.

Any help would be appreciated.

Greg

[Ron LaDow]

Yes, the cover with the logo is glued to the base, but I have no idea what sort of glue is used. Quite a while back, I tried some solvent-based glue which was as mild as I could find at the time, and ruined a cover; the stuff seems VERY intolerant of any sort of petroleum-based solvent.
I cannot answer your initial question.

[Greg Carter]

Well I figured out a potential solution. The majority of the paint was brittle and chipped / flaked our with a a small flat blade screw driver. I then polished the newly exposed backside plastic with a plastic polishing kit. From there I repainted the gold stripe then laid on a coat of semi gloss black. It worked reasonably well although I didn’t do a great job on the stripe so I’ll need to go back and try again. It’s doable but takes some time and patience.

Greg

[Fred Otjen]

Regarding re-gluing the button to the base, a friend used rubber cement. I tried it and it seems to work just fine. It might allow removal if ever needed.

[Greg Carter]

Sounds good. I’d thought about using 2 part epoxy as well. It’s normally pretty durable and shouldn’t damage the plastic since it’s even styrofoam safe.

Greg

[Bob Kittel]

Sounds good. I’d thought about using 2 part epoxy as well. It’s normally pretty durable and shouldn’t damage the plastic since it’s even styrofoam safe.

Greg

Greg, why not use an artists airbrush. You could do both the gold stripe and black background laying down a very even coating. I have some minor paint lift where the old glue is as well. Will soda blast take the old paint away without dulling the plastic very
much?

[Greg Carter]

Mr. Kittel,

I did use an artist's airbrush for the black base coat then backed that with a more durable epoxy enamel. I found it was easier to use a fine modeler's paint brush to apply the painted gold stripe since there is a recess for the paint (easier than masking it off). The issue really is matching the shade of black of the original button / remaining black paint to your new paint (yes there are different shades of black).

As far as soda blasting is concerned, I really don't know without testing it on an old horn button. I would think the soda would etch the plastic however, since you're painting the inside and the black paint would effectively fill in the rough surface, it's possible it may not be noticeable on the installed horn button. As a side note, I actually used acetone, applied with a Q-tip, to clean and repaint my first attempt. The acetone will etch the plastic slightly but it wasn't apparent once I applied fresh paint. I didn't get the shade of black quite right so, if you look closely, you can see a difference although it's not obvious and looks much better than a horn button with little original paint or a lot of flaking.

The center of my button was in good shape to include the original crest so I don't know how easy it would be to strip and repaint that (or if the crest is enameled vice actually painted which it almost appears to be). I only repainted from the gold stripe and out to the edges.

As a side note, I used a 2-part epoxy to attach the button to the base with good results. I'd recommend at least as 10 minute setting or longer to allow time to align everything and provide a more solid bond (generally, the longer the set time the stronger the bond).

Greg

[Brad Ripley]

Greg's efforts and instructions to save an old B/C horn button logo cover are to be commended. From personal experience in manufacturing these covers, getting the coloring just right is a challenge; forming the basic piece of plastic is easy by comparison.

If repair fails or not up to standard, you can order a new piece see http://www.nlaparts.com/store/horn-button-p-21240.html
or complete horn button: http://www.stoddard.com/64434780305.html

[Jim Clement]

Brad
Does NLA / Stoddard sell the same product for the earlier version ?

[Brad Ripley]

Not to be (outright) trying to sell product on this Chat forum, but ....... for 356A cars the horn button is one assembly, like so http://www.stoddard.com/64434782101.html

[Greg Carter]

Mr. Ripley,

Those are very nice. I’d looked at buying one from Stoddard (didn’t realize you sold them as well) but my “Porsche Funds” are a bit low hence my restoration attempt. I also love original parts and try to restore or repair wherever possible.

Out of curiosity, is the center crest on the horn button painted or is it enameled? Although it could easily be my settings the bars on my Porsche crest appear to be orange like the early 911 hood crest.

Greg