TOPIC: I Need Ideas - Help

I'm sanding on my Delbilt Super Hydro and the "SuperHydro" logo on the back fins are raised letters that I believe were somehow put on after the original fiberglass mold was done. They look like they were made out of almost a clay substance, but it's probably some sort of filler epoxy. The letters are chipped in a few places and the paint was not very well done around the letters In trying to strip and sand the paint, the letters and around them kind of mush up and it's going to be almost impossible to get the area around and in between the letters to look good.
I'm almost of the idea to sand them completely off. But I really want the logos there. There is also a "Delbilt" logo on the dash with the same problem.
Can I have letters made somewhere? Decals maybe? ...

Any ideas would be really appreciated.
Tom

Could they have been cast into the gelcoat from the original mold? I have a similar issue with some indents that were cast into the gelcoat of my Glastron. Since I have to remove the gelcoat, I have the same issue; how to reproduce them.

Why not make a plaster-of-Paris mold of the letters/logo and try and cast new ones out of plastic? You could adhere them to the hull and once painted would look like an original part. There are people on this site that have done some amazing logo reproductions and I'm sure they could help you out.

Make a mold out of plaster and clean it up really good to make your lettering stand out. After that seal the mold with sealer. After you have done that apply mold release and mix up some resin with alittle silic beads or powder and fill the mold with it. carefully pull the set resin out of the mold when it is set and clean up your casting.You can then attach it back onto the hull with resin. Make sure you make a couple of molds as you more than likely break the mold unless you make them really thick. After you get a couple of good ones made you can grind the oud lettering off the hull. Done this a couple of times before for emblems and such. Works good it you don't rush them. Skip.

I have never used plaster of paris. I'm wondering how it would be done without tipping the boat on its side so the goop doesn't slide down.

Is there some sort of clay that could be pressed on the letters to make a mold that some sort of epoxy could be poured into??
Tom

See if your local high school has a project lead the way, or engineering class with a 3d printer. they can reproduce any letters or text, or just about anything you need.

WE take a dremel tool to grind out a square kind of deep and put fiberglass putty in the square . the putty is soft enough to hand cut the numbers in.then you can gelcoat or paint the square.


Haynesfiberglass

Fiddy, My memory is slow on this one but a few years ago I did an old picture frame that some of the plaster deco had fallen off. The local hobby store has a rubber type stuff that you can press onto the letters and it will make a duplicate mold and when it sets you can pour resin in it and when it hardens you can press it right out of the rubber mold. I'm sure if you have a Hobby Lobby or a craft store in your area they have the product. I'll do some googling and see what I come up with.
Cal
Here's the product. Works really well too.
www.amazon.com/Alumilite-Strength-Making-Rubber-HSIII/dp/B004BNA6VA

or this one.

shop.hobbylobby.com/products/high-strength-3-mold-making-rubber-181719/

I've got a Hobby lobby and Michaels about an hour away. I think I'm going to give it a try. Is there a certain type of resin I should use for filling the letters in the mold??
Tom

That I can't answer but I'm sure someone else here can, I suppose just pure fiberglass resin would work. The rubber mold making stuff is really flexable so whatever you put in it will pop out or you can peel it away.
Good Luck, looking forward to seeing the results sometime.
Cal