SA-9100 Faceplate Letters

madders

Active Member
Hi everyone,

I bought an SA-9100 a few months ago, in working condition, but needed a bit of the clean. I've just washed the faceplate in hot soapy water and some of the letters have come off!

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I guess the water must have been too hot, or I left it too long. I've found a couple of old threads about faceplate restoration, but just wanted to see if anyone had any tips how to fix it.

Thanks!
Michael
 
Looks like those letters are engraved into the faceplate, not just printed on?

If engraved it's easy, get some black paint and a tiny brush or toothpick and drop the paint into the groove bit by bit. I've done this with metal car emblems but never an engraved faceplate.
 
Looks like those letters are engraved into the faceplate, not just printed on?

If engraved it's easy, get some black paint and a tiny brush or toothpick and drop the paint into the groove bit by bit. I've done this with metal car emblems but never an engraved faceplate.

Yes they are engraved, sorry I didn't realise the picture isn't very clear. Can you recommend which kind of paint to use?
 
Looks like those letters are engraved into the faceplate, not just printed on?

If engraved it's easy, get some black paint and a tiny brush or toothpick and drop the paint into the groove bit by bit. I've done this with metal car emblems but never an engraved faceplate.

Now that sounds like a great weekend task! Love the detail work. Great idea!!

Kind Regards,
John
 
makes me wonder how they were done on a large scale .. all i can guess is the whole panel was painted then rubbed down to remove excess then lacquered .
i wonder if a something like a rubber scraper could push paint into the etched parts and remove excess at same time . small amount of excess could perhaps be removed after drying without damaging the lacquer .
 
makes me wonder how they were done on a large scale .. all i can guess is the whole panel was painted then rubbed down to remove excess then lacquered .
i wonder if a something like a rubber scraper could push paint into the etched parts and remove excess at same time . small amount of excess could perhaps be removed after drying without damaging the lacquer .

I would bet you can take it to a local trophy shop and they may be able to lend a hand... :)
 
makes me wonder how they were done on a large scale .. all i can guess is the whole panel was painted then rubbed down to remove excess then lacquered .
i wonder if a something like a rubber scraper could push paint into the etched parts and remove excess at same time . small amount of excess could perhaps be removed after drying without damaging the lacquer .
They may have been heat stamped. This is where a film with paint applied is positioned between the item to be stamped an a heated metal stamp. When the item is stamped, the paint remains in the indentations created.
 
They may have been heat stamped. This is where a film with paint applied is positioned between the item to be stamped an a heated metal stamp. When the item is stamped, the paint remains in the indentations created.
i would never have thought about that way .but i can see it would work good .
 
Just paint over/into the letters (it doesn't matter what excess there is around the letter), wait for the enamel to partially get 'tacky', and then use a thin cotton rag wetted with turpentine, stretched over your finger to give a convex shape to carefully rub the surface paint off and it leaves the paint in the embossed letters. Then polish the panel after the paint is dry. I use that method when I restore Sunbeam Mixmasters as their letters always come off...

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Last edited:
Hey everyone,

Thanks for the advice! It's taken 6 months, but I finally painted the letters back.

I used enamel paint, and pretty much did exactly as restorer-john said. It's impossible to paint it into the groove perfectly, so I just rubbed the excess off afterwards with some isopropyl alcohol. Took a while, but looks good now!

Those mixers look great by the way!


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