Eagles International Forum

Hello all! 
I am working on restoring a Silver eagle emblem salvaged from a bus long gone and I am in need of touching up some paint.  Specifically the gold on the letters.  I have searched the forums as best as I could and looked online but have not been able to find a reference of what color was used originally or that others may have used to restore a similar project.  Any help is greatly appreciated. Another long shot option is finding a replacement letter "I" in silver to replace the aluminum letter completely.  Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to offer.  
- Ryan 

Ryan welcome to the forum. 

I think we need to see a picture of the emblem you are restoring so that we can attempt to better answer your question. 

Posting photos is a pretty simple process (click on "attachment" and upload a photo from your computer).

Jim

Ryan,

Your chances of matching paint colors after they have been in the sun for decades are not good. You would have to custom mix paint to be able to touch up existing colors. The best long term solution, appearance wise, would be to remove the individual letters to paint them, and the other components of the emblem as well. Everything on it is aluminum plate or cast aluminum. On the back you will see tiny brass screws that attach each individual part. It is best to have a screwdriver bit that fits the slot very well, and to soak the screws in penetrating oil for a long time. If you strip the screw, then you will have to drill the screw out and re-tap the threads. As far as the missing "I" goes, the chances of getting one off a damaged emblem are not great. You would have better luck shaping a piece of aluminum stock into the correct shape. Thank goodness it is not one of the other letters. The measurements of the "I" are 5/8" wide at the bottom, 7/8" wide at the top, and the letter is 1 15/16" tall. The thickness should match the other letters.

Thank you all for the advice.  Hopefully I attached the photo correctly.  
The "I" in question is there but someone drilled a hole in it.  I patched the hole with bondo and will sand it flush.  Just hoping to get the color matched decently.  The hole was about 3/16th and I'm wondering if touching up the paint on the patch might be less noticeable than repainting the complete letter.  

Thank you again for any help possible, I might be stuck choosing it off a color wheel.